UCM Earns Co-Championship, Tourney Bracket Set
#21-ranked UC Merced completed an unbeaten regular season (6-0-1 / 10-0-3), clinching a Cal Pac men's soccer co-championship alongside #18 Westcliff. With Saturday's 8-0 victory over Cal Maritime on Saturday, the Bobcats earned their third regular season trophy (2018 and 2019) and secured the #2 seed in the league tournament they host on Nov. 7-9.
Though co-champs, the Warriors snagged the tournament's top seed based on the Cal Pac's third tie-breaker: goals allowed in descending order of finish. WU and UCM tied 0-0 in their regular season meeting, and both defeated all other Cal Pac teams. However, the Warriors blanked #3 Soka (4-0) while the Bobcats allowed a single goal (5-1) against the Lions.
The Cal Pac men's soccer semifinal bracket looks like this: #1 Westcliff faces off with #4 La Sierra in the first match on Nov. 7, followed by #2 UCM and #3 Soka in the second semi. The winners advance to the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 9, and that victor receives the league's automatic NAIA nationals bid.
UCM is looking for its fifth consecutive postseason trip. Westcliff advanced to nationals for the first time in 2023. Both Soka and La Sierra are aiming for their first venture into NAIA play.
Westcliff and UC Merced shared both the men's and women's soccer regular season crowns, the first time in league history for such a set of dual titles.
2024 Men's Soccer Championship Bracket, Nov. 7-9, at Merced, CA