INDIANAPOLIS – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men have drawn the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first round of the NCAA Division I tournament, it was announced by the NCAA during its Selection Show Monday.

The Terriers (5-2) will face the Panthers (8-4) at UNCW Soccer Stadium on the campus of the North Carolina-Wilmington in Wilmington, N.C. Thursday, April 29 at 6 p.m.. It will mark the first time in program history that St. Francis meet on Milwaukee. The winner will advance to the second round to play third overall seed Indiana University (9-1-1).

“It is going to be special, this is the first time that this is happening [NCAA tournament all in one state], so it is a privilege for us to be there,” St. Francis head coach Tom Giovatto said. “We are excited, the boys are going to be really excited to take this trip, and to play in those incredible facilities. We are thrilled to be a part of it,” said Terriers’ Head Coach Tom Giovatto.

St. Francis won its ninth Northeast Conference championship in program history to set a league record as it defeated LIU, 6-5, in penalty kicks Friday. With the win, the Terriers secured the NEC’s automatic bid to the tournament as they will make their 10th appearance in the competition.

The Terriers enter the tournament with a 3-8 all-time record. They last reached the College Cup in 2017 when they played New York City foe Fordham University. The Terriers fell to the Rams in the first round, 3-2, in extratime.

The 36-team field is made up of champions from 22 conferences, that qualified automatically, in addition to 14 teams that were selected at-large. The top eight teams were all seeded for this year’s tournament that is taking place in Cary, N.C. and the surrounding area.

Preliminary round games of the tournament will take place at the campus venues of University of North Carolina Wilmington, UNC Greensboro and Wake Forest, in addition to Bryan Park (Greensboro, N.C.), J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex (Wilson, N.C.), Sportsplex (Matthews, N.C.) and WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, N.C.).

Four first round games will be played Thursday, April 29, while all second round action will take place Sunday, May 2. The third round will be played May 6, while the quarterfinals will be played May 10.

For the first time the College Cup will feature the Division I men’s and women’s soccer National Champions being crowned on the same weekend at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The men’s Semifinals will take place on May 14 and National Championship game on May 17 with all three matches being televised live on ESPNU.

This will be the sixth time the men’s national champion has been crowned in Cary with Georgetown (2019), Maryland (2005), Virginia (2009, 2014) and Wake Forest (2007) winning previously.

 

St. Francis College Brooklyn NCAA College Cup History

Year

Round

Opponent

Result

1974

First Round

Cornell

L, 2-4

1976

First Round

Adelphi

W, 2-0

Sweet Sixteen

Hartwick

L, 0-3

1977

First Round

Hartwick

L, 1-5

1978

First Round

Adelphi

W, 1-0

Sweet Sixteen

Columbia

W, 2-0

Elite Eight

Clemson

L, 0-4

1982

First Round

Columbia

L, 1-4

2013

First Round

Penn State

L, 0-1

2014

First Round

Old Dominion

L, 0-3

2016

First Round

Dartmouth

L, 0-1 (2OT)

2017

First Round

Fordham

L, 2-3 (OT)

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.