Nov. 16, 2009

• 2009 NCAA Men’s Soccer Bracket

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The ACC led all conferences with seven teams selected to the 2009 NCAA Tournament Field of 48 announced by the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee on Monday. Four of the seven ACC teams receiving a bid earned a top 16 national seed, including three of the top five spots.

ACC Tournament Champion Virginia (14-3-3, 4-3-1 ACC), which is making its 31st NCAA appearance, earned the No. 2 seed and will host the winner of Bucknell and Princeton on Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. The Cavs, who currently hold an impressive 47-25-4 record in the NCAA Tournament, will be making their 29th straight appearance, the nation’s longest active streak and an ACC record that dates back to 1981. Virginia recorded its eighth consecutive shutout in the league’s tournament title game, blanking NC State, 1-0, to win its 10th ACC Tournament crown and fourth under head coach George Gelnovatch.

Wake Forest (14-3-3, 5-2-1 ACC), which earned the top-seed in the ACC Tournament after following league tie-breaker procedures and had a share of the 2009 ACC regular-season crown, collected the No. 3 seed and will host the winner of UNC-Wilmington and Charlotte on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. The Demon Deacons will make their 14th NCAA appearance and ninth consecutive. Wake’s regular-season championship was the second consecutive for the program and the fifth in school history. Led by this year’s ACC Coach of the Year Jay Vidovich, the Deacs tabbed three of the four league postseason individual honors and four of the ACC first-team selections, including ACC Offensive Player of the Year Corben Bone and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Ike Opara.

No. 5 seed North Carolina (13-2-3, 5-2-1 ACC) welcomes the winner of Stony Brook and Brown on Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. The Tar Heels, who earned a share of the ACC regular-season crown for the first time since 2000, will make their 17th NCAA Tournament appearance. Carolina owns a 21-15-0 record in the postseason NCAA Tournament and finished as runner up last year. The Tar Heels are seeking their second NCAA Tournament title as their only men’s soccer national title came in 2001.

NC State (13-6-2, 2-5-1 ACC), which finished as runner-up in the 2009 ACC Tournament, earned the No. 15 seed and will host the winner of Portland and New Mexico on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. The Wolfpack make their 13th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2005.

Rounding out the NCAA selections from the ACC are at-large selections Boston College, Duke and Maryland. The Eagles (12-8-0, 5-3-0 ACC), who make their eighth overall NCAA Tournament appearance and third consecutive, will host Dartmouth in first-round action in Chestnut Hill, Mass., on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. The winner advances to face No. 13 seed St. John’s (NY) on Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. The Eagles finished the regular season winning six of their final seven contests, including back-to-back wins over second-ranked teams in the nation (North Carolina and Wake Forest).

Defending national champion Maryland (12-5-2, 4-2-2 ACC) will host familiar foe Loyola (Md.) on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. The winner will face seventh-seed Penn State on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. The Terrapins earn their 27th NCAA appearance in school history, ninth consecutive, and have previously claimed three national College Cup titles.

In other first-round action, the Duke Blue Devils (12-6-0, 4-4-0 ACC) hosts Winthrop on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. The winner advances to face No. 14 seed Michigan State on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. Duke makes its 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth-straight.

The teams will be vying for the right to advance to the 2009 NCAA Men’s College Cup, December 11 and 13 in Cary, N.C., the same championship field, WakeMed Soccer Park Stadium Field, the ACC Tournament was played.

For more information, including the 2009 NCAA Men’s Soccer Bracket, please go to theACC.com.