With the fall season beginning to wind down, the end of soccer in New England is approaching as we head into the winter months. But for now, the NCAA Tournament is about to get into full swing with college soccer reaching its peak.
Several Rhode Island teams will be participating in postseason play this year on both the men’s and women’s sides. Here’s what to look out for this weekend.
NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer
There’s a few men’s teams still in action as the NCAA Tournament approaches.
Brown (3-9-4) will not qualify for the tournament but will host Dartmouth in their regular-season finale on Saturday at 4 p.m. immediately following the Lady Bears’ postseason opener.
Bryant finished the regular season at 8-7-0 and enters the Northeast Conference tournament as the third-seed. They will take on second-seeded Long Island University on Friday morning in their postseason opener.
Providence (14-5-0) pulled a shocker in the Big East Semifinal upsetting fourteenth-ranked St. John’s for the second time this season, 2-1. They’ll take on third-ranked Georgetown in the Big East Championship on Sunday at 12 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
Lastly, Rhode Island (13-3-2) enters the weekend as a semifinalist in the Atlantic 10 tournament. They’ll take on Fordham Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. to earn a berth in Sunday’s title game.
NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer
Brown was the lone women’s program in Rhode Island to make the NCAA Tournament with an Ivy League title. The Bears (14-1-2) host Monmouth in the first round on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Providence.
NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer
The NCAA Tournament begins on Saturday with a pair of Ocean State programs receiving bids this season.
Salve Regina (14-4-3) will hit the road and play Rowan (N.J.) University in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Seahawks won the CCC Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid, defeating Endicott in a double-overtime thriller. Salve Regina’s tournament opener is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Johnson & Wales (17-2-2) joins Salve in the tournament after winning the GNAC Conference Tournament title over St. Joseph’s (Maine) in double-overtime. They will head to Troy, New York to take on Middlebury on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer
Johnson & Wales (16-6-0) was the only women’s program in Rhode Island to earn a D-III tournament berth. They’ll take on top-seed MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Saturday at 11 a.m. after also beating St. Joseph’s (Maine) in the GNAC Tournament title game, 2-1.
USASL Championship Game
The Rogues close out their USASL campaign in the league championship game against top-seeded RI Arsenal Gunners of Warwick on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. with a fixture at Tuckertown Park in South Kingstown.
Pro Soccer to Rhode Island 