Boston College Athletics
Men's Soccer Receives No. 5 Seed In NCAA Tournament
November 18, 2002 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 18, 2002
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - A day after claiming its third BIG EAST Championship, the men's soccer team received a No. 5 seed and a first-round bye in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, the NCAA announced today. The Eagles will host the winner of the Northeastern-Lehigh first-round match -- which will take place either Nov. 22 or 23 in Bethlehem, Pa. -- on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 1 p.m.
By winning the BIG EAST tournament, Boston College received one of 22 automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. The top eight teams in the 48-team tournament are seeded, and the top 16 teams receive first-round byes.
Boston College (16-4) will be participating in the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row and fifth time overall. It is winless in its four previous appearances. This is the first time the Eagles have been seeded.
Two other BIG EAST teams received seeds: St. John's (No. 4) and Connecticut (No. 7). The BIG EAST and Atlantic Coast Conference (No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 Maryland, No. 6 Virginia) had three seeded teams each, while the PAC-10 (No. 3 UCLA) and the Colonial Athletic Association (No. 8 Virginia Commonwealth) had one apiece.
Looking ahead, the Eagles are 8-0 all-time versus the Huskies (11-7-2), the America East regular season and tournament champions. Their last meeting was in 1995, which Boston College won, 1-0. The Eagles have never played the Mountain Hawks (11-7-2), which lost Sunday to Holy Cross in a shootout in the Patriot League Tournament championship game.
Tickets for next Wednesday's game can be purchased by calling the athletics ticket office at 617-552-4622. Tickets will also be sold at the Newton Campus Soccer Field ticket booth, located at the southeast corner of the field, beginning one hour prior to the start of the game. Admission is $8 for adults and $3 for students and children 12 and under.
