West Virginia men’s soccer is one of eight schools remaining in the NCAA Tournament, playing host to Loyola Marymount on Saturday with the chance to advance to the College Cup for the first time in school history.
No. 1 Marshall went down on Sunday, losing to No. 16 Stanford, 3-0. This paves the way for WVU to be the highest remaining seed on their half of the bracket, as No. 4 Georgetown already lost in the second round.
WVU is also not in an unfamiliar spot with the other top teams still left in the tournament. There are five national seeds still remaining out of the final eight teams, including three teams in the top five (No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 5 West Virginia). There is also only one ranked matchup this weekend, with No. 8 Clemson facing No. 16 Stanford.
The winner of that game faces the winner of No. 5 West Virginia vs Loyola Marymount (CA).
On the other side the winner of No. 2 Notre Dame vs Indiana faces the winner of No. 3 North Carolina vs Oregon State in the national semifinals next weekend.
Out of the four games set to be played this weekend, the matchup at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown is the first, meaning either West Virginia or Loyola Marymount will be the first team to punch their ticket to the 2023 Men’s College Cup.
