StanfordAggie wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2024, 8:04 pm

gwaggie wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2024, 6:38 pm

Stanford what are your predictions now that it looks like all of the auto bids are locked up?

It's really hard to say. Sadly, there are no bracketology sites for women's soccer. But for those curious about our potential first round opponents, here are the likely West Coast tournament teams (and their RPI rankings):

Almost certain to be seeded: USC (5), UCLA (9), Stanford (13), USU (17)
Likely to be seeded: BYU (26)
Autobid teams (unlikely to be seeded): Santa Clara (44)
Autobid teams (no chance to be seeded): Cal Baptist (122), UC-Santa Barbara (217), Sacramento State (245)
Potential at-large teams (unlikely to be seeded): Pepperdine (39), Cal (49)

I think Pepperdine is most likely in given a #39 RPI and wins over #9 UCLA and #19 Georgetown. It's hard to say about Cal without spending more time comparing resumes than I want to do, but my guess is that they are out. If the above is correct, then there are five western teams that are likely to be seeded and five that are unlikely to be seeded. USU would most likely play one of the unseeded California teams.

I'm honestly not sure if travel is the only thing they consider when doing these pairings or if they also try to give easier matchups to higher seeded teams. If they want to give an easier path to the top seeds, my guess is that they would have Stanford play Sacramento State and Cal Baptist/UCSB play USC/UCLA. That would mean that Pepperdine and Santa Clara would play USU and BYU. My guess is that they would pair us with Santa Clara to avoid the rematch with Pepperdine. But it's hard to say. Pairing Stanford and Santa Clara would definitely minimize travel (and I'd much rather play Sacramento State than Santa Clara). It's possible that Pepperdine will be seeded, which would throw off this entire analysis. If Cal gets an at-large, then USU or BYU could get a Texas team. And as I said, if BYU is unseeded, then it is nearly 100% certain that we will play them.

But with those caveats, my best guess is that USU's first round opponent will be on the list above. If I had to make a prediction with a gun to my head, I would say that Santa Clara is the most likely first round opponent, but I have low confidence in that prediction. I really hope I am wrong about that, because Santa Clara is a traditional powerhouse (10 total Final Fours) whose coach is considered to be one of the best in the country. I guess we will find out tomorrow.

Newaggie2019 wrote: ↑

November 10th, 2024, 10:32 pm

Does anyone have any idea how much tickets would cost to the first round game?

AGGIEinIOWA wrote:When does the bracket come out?
Also, what are the possible dates for first round games?