Nov. 17, 2003
2003 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship Bracket
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Good news continues to roll in for the University of Notre Dame men’s soccer team (15-3-3). The 2003 BIG EAST Champions have found out where they stand in the NCAA Championship, have been ranked third in the nation and landed a team member on the College Soccer News Team of the Week.
The NCAA Men’s Soccer Committee announced the field of 48 for the 2003 championship on Monday, Nov. 17. Notre Dame received the fifth seed in the tournament, the highest in school history, and will have a bye in the first round of action (a first for the program). The Irish were seeded fifth behind #1 UCLA, #2 Maryland, #3 Wake Forest and #4 North Carolina.
Notre Dame will face the winner of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (15-5-1) and Western Michigan (12-6-2) on Wednesday, Nov. 26 (7 p.m.) at Alumni Field. Michigan (13-6), the 12th seed, will host the winner of St. Peter’s (17-4-2) and Brown (10-3-3) on the other side of the bracket.
The Irish are riding high coming off their second BIG EAST Championship (and first since 1996) over the weekend, defeating #4 St. John’s 2-0 in the final game. The depth and talent in the BIG EAST was shown on Monday as well, when the league landed six teams in the NCAA Championship field (Notre Dame, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, Connecticut, Rutgers). Notre Dame is ranked third in the latest release of the NSCAA/adidas top 25, matching their highest-ever in-season ranking from earlier this fall.
In addition to the positive news from the NCAA Championship and national rankings, senior forward Justin Detter was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Monday. Detter scored two game-winning goals during the BIG EAST Championship last weekend and was named the tournament’s most outstanding offensive player. His header against Providence in the semifinals proved to be the only scoring in the game. This season, Detter has 11 goals and four assists for a team-high 26 points.