Men's Soccer: UNH, Big Green in NCAAs
November 13. 2017 11:59PM
Dartmouth's Yima Asom, left, battles UNH's Robin Schmidt during the October meeting of the teams in Durham. Both teams on Monday were picked for the NCAA Division I tournament. The Wildcats host Fairfield on Thursday in a first-round contest. (THOMAS ROY/UNION LEADER)
The University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth College men’s soccer teams have earned spots in the upcoming Division I NCAA tournament.
And if it’s up to the Wildcats, their second-round opponent would be Dartmouth, in Hanover no less.
The NCAA on Monday picked UNH as an at-large team and gave the 21st-ranked Wildcats a first-round home game, on Thursday against Fairfield University. Game time at Wildcat Stadium is 7 p.m.
Looming for the Wildcats, should they survive the first round, is a second-round game at Dartmouth on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Burnham Field. The Ivy League-champion Big Green earned a 15 seed and a first-round bye.
UNH’s appearance in the NCAAs is its second overall and first in 23 years. The Wildcats are 12-3-4 overall. Fairfield is 12-4-3 and won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament. The clubs last played on Sept. 7, 2014, a 1-0 UNH win.
The Wildcats’ only other NCAA trip was a 3-2 overtime loss at Brown in 1994.
Dartmouth will be playing in the NCAAs for a fourth straight season. The Big Green (12-3-1 overall), ranked 19th nationally, have made the postseason 11 times in the last 14 years.
Peeking ahead a little, should the Wildcats and Big Green meet, it would be for the second time this season. The Wildcats won 4-2 on Oct. 17 in Durham.
