The Portland Pilots soccer teams are finishing up their regular season play. The women’s team played their last game on Nov. 5 against Gonzaga. They lost 0-2, but finished their WCC competition 5-4 and were undefeated at home.
The men’s team is set to play one more game on Nov. 12 against Pacific University. They currently sit 5-1 in conference play and also finished the season undefeated at home. This was the first time since 1995 that this had happened.
In general terms it’s a 48-team tournament. The top 16 teams get a first-round bye meaning they don’t get included in the first round of play. This gives those teams more time to rest and sets up lower-ranked teams against each other.
Since UP won’t be in the top 16 on either the men’s or women’s side they’ll have to play in the first round. This means that the teams have set their sights on hosting a home game, this happens if the teams are in the top 32.
It was announced that the women’s team will play Arizona State on Nov. 11 at home. It is the first time since 2013 that the women’s team is back in the postseason. They qualified with an at-large bid which is an invitation from the tournament selection team.
On the men’s side, we have to wait until Nov. 14 to see if they’re hosting a game but they stand in a pretty good place to do so. The men’s team will play on Nov. 17 regardless if it’s at home or away.
From there it’s a regular tournament-style play which means a team must win in order to move on to the next round.
Wilder Isom is the Sports Editor at The Beacon. She can be reached at isomw24@up.edu.
