UVA men’s soccer is #16 seed in NCAA Tournament

The UVA men’s soccer team has earned the No. 16 seed and a first-round bye in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. At 1 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 23), Virginia (10-6-2) will play host to the winner of the Thursday match between UNC Wilmington and Bucknell. The men’s second-round contest at Klöckner Stadium will precede a third-round NCAA women’s tournament game, which will be held at 5 p.m.

Virginia is making its 34th-consecutive NCAA tournament appearance – the longest current streak in Division I soccer. This is Virginia’s 36th NCAA tournament berth, which is fourth most among all Division I programs. UVa has hosted at least one NCAA tournament match in each of the last 34 years.

Tickets are $9 for reserved seats, $7 for adult general admission and $5 for youth/student/senior citizen general admission. Fans can order tickets online at VirginiaSports.com and by phone through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 800-542-UVA1 (8821) or 434-924-UVA1 (8821). Tickets are also available at the Klöckner Stadium box office beginning at noon Sunday. Gates will open at noon. Separate tickets will be required for the men’s and women’s games on Sunday.

Parking is $5 and will be available in the John Paul Jones Arena, University Hall and McCue Center lots. Free parking will be available in the Emmet/Ivy Garage.

UNC Wilmington and Bucknell will play their first-round match at 7 p.m. Thursday in Wilmington, N.C. UVa and UNCW have met just once previously, a 4-0 UVa win on Sept. 1, 1983. The Cavaliers and Bison have played twice, with the Cavaliers prevailing in a pair of NCAA tournament matches (2006, 2009).

UNCW (12-4-2) earned an at-large berth into the tournament after tying for the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season championship with Delaware. The Seahawks, who lost 2-0 to James Madison in the semifinals of the CAA tournament, were 7-0-1 on the road this season. Champions of the Patriot League, Bucknell went 10-9-3 this season, including a 4-3-1 mark in league play. The Bison were the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament in their run to the championship.

The winner of the second-round match Sunday will play Ohio State, Akron or No. 1 seed Notre Dame on Sunday, Nov. 30. OSU and Akron play Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, with the winner traveling to Notre Dame on Sunday.

Virginia owns a 56-29-4 record all-time in NCAA tournament play, including a 44-18-2 mark at home. The Cavaliers have won six NCAA championships (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 2009), which is third most in Division I history. UVa has earned host-site status in 35 of its 36 all-time NCAA appearances.

Virginia holds a 10-6-2 mark after reaching the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. The Cavaliers defeated Virginia Tech, 1-0, in the first round before dropping a 3-0 match at top-seeded Notre Dame on Nov. 9. Three of Virginia’s midfielders earned postseason honors. Team captain Eric Bird (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.), a First-Team All-ACC honoree, owns team highs in goals (5) and points (12) this season. Todd Wharton (Jr., Glen Allen, Va.) was a Third-Team All-ACC honoree, while Jake Rozhansky (Fr., Germantown, Md.) was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.