The 2018 Southeast Collegiate Soccer Alliance Regional Tournament was the 9th edition of the Southeast Collegiate Soccer Alliance's postseason club soccer tournament, which was held at BB&T Soccer Park in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, from November 2–4, 2018. A tournament was held for each the men's and women's division, with each tournament champion receiving an automatic bid to the 2018 NIRSA National Soccer Championship's championship division. The remaining 2 of NIRSA Region II's automatic bids for each division were given out based on RPI, with a special consideration to this tournament's performance.

Format The tournament consisted of 12 women's teams and 16 men's teams. Each divisional champion received an automatic bid (6 for the women and 8 for the men) with the remaining wild card teams being the next highest RPI ranked teams that had not already qualified. Teams were divided into groups based on RPI.

For the men's division group stage, the 16 teams were split into four groups of four teams each. Each team played every other team in their group meaning a total of 6 games were played within a group. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout round.

For the women's division group stage, the 12 teams were split into three groups of four teams each. Each team played every other team in their group meaning a total of 6 games were played within a group. The top two teams from each group advanced to the semi-finals, with the best two teams receiving a bye to the semi-finals.

Pool play games were two 40-minute halves, separated by a seven-minute halftime and utilized the three points for a win system. After pool play, the two highest ranked teams from each group advanced to their respective gender division's knockout stage. Tie-breaking criteria for group playThe ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria in order:

Highest number of points Winner of head-to-head competition Greatest goal difference Maximum ± 5 goal difference per match Most goals scored Most shutouts

In a tie-breaking scenario involving more than 2 teams, the tie-breaker procedure would begin. If one team is identified as different and both remaining teams are still tied, the procedure is restarted. If a tie still remained after the first 5 criteria, the following was used to break a tie:

NCAA kicks from the mark If there was a three-way tie, a coin-flip would be conducted. The two teams that chose the same outcome would compete in kicks from the mark between each other. The winner would compete with the last remaining team in kicks from the mark If there's a four-way tie, a drawing of lots would be conducted Knockout stage games also consisted of two 40-minute halves. The quarterfinals were separated by a seven-minute halftime while the semifinals and finals had a ten minute halftime. Knockout stage games needed to declare a winner. If a knockout-stage game was tied at the end of regulation, overtime would begin. Overtime consisted of one, 15-minute, golden-goal period. If still tied after overtime, kicks from the mark would determine the winner.

Participants

Men's +Divisional championsDivisionTeamAppearanceLast bidAtlantic NorthNorth Carolina9th2017Atlantic SouthUNC-Wilmington5th2017CoastalFIU2nd2017Coastal PlainsUCF7th2017CentralGeorgia Tech4th2017Gulf CoastOle Miss2nd2017Mountain EastVirginia8th2017Mountain WestNKU1stNever +Wild cardsDivisionTeamAppearanceLast bidCoastal PlainsFlorida8th2017Mountain EastVirginia Tech6th2017Atlantic NorthNC State5th2017Mountain WestVanderbilt3rd2017Mountain EastWilliam & Mary1stNeverCentralGeorgia Southern3rd2017Mountain WestUT-Chattanooga3rd2017Atlantic SouthClemson6th2017

Women's +Divisional championsDivisionTeamAppearanceLast bidFloridaUCF4th2016SouthwestGeorgia6th2017SoutheastClemson7th2017NorthwestVanderbilt 5th2017NortheastNorth Carolina9th2017NorthVirginia9th2017 +Wild cardsDivisionTeamAppearanceLast bidNorthVirginia Tech9th2017NortheastNC State7th2017NortheastEast Carolina5th2017SouthwestGeorgia Tech2nd2017NortheastWake Forest1stNeverFloridaFlorida9th2017

Group stage

Men's +Group APosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Florida3120163 +55Advanced to knockout stage2FIU312082 +553Virginia202033 +154UT-Chattanooga2003019 −110 Notes:

+Group BPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1Vanderbilt320173 +46Advanced to knockout stage2Clemson320174 +363Georgia Tech320142 +264Ole Miss300309 −90

+Group CPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1North Carolina312094 +55Advanced to knockout stage2Virginia Tech312042 +253UCF312065 +154Georgia Southern300319 −80

+Group DPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification1NC State330093 +69Advanced to knockout stage2UNC-Wilmington320182 +663William & Mary310227 −534NKU3003310 −70

Women's +Group APosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationSeed1NC State330052 +39Advanced to semifinals22Virginia320174 +36Advanced to first round43Vanderbilt310257 −2374East Carolina300337 −4011 Notes:

+Group BPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationSeed1North Carolina3300150 +139Advanced to semifinals12Florida310226 −43Advanced to first round83Wake Forest310238 −4394Georgia3102410 −5310 Notes:

+Group CPosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationSeed1Clemson321051 +47Advanced to first round32Virginia Tech312041 +3553UCF311124 −2464Georgia Tech300316 −5012 Notes:

Tournament bracket Note: Some scores obtained through SCSA's Twitter, however uncited because it's a primary source and generally unreliable.

Men's

Women's Sources:

National Championship performance

Men's TeamQualificationAppLast bidResultVirginia TechTournamentchampion10th2017Semifinalist(0–2 vs North Carolina)VirginiaHighest RPIremaining teams10th2017Sweet 16(0–2 vs North Carolina)Florida2nd highest RPIremaining teams12th2017ChampionNorth CarolinaNational wildcard14th2017Runners-up(0–1 a.e.t. vs Florida)

Women's TeamQualificationAppLast bidResultNorth CarolinaTournamentchampion14th2017Sweet 16(1–2 vs UC-Davis)ClemsonHighest RPIremaining teams5th2013Semifinalist(1–4 Ohio State)Virginia2nd highest RPIremaining teams10th2016Consolation co-champion(Finals cancelled)NC StateNational wildcard2nd2014Consolation quarterfinalist(2–4 vs Texas A&M)

References