SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference earned three bids in the 2023 NCAA Tournament as two-time WCC Champion San Diego earned the automatic qualifier. At-large selections No. 11 seed Portland received a first-round bye and LMU will also host a first round match as announced Monday by the national office. Both first-round contests will be played on Thursday, Nov. 16, and second-round games will be played on Sunday, Nov. 19.
The WCC has featured two or more teams in the NCAA Tournament in seven of the last eight seasons. The WCC last boasted three teams in the NCAA Tournament in 2018.
USD (11-4-3) hosts California Baptist in the first round on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Toreros are 1-3 all-time against CBU. USD won the first meeting in 2018 before dropping the next three. These teams competed against each other from 2020-22. The Toreros shared the WCC Championship with Santa Clara but earned the NCAA automatic qualifier after winning the head-to-head matchup with the Broncos. If San Diego advances, the Toreros will face No. 1 seed Marshall in the second round.
Portland (12-4) will host the winner of a first-round contest between Seattle at Oregon State on Sunday. The Pilots feature one of the nation's top offenses that ranks third in the nation. UP is 26-6 all-time against the Beavers with wins over OSU both this season and in last year's NCAA Tournament. The Pilots are 22-7-1 all-time against Seattle. Portland beat Seattle in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, as well as a 1-0 victory last season. Portland looks to go on a run similar to last season when the Pilots advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.
LMU (7-4-6) hosts UC Irvine in the first round on Thursday at 7 p.m., and if the Lions win, they will place No. 13 seed UCLA in the second round. LMU has already beaten the Bruins earlier this season. The Lions cracked the top 25 in the national polls coming in at No. 20 and No. 25 the last two weeks. LMU's strength of schedule ranked eighth in the nation with wins over No. 15 Virginia, Oregon State, UCLA and then-No. 17 Portland.
The WCC owns five national championships in men's soccer, four by San Francisco and one by Santa Clara in 1989, also the most-recent national title for the WCC. Two of the four championships for the Dons came back-to-back in 1975 and 1976. This year's bids are the 102nd and 103rd in Conference history. Since 2016, the WCC has boasted at least two teams in the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven seasons.
The 2023 NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup will take place from Dec. 8-11 from Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky.