INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The field of 40 teams for the 2024 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship was announced on Monday evening, with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's soccer team earning the No. 3 seed in Super Region 4, marking the second consecutive year that the Mountain Lions have qualified for the national tournament under head coach
Lewis Wilcox.
As the No. 3 seed in the bracket, the Mountain Lions (14-2-4) will receive a first-round bye and then host a second-round matchup against No. 6 seed Fort Lewis College on Sunday at 1 p.m. The full bracket for the 2024 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship can be found on the NCAA website.
UCCS has put together one of the most successful seasons in program history to this point as they already established a new program record for wins in a single season with 14 and were ranked inside the top five in the nation in the last seven publications of the United Soccer Coaches National Poll, finishing the year with a program-best No. 3 national ranking on Nov. 5. After finishing the regular season with a 13-1-4 overall record and a 6-1-3 conference record, the Mountain Lions earned the No. 4 seed in the RMAC Men's Soccer Tournament and secured a 2-1 double overtime victory against Colorado School of Mines in the quarterfinal round before falling to Colorado State University Pueblo in the conference semifinals.
The Mountain Lions, who made their first appearance in the national tournament last season and are in search of their first NCAA tournament win in program history, have been one of the most well-rounded teams in the nation thus far as they currently rank 15
th in the nation in Team Goals Against Average (0.845), 19
th in goal differential (+25), and 23
rd in total goals (42). Senior
Dani Barajas broke out as the leader of the UCCS offense this season, posting an RMAC-leading 11 goals to go along with four assists and 26 points. Barajas was supplemented by the exceptional play of junior forwards
Miles Seminario and
Nick Walker, who each netted seven goals to rank tied for seventh in the conference in the category. The Mountain Lion's stingy defense was spearheaded by First Team All-RMAC defender
Rory Scott and RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year
Soren Russell. Scott logged 1,308 minutes as the centerpiece of a UCCS defensive unit that has posted the top team GAA in the conference at 0.845, while Russell further established himself as one of the top keepers in the nation with a 0.923 GAA, 0.788 save percentage, and five clean sheets in 19 games played.
NCAA Tournament First/Second Round Matchups - Super Region Four (All Times MT)
First Round
Thursday, Nov. 21
No. 8 Point Loma (11-3-3) vs. No. 9 Western Oregon (13-4-1) - 3 p.m. (Hosted by CSU Pueblo)
Friday, Nov. 22
No. 7 Cal Poly Pomona (12-1-7) vs. No. 10 Westmont (12-4-4) - 2 p.m. (Hosted by Midwestern State)
Second Round
Saturday, Nov. 23
Point Loma/Western Oregon winner at No. 1 CSU Pueblo (14-3-3) - 3 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 24
No. 6 Fort Lewis (12-3-6) at No. 3 UCCS (14-2-4) - 1 p.m.
Cal Poly Pomona/Westmont winner at No. 2 Midwestern State (14-2-3) - 2 p.m.
No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills (11-4-5) at No. 5 Cal State Los Angeles (11-3-6) - 4 p.m.
For everything UCCS Athletics, follow the Mountain Lions on social media and stay tuned to gomountainlions.com.
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