COLUMBIA, S.C. — The NCAA soccer season has taken on a characteristic of a basketball schedule in that it began in September and will conclude in May.
The season was split due to COVID-19 and programs across the country navigated their way through the season with strict health and safety protoocls in place.
The bracket for the NCAA Tournament was announced Monday and South Carolina earned its eighth-straight NCAA Tournament bid when the 48-team field was announced. This is the longest streak of consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament in program history. Carolina has advanced out of the first round nine times in total, including each of the past four years.
The Gamecocks, who are unseeded, will join the rest of the field in the Raleigh-Durham-Cary area for the entire tournament with Carolina’s opening round against Montana set for April 28 at 6 p.m. The tournament is being held in that area of the country in a bubble format which has become the norm of late.
This season will mark the 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Gamecocks, who have reached the event in 13 of the last 14 years.
First round action will be played April 27-28, while the second rounds will be held April 30-May 1. The third round will be May 5, with the quarterfinals on May 9.
The women’s semifinals will be held May 13 and the championship game will be played May 17 at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.