2006 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament

The 2006 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament (also known as the 2006 Women's College Cup) was the 25th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina from December 1–3, 2006 while the preceding rounds were played at various sites across the country from November 8–25.

North Carolina defeated Notre Dame in the final, 2–1, to win their eighteenth national title. This was a rematch of the 1994, 1996, and 1999 tournament finals, all won by the Tar Heels.

The most outstanding defensive player was Robyn Gayle from North Carolina, and the most outstanding offensive player was Heather O'Reilly, also from North Carolina. Gayle and O'Reilly, alongside nine other players, were named to the All-Tournament team.

The tournament's leading scorer, with 4 goals and 8 assists, was Kerri Hanks from Notre Dame.

Qualification

All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field remained fixed at 64 teams.

Pre-Tournament Top 25

1. Notre Dame 2. North Carolina 3. Santa Clara 4. UCLA 5. Florida State

6. Texas 7. Portland 8. Texas A&M 9. Penn State 10. West Virginia

11. Oklahoma State 12. Wake Forest 13. Utah 14. Florida 15. Rutgers

16. Stanford 17. BYU 18. Villanova 19. Navy 20. Colorado

21. California 22. Illinois 23. Tennessee 24. 25. William & Mary

Records North Carolina RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordDukeACCAt-large09–8–2Grambling StateSWACAutomatic09–6–2LouisvilleBig EastAt-large13–4–2McNeese StateSouthlandAutomatic10–6–2NavyPatriotAutomatic21–11North CarolinaACCAutomatic21–1Old DominionCAAAutomatic17–4–1SMUConference USAAt-large16–4–14TennesseeSECAt-large11–6–32Texas A&MBig 12At-large14–5–1UABConference USAAutomatic08–11–1UNC-AshevilleBig SouthAutomatic10–6–3VirginiaACCAt-large10–7–23Wake ForestACCAt-large15–5–1West VirginiaBig EastAt-large14–3–3William & MaryCAAAt-large16–1–3 Texas RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordBYUMountain WestAt-large13–2–4Cal State FullertonBig WestAutomatic11–7–2ColumbiaIvy LeagueAutomatic10–4–3ConnecticutBig EastAt-large10–7–33FloridaSECAt-large13–5–4Idaho StateBig SkyAutomatic10–8–1Long IslandNortheastAutomatic13–7–1Loyola (IL)HorizonAutomatic14–6–3Loyola MarymountWest CoastAt-large10–2–6MarquetteBig EastAt-large11–6–4PortlandWest CoastAt-large14–3–3PurdueBig TenAt-large14–5–31TexasBig 12Automatic17–3–22UCLAPac-10Automatic17–3UNLVMountain WestAutomatic09–10–34UtahMountain WestAt-large15–4–1 Santa Clara RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordAuburnSECAt-large11–5–3CaliforniaPac-10At-large11–4–5ClemsonACCAt-large11–7–2DrakeMissouri ValleyAutomatic12–5–22Florida StateACCAt-large14–3–43IllinoisBig TenAt-large14–7JacksonvilleAtlantic SunAutomatic11–9–1NevadaWACAutomatic13–4–44Oklahoma StateBig 12At-large16–3–2Saint LouisAtlantic 10Automatic14–3–21Santa ClaraWest CoastAutomatic15–4–1Southeast Missouri StateOhio ValleyAutomatic10–7–2StanfordPac-10At-large13–6–1UNC-GreensboroSouthernAutomatic13–7–2USCPac-10At-large10–4–5VanderbiltSECAt-large10–4–6 Notre Dame RegionalSeedSchoolConference Berth TypeRecordBoston CollegeACCAt-large11–6–2Boston U.America EastAt-large13–4–34ColoradoBig 12At-large12–5–4Colorado CollegeConference USAAt-large15–5–1DenverSun BeltAutomatic18–2–1HartfordAmerica EastAutomatic10–8–2KentuckySECAutomatic14–6–3MichiganBig TenAt-large09–7–5MilwaukeeHorizonAt-large16–3–1NiagaraMAACAutomatic12–6–11Notre DameBig EastAutomatic20–0–1OaklandMid-ContinentAutomatic08–10–12Penn StateBig TenAutomatic15–4–33RutgersBig EastAt-large15–3–3ToledoMACAutomatic09–8–4VillanovaBig EastAt-large15–3–2

Format Just as before, the final two rounds, deemed the Women's College Cup, were played at a pre-determined neutral site. All other rounds were played on campus sites at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The only exceptions were the first two rounds, which were played at regional campus sites. The top sixteen teams hosted four team-regionals on their home fields (with some exceptions, noted below) during the tournament's first weekend.

Bracket

North Carolina Bracket

Texas Bracket

Santa Clara Bracket

Notre Dame Bracket

College Cup

All-tournament team Robyn Gayle, North Carolina (most outstanding defensive player) Heather O'Reilly, North Carolina (most outstanding offensive player) Kelly Rowland, Florida State India Trotter, Florida State Brittany Bock, Notre Dame Kerri Hanks, Notre Dame Jill Krivacek, Notre Dame Yael Averbuch, North Carolina Tobin Heath, North Carolina Casey Nogueira, North Carolina Kristi Eveland, North Carolina

See also NCAA Women's Soccer Championships (Division II, Division III) NCAA Men's Soccer Championships (Division I, Division II, Division III)

References