Field of 48 set as NCAA Tourney prepares to kick off
Akron sights on repeat; UNC take top seed; Action starts Thursday


All first round games will be played on November 17. The second and third-round matches will take place on November 20 and November 27. The eight teams remaining in the quarterfinals will go head to head between December 2 and 4. The 2011 College Cup will take place at Regions Field – the home of UAB – in Hoover, Ala., with the semifinals contested on December 9 and the final taking place two days later on December 11.

The first round is highlighted by a matchup between Akron and Big Ten champs Northwestern, who head to Ohio in hopes of ending the defending-champion Zips’ title defense early. South Carolina will welcome historic power Wake Forest to Columbia, S.C., in another high-profile match.

Other notable games include Virginia, which is two-years removed from a national title, hosting Delaware, first-time participants CSU Bakersfield and 18-goal scorer Gyasi Zardes welcoming St. Mary’s, and an in-state battle pitting Florida Gulf Coast against Central Florida.

The semifinal and final matches will be broadcast live on ESPNU. All times listed below are local. Matches are hosted by the top seed until the semifinal and final.

Region 1

Elon at Coastal Carolina, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (1) UNC

Liberty at Old Dominion, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (16) Indiana

Fairfield at Brown, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (9) St. Johns

St. Mary’s (CA) at CSU Bakersfield, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (8) UC Irvine

Region 2

Xavier at West Virginia, Thursday 11/17, 5:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (5) Maryland

Loyola Chicago at Bradley, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (12) Louisville

Delaware at Virginia, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (13) UCLA

Colgate at Rutgers, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (4) Boston College

Region 3

Stony Brook at Monmouth, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (3) Connecticut

Wake Forest at South Carolina, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (14) James Madison

Furman at Charlotte, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (11) UAB

Northwestern at Akron, Thursday 11/17, 7:30 p.m.
• Winner plays at (6) SMU

Region 4

Florida Gulf Coast at UCF, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (7) South Florida

Georgia State at Duke, Thursday 11/17, 7:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (10) New Mexico

Dartmouth at Providence, Thursday 11/17, 2:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (15) UC Santa Barbara

Western Illinois at Northern Illinois, Thursday 11/17, 1:00 p.m.
• Winner plays at (2) Creighton

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