Washington and Lee Locks Up Top Seed
FOREST, Va. --- The ODAC men's soccer tournament field had several positions yet to be decided heading into the final games of each team's schedules, a feature that has become a yearly custom for one of the conference's most competitive sports. Washington and Lee University, thanks to an unbeaten 10-game run thru the league slate, enters the postseason as the top seed for the first time since 2015.
RELATED: Live Bracket | All-Time Championship Results
The Generals earned top-billing after surrendering just two standings points via a 1-1 draw with second-seeded University of Lynchburg in early October. W&L and Lynchburg entered the final two games neck-and-neck in the conference table, but two Generals' wins at Roanoke College (1-0) and over Eastern Mennonite University (3-0) favored comparably with Lynchburg's setback to Bridgewater College (3-0) and its victory at Shenandoah University (4-0) to setup the nine-team field's top-two seeds.
Bridgewater's position as the third seed was also determined by Saturday's victory in the Hill City and confirmed despite its 1-0 loss at Roanoke College on Tuesday. However, the remaining tournament seeds, including the remaining quarterfinal-hosting position, were up for grabs heading into Wednesday's final contests.
Roanoke's win over BC and its head-to-head victory over Eastern Mennonite earned that final quarterfinal hosting gig with the Maroons entering as the fourth seed. They will face EMU, who takes up fifth position in the field. Ferrum College, in its first season in the ODAC, stands alone as the sixth seed and will travel to Bridgewater on Sunday.
The final three seeds came down to a four-way tie between Hampden-Sydney College, Randolph College, Randolph-Macon College, and Virginia Wesleyan University. Three sets of head-to-head comparisons sifted thru the stalemate. Randolph, thanks in part to its win over Ferrum on Tuesday, will be the seventh seed and travel across town to Lynchburg for the quarterfinals. Virginia Wesleyan will play as the eighth seed and host ninth-seeded Randolph-Macon in the first round in a rematch of Tuesday night's affair, which VWU won, 3-2.
Tournament play begins on Friday, October 28, with one first round contest and continues with four quarterfinal matchups on Sunday, October 28. The highest remaining seed following the quarterfinals will host both the semifinals and championship on Saturday and Sunday, November 3-4.
For more information on the upcoming tournament, see the schedule below and visit the ODAC on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. Be sure to follow along with the live bracket as well. Game times will be added to the ODAC Men’s Soccer Championship website.
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ODAC MEN’S SOCCER TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
First Round | Friday, October 26
Game 1: #9 Randolph-Macon at #8 Virginia Wesleyan | 6:00 p.m.
Quarterfinals | Sunday, October 28
Game 2: Winner Game 1 at #1 Washington and Lee | TBA
Game 3: #5 Eastern Mennonite at #4 Roanoke | TBA
Game 4: #6 Ferrum at #3 Bridgewater | TBA
Game 5: #7 Randolph at #2 Lynchburg | TBA
Semifinals | Saturday, November 3 | at Highest Seed following Quarterfinals
Game 6: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3 | TBA
Game 7: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 | TBA
Championship | Sunday, November 4 | at Semifinals Host
Game 8: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7 | TBA
*Game times are subject to change