Seedings and Pairings Announced for 2021 Big South Women's Soccer Championship
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – The seedings and pairings for the 2021 Big South Conference Women’s Soccer Championship have been determined following the conclusion of the regular-season this evening.
Campbell claimed its first-ever Big South regular-season championship and is the No. 1 seed in the six-team tournament. The Camels, who won the 2020-21 tournament last year as the No. 3 seed, finished the 2021 fall schedule with a 9-1-0 record and 27 points. Campbell enters the Championship unbeaten in its last five contests.
2021 Bracket
High Point, who won the regular-season title in 2019 and 2020-21, earned the No. 2 seed following its 8-2 league record and 24 points. The Panthers enter the postseason on a four-match winning streak and look to claim their first conference tournament title since 2017. Campbell and High Point both earned byes into next Thursday’s semifinal round.
Longwood earned the No. 3 seed in the Championship following its 6-2-2 conference mark and 20 points. The only Big South team to defeat Campbell during the regular-season, the Lancers’ No. 3 seed matches their highest seed in the Big South tournament, as they seek their first Big South title in program history.
Radford claimed the No. 4 seed and will host a first round matchup against No. 5 seed
Charleston Southern on Saturday evening. The Highlanders finished with a 6-3-1 conference record and 19 points, while the Bucs ended the season with an even 5-5 mark and 15 points. Radford enters the postseason as the top scoring team in the conference with 50 goals, led by freshman Kat Parris’ tally of 13. The Highlanders won the tournament title in 2018 and 2019. CSU makes its first appearance in the postseason since 2018 and seeks its first tournament win since 2005.
Gardner-Webb rounds out the field as the No. 6 seed and will open at No. 3 Longwood on Saturday. The Runnin’ Bulldogs tied
Charleston Southern and
UNC Asheville in the final standings at 5-5 and 15 points. The Bucs defeated both Bulldog programs during the regular season, while GWU knocked off UNC Asheville, 2-0 on Sept. 18. GWU missed the postseason in 2020-21 after it advanced to the title match in 2018 and 2019.
The two first round winners on Saturday will advance to next week’s semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 4. Top-seeded Campbell will host the winner of Radford/Charleston Southern, while High Point will host the winner of Longwood/Gardner-Webb. The highest remaining seed will host the title match on Sunday, Nov. 7 on ESPN+.
The 2021 Big South Women’s Soccer Championship will be played at higher seeds throughout the tournament, and every match of the championship will be shown on ESPN+. The Big South’s tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship. The full schedule is as follows:
First Round - Saturday, Oct. 30 (ESPN+ - campus sites)
Match 1: #6 Gardner-Webb at #3 Longwood – 6:00pm
Match 2: #5 Charleston Southern at #4 Radford – 7:00pm
Semifinals – Thursday, Nov. 4 (ESPN+ - campus sites)
Longwood/Gardner-Webb winner at #2 High Point – 4:00pm
Radford/Charleston Southern winner at #1 Campbell – 7:00pm
Final – Sunday, Nov. 7 (ESPN+ - at highest remaining seed)
Semifinal Game 1 Winner vs. Semifinal Game 2 Winner, 1:00pm