Road to the Championship

National Participation
There are 333 NCAA member institutions that sponsor Division I Women’s Soccer teams and are eligible to compete in the National Championship. All 333 programs support approximately 8,300 Women’s Soccer student-athletes across the country.

Selection Process
The championship provides for a field of 64 teams. Thirty-one conference champions qualify automatically; the balance of the field is selected at-large by the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Committee.

Selection Show | November 5, 2018
The 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship bracket will be announced the Monday prior to the first-round of competition. 

First Round | November 9, 10 or 11, 2018
Thirty-two, two-team First Round games will be conducted at non-predetermined campus sites. The winning team from each game will advance to the second round.

Second and Third Rounds | November 16 and 18, 2018
Second- and Third-Rounds will be conducted at eight non-predetermined campus sites. At each campus site, four teams will compete in single-elimination Second Round competition. The two winning teams then compete against each other in single-elimination Third Round competition at the same campus site. The winning team from each of the eight Third Rounds advances to the Quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals | November 23 or 24, 2018
Four, two-team single elimination Quarterfinals games will be conducted at non-predetermined campus sites. The winning team from each of the four Quarterfinals will advance to the championship final site.

Women's College Cup | November 30 and December 2, 2018
The 2018 Women’s College Cup will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Two, two-team single elimination Semifinals games will be held November 30 with times to be announced. The two teams winning in the semifinals will advance and compete in the single elimination National Championship game which will take place December 2 with time to be announced.