NCAA Men

ACC Teams Advance, Comprise Three of Elite Eight in NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship

ACC Teams Advance, Comprise Three of Elite Eight in NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship


2022 NCAA Tournament Bracket

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference’s three Sweet 16 teams each advanced Sunday in the the 2022 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship. Duke, Pitt and Syracuse scored victories and will host quarterfinal matches next weekend. The ACC is the only league with more than one team remaining in the tournament. This marks the fourth straight season in which three ACC programs reached the quarterfinal round.

 

Pitt (11-4-5) rallied from an early second-half deficit to oust top-seeded Kentucky, 2-1, in Lexington, Kentucky, and hand the Wildcats their first defeat of the season. After winning their last two matches on the road, the Panthers notched their third straight berth in the quarterfinals and earned a home game in the quarters against Portland next weekend. Valentin Noel scored the equalizing goal in the 54th minute, and despite the Panthers going down a man following a red card in the 79th minute, Bertin Jacquesson provided the eventual game-winner in the 87th minute with a rocket to the upper corner of the net.

 

ACC champion Syracuse (16-2-4), the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, extended its unbeaten streak to 11 matches with a 1-0 home victory over No. 14 Cornell, avenging a regular-season loss to the Big Red and advancing to the quarterfinals for the second time in program history (2015). The Orange will entertain Vermont next weekend in the quarterfinals. Giona Leibold scored the game’s lone goal in the 84th minute off a counterattack.

 

Duke (13-1-4) topped No. 10 FIU, 1-0, in Durham, North Carolina, and moved into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2006. The Blue Devils will host a quarterfinal match at 1 p.m. Saturday against Creighton. Scotty Taylor scored the Blue Devils’ goal in the 42nd minute and the Duke defense made it hold up while recording its 12th clean sheet of the season.

 

The NCAA Men’s College Cup will be contested Dec. 9 and 12 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. At least one ACC squad has reached the NCAA College Cup in 20 of the last 21 seasons, with 11 different league programs advancing to the semifinals.

 

An ACC team has won the men’s national soccer championship 18 times, most of any conference, including Clemson in 2021. This marks the 10th straight season in which the ACC placed the most…

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