NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee unveils Top 16 Ranking

INDIANAPOLIS — With two weeks remaining before selection Monday, the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee announced its top 16 ranking on Friday, November 1.

The top 16 correspond to the number of teams that are seeded in the 48-team NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship bracket.

Using the selection criteria and results through games of October 30, Georgetown is the top-ranked team with a record of 13-1-1. The Hoyas are leading the Big East and are unbeaten in their last eight games (7-0-1), including not allowing a single goal in the month of October and only five all season.

Virginia, Washington and Clemson hold the next three spots. The top four seeds are important as if the seeds hold those four teams would have the opportunity to host the quarterfinal round with a bid to the College Cup on the line.

“It’s been another exciting season of college soccer and this exercise continues to help our committee as we prepare to select and seed the 48-team field in a few weeks,” said Jeff Bacon, chair of the committee and senior associate commissioner of the Mid-American Conference. “The number of outstanding teams from coast-to-coast this season has been very encouraging to see and continues to make narrowing them down a challenge.”

The remainder of the top 10 includes Wake Forest, UCF, St. John’s (New York), SMU, Stanford and Indiana.

“We’ve released a top 10 ranking the past few seasons but the committee felt since we seed 16 teams that a top 16 ranking at this point in the season was appropriate,” Bacon said. “The end of the regular season and conference tournaments are going to be critical. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of movement within the ranked teams and teams that missed making this ranking can still earn a top-16 seed.”

The ranking is based on the criteria used to select and seed the 48 teams for the Division I Men’s Soccer Championship and includes strength of schedule, Rating Percentage Index, head-to-head competition, results versus common opponents and significant wins and losses.

The 2019 championship field will consist of 24 automatic qualifiers and 24 at-large selections, which will be revealed on Monday, November 18 at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com. The top 16 teams will be seeded and receive first-round byes before hosting second-round games.

The tournament opens with first-round games on Thursday, November 21 as the championship will take place at campus sites through the quarterfinals as teams look to earn a trip to the College Cup.

The College Cup returns to Cary, North Carolina, for the fifth time (2005, 2007, 2009, 2014) when teams and fans will descend upon Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, with semifinals on Friday, Dec. 13, on ESPNU (6 p.m/8:30 p.m. ET), followed by the national championship game on Sunday, Dec. 15 on ESPNU at 6 p.m. ET.

Tickets for the Men’s College Cup are available at ncaa.com/tickets.

NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee Top 16 ranking
(record through games as of October 30)

1.    Georgetown (13-1-1)
2.    Virginia (13-1-1)
3.    Washington (14-1-0)
4.    Clemson (13-1-1)
5.    Wake Forest (12-3-1)
6.    UCF (11-1-2)
7.    St. John’s (NY) (12-2-1)
8.    SMU (12-1-1)
9.    Stanford (10-1-2)
10.  Indiana (11-2-3)
11.  Penn St. (10-2-3)
12.  Missouri St. (14-0-0)
13.  Saint Mary’s (CA) (13-1-0)
14.  Maryland (9-5-2)
15.  Louisville (8-5-2)
16.  FIU (9-0-5)