The 2021 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament was the 40th edition of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, a postseason tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's college soccer. The College Cup was played on December 3 and December 6. It was originally set to be played in San Jose, California, but was moved to Stevens Stadium due to a conflict with the MLS playoffs schedule.
The Florida State Seminoles defeated the BYU Cougars on penalty kicks to win the national championship.
Qualification
The tournament returned to 64 teams after only featuring 48 teams in the 2020 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament also returns to the fall, after being held in the spring in 2020. The tournament also returned to its normal format of having the higher seeds host matches until the College Cup.
All Division I women's soccer programs are eligible to qualify for the tournament. 28 teams received automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments, 3 teams received automatic bids by claiming the conference regular season crown (Ivy League, Pac-12 Conference, and West Coast Conference don't hold conference tournaments), and an additional 33 teams earned at-large bids based on their regular season records.
Automatic bidsConferenceTeamDate qualifiedRecordAppearanceLast Bid ACC November 7 16–1–2 22 2020 America East November 7 12–5–1 2 1984 American November 7 13–4–2 10 2020 ASUN November 6 15–4–1 3 2019 Atlantic 10 November 7 12–8–1 6 2020 Big 12 November 7 17–2–2 6 2020 Big East November 7 13–1–6 12 2020 Big Sky November 7 12–5–1 6 2020 Big South November 7 10–7–2 7 2017 Big Ten November 7 15–3–3 15 2019 Big West November 7 15–5–0 3 2011 CAA November 7 16–3–1 9 2019 C-USA November 7 13–4–1 2 2006 Horizon November 6 18–1–0 15 2020 Ivy October 30 12–3–0 8 2019 MAAC November 7 15–4–1 8 2019 MAC November 7 11–6–3 6 2020 Missouri Valley November 7 13–2–2 7 2020 Mountain West November 6 14–4–2 4 2020 Northeast November 7 13–5–0 11 2020 Ohio Valley November 7 11–6–0 4 2020 Pac-12 November 5 16–0–3 25 2020 Patriot November 7 11–7–3 5 2017 SEC November 7 18–2–0 13 2018 SoCon November 7 15–3–2 6 2019 Southland November 7 11–5–3 3 2005 The Summit November 6 14–3–1 6 2019 Sun Belt November 7 12–4–3 8 2020 SWAC November 7 12–3–3 3 2019 WAC November 7 16–3–2 1 None WCC November 6 11–5–2 31 2020
At-Large BidsConferenceTeamRecordAppearanceLast Bid ACC 12–6–1 22 2020 13–3–1 27 2020 8–8–2 16 2019 12–2–3 40 2020 13–5–1 27 2019 16–2–2 34 2020 11–5–2 11 2019 15–5–0 21 2018 American 11–4–2 14 2016 12–3–3 8 2020 Big 12 11–4–6 15 2019 Big East 15–4–1 3 2017 10–6–3 2 1993 12–6–2 4 2015 16–2–1 4 2019 Big Ten 9–8–2 14 2020 11–7–0 27 2020 14–4–2 7 2009 17–3–0 16 2020 8–5–6 22 2019 Ivy 12–2–1 17 2016 14–2–1 13 2018 Pac-12 13–5–1 30 2019 13–3–2 20 2020 13–2–4 14 2019 SEC 10–9–1 4 2017 16–4–0 8 2020 12–6–1 17 2018 11–7–1 7 2018 12–5–3 10 2020 11–6–1 15 2020 WCC 13–4–1 22 2020 15–3–1 11 2019
Bracket The bracket was announced on Monday, November 8, 2021. First round games were played on November 12, 13 or 14 at campus sites.
Florida State Bracket
* Host institution
Schedule
First round
Second round
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Final Regular Season Rankings
Rutgers Bracket
* Host institution
Schedule
First round
Second round
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Final Regular Season Rankings
Duke Bracket
* Host institution
Schedule
First round
Second round
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Final Regular Season Rankings
Virginia Bracket
* Host institution
Schedule
First round
Second round
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Final Regular Season Rankings
College Cup
Schedule
Semifinals
Final
Record by conference ConferenceBidsRecordPct.R32R16E8F4CGNC ACC915–8–1742111WCC311–3–033221–Big Ten69–4–45421––SEC79–6–1432–––Big 1222–1–011––––Big East52–5–121––––American32–3–02–––––Atlantic 1011–1–01–––––Big West11–1–01–––––CAA11–1–01–––––Horizon11–1–01–––––Ivy31–3–01–––––Pac-1242–3–12–––––SoCon11–0–11–––––Other170–17–0––––––
The R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the Round of 32 (second round), Round of 16 (third round), Quarterfinals (Elite Eight), Semifinals (Final Four), Championship Game, and National Champion, respectively. The following conferences failed to place a team into the round of 32: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, C-USA, MAAC, MAC, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southland, The Summit, Sun Belt, SWAC, WAC. The conference's records have been consolidated in the other row.
Statistics
Goalscorers
References