Texas faces Patriot League champs Boston in 1st round of NCAA women’s soccer tournament

  

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas women’s soccer team will host Boston University in the opening round of the NCAA tournament at 6 p.m. Friday after winning the Southeastern Conference tournament championship.

The tournament selection committee announced the full 64-team bracket Monday, awarding the Longhorns the No. 4 seed in their quadrant with the Duke Blue Devils as the top seed. If they beat the Terriers at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, they’ll face the winner of Michigan State and Western Michigan in the second round. The Spartans are the No. 5 seed in the quadrant.

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Boston (6-6-7) qualified for the NCAAs by winning the Patriot League tournament, upsetting Army 2-1 in double overtime, and then taking out top-seeded Bucknell in a wild 10-round penalty kick shootout.

Texas (16-3-2, 6-3-1) stormed through the SEC tournament with wins over Louisiana State, Arkansas and South Carolina to claim the automatic bid and the school’s first SEC title in any sport since joining this year. Arkansas was given the No. 2 seed in its quadrant while South Carolina is a No. 3 seed. Mississippi State is the No. 1 seed with the Razorbacks and Florida State is the No. 1 with the Gamecocks. Southern California is the other No. 1 seed.

It’s the 18th time Texas has made the field and the eighth time under head coach Angela Kelly.

“I’m so incredibly proud of the work that we put in this past week. To be sitting here as reigning SEC champions is just phenomenal,” she said. “We want Longhorn Nation out here loud and proud, and we are going to be ready to play.”

The SEC qualified 10 teams for the tournament with LSU and Tennessee in Texas’ quadrant. Former Big 12 foe Texas Tech is the No. 8 seed in the quadrant. UCLA is No. 2 and Iowa is No. 3.