The West Virginia men’s soccer team will learn its seeding for the NCAA Tournament Monday afternoon.
The runner-up in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, and currently the No. 5-ranked team in the country in the Coaches Poll, the Mountaineers are a lock to make the national tournament for the 16th time in program history. The question entering Monday’s bracket reveal is: what national seed will West Virginia earn?
“[Marshall has] proven that they’re one of the best teams in the country. But I truly, truly think we have shown that, too,” Mountaineer head coach Dan Stratford said.
Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Marshall was only WVU’s second defeat of the season. With a 14-2-4 record, and an RPI well inside the top 10 in the country, the Mountaineers have a case to be one of the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m convinced that we’re a top-eight team, at the very least, at this stage, and expect a home bye and two games at home,” Stratford said. “I didn’t know this before, Chris [Grassie] shared this with me before the game, but if you look at RPI and you have Quad 1 through 4, Marshall has the best record in the country against Quad 1 and we have the second-best record in the country against Quad 1. So, from that perspective, we make a compelling argument.”
WVU’s NCAA Tournament résumé
- Overall Record: 14-2-4
- RPI: 6
- Record vs. Ranked opponents: 2-1-1
- T-10 in NCAA in Goals: 41
- T-12 in NCAA Goal Differential: +21
- T-19 in NCAA in Goals Per Game (2.05)
- 8 Total Shutouts
- 6-0-3 Home Record ; 6-2-1 Away Record ; 2-0 Neutral Site Record
- Nationally ranked for 10 consecutive weeks
- Ranked inside the Top 10 for nine consecutive weeks
WVU’s NCAA Tournament history
2023 will be WVU’s 16th NCAA Tournament appearance, all-time. It will mark the second NCAA berth under head coach Dan Stratford.
In 2021, the Mountaineers earned the No. 11 national seed, secured a victory in PKs against Virginia Tech in the second round, defeated Tulsa 1-0 in double overtime, and ultimately fell on the road at Georgetown in PKs in the national quarterfinals.
This season will mark the fourth time in program history that WVU will earn a national seed. The 2006 Mountaineers earned a No. 6 national seed, though played just one game in the NCAA Tournament.
Selection Monday information
The NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship Selection Show begins at 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 13.
It will be streamed exclusively on NCAA.com. Gold and Blue Nation will be on-site to get the Mountaineers’ instant reaction as they learn their NCAA draw.
The first round of the tournament will begin on Thursday, Nov. 16, with the second round slated for Sunday, Nov. 19.
