Colorado club soccer bound for USCCS National Tournament
This season was one to remember for the men’s and women’s club soccer programs for the Colorado Buffaloes. Colorado will send four teams to the end-of-season Nationals tournament, which is the most in the nation.
After the regular season, US College Club Soccer (USCCS) will host a Nationals tournament with 88 men’s teams and 44 women’s teams.
The tournament is hosted in Bradenton, Florida, on the IMG Academy campus. It runs Nov. 11-15 and follows a pool-play and tournament format, similar to the FIFA World Cup.
The men’s bracket has three tournaments: the gold, silver, and bronze brackets, while the women’s bracket has two tournaments (gold and silver brackets). The levels of the tournament correspond to team placements from the regular season in their respective divisions.
All four teams are in different brackets and in different situations due to the major differences in each bracket.
Men’s Gold
After a 7-1-1 season, the top men’s team at Colorado secured the top of the Rocky Mountain I division standings, which qualified it for the USCCS Men’s Gold bracket.
The Buffs were placed in Group C, which puts them with the No. 43 Florida Gators, No. 18 Virginia Tech Hokies and No. 49 Chicago Fanaticos.
Similar to Colorado Gold, all of the other teams in the pool won their divisions. Florida won the Florida North division, Chicago won the Prairie division and Virginia Tech won the Virginia division.
Colorado’s pool play schedule goes as follows:
At 6 a.m. MT on Nov. 11, Colorado Gold plays Chicago.
At noon MT on Nov. 11, Colorado Gold plays Florida.
At noon MT on Nov. 12, Colorado Gold plays Virginia Tech.
The Buffs will be looking to forwards and team captains Anthony Ciccarello and Dylan Joudieh, as well as top goal scorers Sam Kemmer and George Hartman, to make an impact on offense against these tougher teams.
Colorado allowed six goals in nine matches this season. defenders Lucas Godoy and Joseph McMillan are premier examples of the great defense exhibited all year, and the team will be looking to the defense in this tournament to continue that trend.
After pool play, the top team in the group advances to the final eight-team tournament. The tournament for the gold bracket goes from Nov. 13-14.
Women’s Gold
Colorado Women’s Gold’s season was the highlight of CU’s club soccer program. It finished the year with a record of 6-0-2, was the No. 1 team in the nation for four straight weeks to end the season, and was top-two in the nation for the entire season. Colorado Gold is one of the favorites to win the entire Gold Bracket.
The Buffaloes were placed into group D in the Gold Bracket with the No. 14 Grand Canyon Lopes, No. 24 UC Irvine Anteaters and No. 36 Florida State Seminoles.
Colorado’s pool play schedule goes as follows:
At 10 a.m. MT on Nov. 11, Colorado Gold plays Florida State.
At 10 a.m. MT on Nov. 12, Colorado Gold plays UC Irvine.
At 8 a.m. MT on Nov. 13, Colorado Gold plays Grand Canyon.
The Buffaloes will be looking to superstar forward Stella Stone to make an impact in the tournament. In eight games, she scored 13 goals and was the USCCS National Player of the Week twice. Forwards Elsa Smith, Nyah Ringer and Rowan Fox also have the ability to change a match through their finesse near the box.
On defense, Colorado will be looking for defender Madison Brossart, who plays the center-back end in the formation. The combination of her, defenders Tyler Harvey and Tess Ipsen as well as midfielders Meghan Twomey and Ellie Riechman, makes this Colorado defense very deep.
Similar to the men’s gold bracket, the top team in the group advances to an eight-team playoff that runs from Nov. 13-14. Unlike the men’s bracket, there is another opportunity for a non-group winner to get in through two wild card spots.
Men’s Black
Men’s Black made the men’s bronze tournament after a third-place finish in the Rocky Mountain I division.
Men’s Black (No. 60 in the USCCS rankings) was placed into group C with the No. 39 Providence Friars, No. 89 Case Western Reserve Spartans and No. 127 Kennesaw State Owls. Its schedule goes as follows:
At 10 a.m. MT on Nov. 13, Colorado Black plays Case Western Reserve
At 10 a.m. MT on Nov. 14, Colorado Black plays Kennesaw State
At 2 p.m. MT on Nov. 14, Colorado Black plays Providence
Men’s black finished its season with a 6-2-1 record, capping it off with a walkoff 2-1 win against the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers. It looks to carry this momentum into pool play.
The men’s bronze bracket only lets the top four group winners (out of six groups) get into the tournament. It picks these winners based on points and goal differential, meaning that every game will be played to the fullest by the Buffs. The bracket is all day on Nov. 15.
Women’s Black
Women’s Black made the women’s silver tournament, finishing third in the Rocky Mountain I division. This bracket holds twelve teams and three groups. This is the smallest bracket out of the five events in the USCCS nationals.
Based on the seeding of the groups, Colorado Black is looked at as one of the highest-rated teams in this 12-team bracket, sitting at No. 22 in the USCCS rankings. Along with the No. 12 Washington-St. Louis Bears and No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks, it is a top-25 team in the silver bracket. This occurred because the No. 1 (Colorado Gold) and No. 2 (Colorado State Rams) teams in the nation were also in the Rocky Mountain I division.
Women’s Black was placed in Group C with the No. 45 FAU Owls, No. 98 Sacramento State Hornets and No. 123 FIU Panthers. Its schedule goes as follows:
At 10 a.m. MT on Nov. 12, Colorado Black plays FIU
At 8 a.m. MT on Nov. 13, Colorado Black plays Sacramento State
At noon MT on Nov. 14, Colorado Black plays FAU
The women’s silver bracket consists of four teams: the top three group winners and a wild card spot. The tournament runs all day on Nov. 15.
Every tournament game can be tracked on the USCCS website and can also be streamed on BallerTV.
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