1998 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament

The 1998 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament (also known as the 1998 NCAA Women's College Cup) was the 17th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played again at the UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina during December 1998.^[1]

1998 NCAA women's soccer tournament

Women's College Cup (semifinals & final)
Tournament details
Country	United States
Dates	November–December 1998
Teams	48
Final positions
Champions	Florida Gators (1st title, 1st College Cup)
Runners-up	North Carolina Tar Heels (16th title match, 17th College Cup)
Semifinalists	Portland Pilots (4th College Cup) Santa Clara Broncos (6th College Cup)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	47
Goals scored	170 (3.62 per match)
Attendance	45,997 (979 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Meredith Florance, UNC (3)
Awards
Best player	Danielle Fotopoulos, FLA (Offensive) Meredith Flaherty, FLA (Defensive)
← 1997 1999 → All statistics correct as of 5/30/2015.

Florida defeated North Carolina in the final, 1–0, to win their first national title. Coached by Becky Burleigh, the Gators finished the season 26–1. Florida won the championship in just their first appearance in the College Cup, a feat matched only by USC in 2007.

The Gators' roster won the tournament's awards for both most outstanding offensive player and most outstanding defensive player, awarded to Danielle Fotopoulos and Meredith Flaherty, respectively. Fotopoulos and Flaherty, along with ten other players, were named to the All-tournament team.

The tournament's leading scorer, with 3 goals, was Meredith Florance from North Carolina.

Qualification

Main article: 1998 NCAA Division I women's soccer season

All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field expanded again, this time increasing from 32 teams to 48.

Format

To accommodate the sixteen additional teams, an additional round was added to the tournament for the thirty-two lowest-seeded teams. The top sixteen teams, meanwhile, were given a bye into the Second Round.

Teams

North Carolina Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record Charlotte Conference USA Automatic 14–5–3 Dartmouth Ivy League Automatic 14–1–2 Fairfield MAAC Automatic 18–1 Georgia SEC At-large 13–5 Maryland ACC At-large 10–10–1 North Carolina ACC Automatic 21–0 South Carolina SEC At-large 11–6–1 UCF Trans America Automatic 12–7 Virginia ACC At-large 13–6–2 Wake Forest ACC At-large 13–6–1 William & Mary CAA Automatic 16–2–2 Wisconsin Big Ten At-large 10–7–2

Portland Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record Alabama SEC At-large 13–6–1 Kentucky SEC At-large 09–8–3 Michigan Big Ten At-large 13–6–1 Minnesota Big Ten At-large 13–5–1 Nebraska Big 12 Automatic 16–3–1 Notre Dame Big East Automatic 19–2–1 Portland West Coast At-large 16–2–2 San Diego State WAC Automatic 18–2–1 Texas A&M Big 12 At-large 13–7 USC Pac-10 Auto (shared) 13–6–1 Washington Pac-10 At-large 10–8–1 Xavier Atlantic 10 Automatic 12–6–2

Santa Clara Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record BYU WAC At-large 19–3 California Pac-10 Auto (shared) 13–7 Central Conn. State Northeast Automatic 12–7 Colgate Patriot Automatic 13–6 Connecticut Big East At-large 19–1–2 Hartford America East Automatic 16–4 Harvard Ivy League At-large 11–4–1 Pacific Big West Automatic 14–2–3 Santa Clara West Coast Automatic 19–0–1 Stanford Pac-10 At-large 11–6–2 Syracuse Big East At-large 13–6–1 UCLA Pac-10 Auto (shared) 17–3–1

Florida Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record Baylor Big 12 At-large 15–4–1 Clemson ACC At-large 15–6 Evansville Missouri Valley Automatic 14–5–2 Florida SEC Automatic 21–1 Indiana Big Ten At-large 13–7–1 James Madison CAA At-large 12–7–1 Northwestern Big Ten At-large 14–4–1 Penn State Big Ten Automatic 19–3–1 Radford Big South Automatic 11–7–2 UNC Greensboro Southern Automatic 13–8–1 Vanderbilt SEC At-large 16–5 Wright State Midwestern Collegiate Automatic 08–10–2

Bracket

	First round					Second round					Third Round					Quarterfinals					Semifinals (Women's College Cup) UNCG Soccer Stadium Greensboro, North Carolina					Championship (Women's College Cup) UNCG Soccer Stadium Greensboro, North Carolina
						North Carolina		6
	Charlotte		2			Charlotte		0
											North Carolina		3
	South Carolina		0
											William & Mary		0
						William & Mary		2
	Maryland		4			Maryland		0
																North Carolina		3
	Fairfield		3
																Dartmouth		0
						Virginia		2
	Georgia		5			Georgia (3–1 PK)		2
											Georgia		1
	Wake Forest		2
											Dartmouth		2
						Dartmouth		1
	Wisconsin		2			Wisconsin		0
																					North Carolina (4OT)		1
	Central Florida		0
																					Portland		0
						Portland		3
	Minnesota		6			Minnesota		0
											Portland		5
	Kentucky		0
											San Diego State		0
						San Diego State (3OT)		1
	USC (2OT)		2			USC		0
																Portland		2
	Washington		1
																Notre Dame		1
						Nebraska		7
	Texas A&M		3			Texas A&M		0
											Nebraska		1
	Alabama		1
											Notre Dame		2
						Notre Dame		3
	Michigan		4			Michigan		0
																										North Carolina		0
	Xavier		2
																										Florida		1
						Santa Clara		5
	Pacific		2			Pacific		0
											Santa Clara		3
	California		1
											BYU		0
						UCLA		0
	BYU		6			BYU		2
																Santa Clara		1
	Stanford		1
																Connecticut		0
						Hartford		3
	Harvard		4			Harvard		0
											Hartford		1
	C. Connecticut State		1
											Connecticut		2
						Connecticut		2
	Syracuse		4			Syracuse		1
																					Santa Clara		0
	Colgate		1
																					Florida		1
						Penn State		2
	Indiana		3			Indiana		1
											Penn State		1
	Wright State		1
											Clemson		0
						Clemson		2
	Vanderbilt		5			Vanderbilt		0
																Penn State		1
	UNC Greensboro		1
																Florida		3
						Baylor		4
	Northwestern (2OT)		2			Northwestern		5
											Northwestern		0
	Evansville		1
											Florida		1
						Florida		5
	James Madison		4			James Madison		1
	Radford		0

All-tournament team

• Keisha Bell, Florida
• Lorrie Fair, North Carolina
• Meredith Flaherty, Florida (most outstanding defensive player)
• Meredith Florance, North Carolina
• Michelle French, Portland
• Danielle Fotopoulos, Florida (most outstanding offensive player)
• Angela Harrison, Portland
• Heather Mitts, Florida
• Cindy Parlow, North Carolina
• Tiffany Roberts, North Carolina
• Laurie Schwoy, North Carolina
• Nikki Serlenga, Santa Clara

See also

• NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship
• NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship