2026 Conference Tournament and NCAA Selection Thread

[Kuiper]

SCAC Semifinals

FINAL:  LeTourneau 0 (7) - Concordia (TX) 0 (6)

LeTourneau wins in PKs and advances to the SCAC finals against Colorado College on Sunday in its first year in the conference.  LeTourneau used the controversial strategy of switching goalkeepers just for the shootout.  It paid off as Gamble stopped Concordi'a 7th PK to win the shootout.  That's LeTourneau's 6th game without a loss and 8th in its last 9 games.  This will be LeTourneau's 2nd time getting to the conference championship in the last 3 years, but the last time was in 2024 when it played in the ASC and lost to Hardin-Simmons 2-0 in the Finals.

FINAL:  Colorado College 2 - St. Thomas 0

These two teams have battled several times in the SCAC tournament over the last few years, the last in 2024 when St. Thomas beat CC 2-0 in the semifinals.  Colorado College got its revenge this year, breaking open a tight 0-0 affair in the second half with goals in the 67th and 77th minutes by its top two scorers - Teddy Opler and Jack Hillard.  St. Thomas also fell back into old habits, with Joshua Aguirre earning a straight red card in the 86th minute as the team battled to come back. 

That is Aguirre's 2nd red card of the season - both received in games against Colorado College - to go along with 6 yellows.  It ended a three game stretch without a card for Aguirre, which is tied for his longest cardless string of the season.  While he frequently gets cards, it seems like there is some especially bad blood between Aguirre and the Colorado College players, although it didn't affect the outcome in this match.  In the first match between the two teams, Aguirre's red card came in the 74th minute, not long after UST had scored to close the gap to 3-1 and it short-circuited any comeback as CC went on to score two more goals to win 5-1.

[LibbyMoore]

These NPIs are from the 11/5 update:

CNE: Roger Williams (#33) faces Western New England University (#99) in the finals on Saturday 1pm. I think Roger Williams needs a win. If their NPI dropped by just 0.2 they would fall 4-5 positions down the rankings and a tie would definitely hurt their NPI score.

NEWMAC: couple of bubble teams here playing semifinal games early this afternoon with finals on Sunday. #29 Babson hosts #111 Coast Guard which is pretty much a must-win game for Babson since a tie would drop them to ~33rd in NPI. Wheaton (#40) hosts MIT (83) at 2pm. An outright win for Wheaton would obviously keep them in the hunt for AQ but also get them into bubble-zone (around 35th) for a possible AL berth.

NJAC: 2 bubble teams already knocked out (TCNJ #35 and Rutgers #38). The conference finals are tonight at 7pm with #7 Rowan at #13 Montclair State. These teams cannot drop lower than ~18th with a loss.

MASCAC: Bubble-team Salem State (16-1-1 on the year but NPI is "only" 32nd) hosts #151 Mass Maritime tonight at 7pm. Salem will really want an outright win to improve their NPI to ~28th; a tie (and loss on PKs) would probably end their season. Other semi are both ranked outside 200 in NPI so it would seem Salem has a good shot to secure an AQ as long as they advance today.

NCAC: big battle on Sunday in the finals - Kenyon (#19) hosts Denison (#28).  While Kenyon appears to be a lock for NCAAs, Denison needs to treat the game as a must-win (although losing on PKs would improve their NPI slightly and probably lock them in for at-large. A loss for Denison would put them around the bubble but probably on the wrong side (~35th).

ODAC: Bubble team Washington & Lee (#27) is already out of their tournament. Lynchburg (#16) hosts Shenandoah (#71) in the finals Saturday 5pm. Anyone currently on the bubble is rooting for Lynchburg.

SAA: Big game today for bubble team Trinity (#34) vs Berry (#94) at a neutral site. A Trinity win would move them up to ~31st in NPI while a tie would drop their NPI to ~39th and they're definitely out of NCAA if they lose (~44th). The other semi is Southwestern (#9) vs Rhodes (#82); Southwestern is a lock regardless so other bubble teams are rooting for Southwestern to win.

CCIW: North Park (#23) hosts Wheaton-Illinois (#197) in conference finals on Saturday 5pm.  North Park seems like they should be a lock for NCAAs with a win or tie, but a loss would put North Park in a precarious spot around the bubble ~33rd.

Landmark: Scranton (#10) hosts Moravian (#60) on Saturday 3pm. Scranton is a lock so a Moravian win would hurt other bubble teams.

Any conference that I haven't already mentioned likely will only send the conference champ to NCAAs.

Summary of bubble teams who are out of their conference tournament and no longer control their own fate:
#27 Wash Lee
#30 Hobart
#31 Oneonta
#35 TCNJ
#38 Rutgers

Coast Guard with the win in PKs over Babson! Now they play Wheaton in CGAs first championship game, rooting for the cadets!

[LibbyMoore]

These NPIs are from the 11/5 update:

CNE: Roger Williams (#33) faces Western New England University (#99) in the finals on Saturday 1pm. I think Roger Williams needs a win. If their NPI dropped by just 0.2 they would fall 4-5 positions down the rankings and a tie would definitely hurt their NPI score.

NEWMAC: couple of bubble teams here playing semifinal games early this afternoon with finals on Sunday. #29 Babson hosts #111 Coast Guard which is pretty much a must-win game for Babson since a tie would drop them to ~33rd in NPI. Wheaton (#40) hosts MIT (83) at 2pm. An outright win for Wheaton would obviously keep them in the hunt for AQ but also get them into bubble-zone (around 35th) for a possible AL berth.

NJAC: 2 bubble teams already knocked out (TCNJ #35 and Rutgers #38). The conference finals are tonight at 7pm with #7 Rowan at #13 Montclair State. These teams cannot drop lower than ~18th with a loss.

MASCAC: Bubble-team Salem State (16-1-1 on the year but NPI is "only" 32nd) hosts #151 Mass Maritime tonight at 7pm. Salem will really want an outright win to improve their NPI to ~28th; a tie (and loss on PKs) would probably end their season. Other semi are both ranked outside 200 in NPI so it would seem Salem has a good shot to secure an AQ as long as they advance today.

NCAC: big battle on Sunday in the finals - Kenyon (#19) hosts Denison (#28).  While Kenyon appears to be a lock for NCAAs, Denison needs to treat the game as a must-win (although losing on PKs would improve their NPI slightly and probably lock them in for at-large. A loss for Denison would put them around the bubble but probably on the wrong side (~35th).

ODAC: Bubble team Washington & Lee (#27) is already out of their tournament. Lynchburg (#16) hosts Shenandoah (#71) in the finals Saturday 5pm. Anyone currently on the bubble is rooting for Lynchburg.

SAA: Big game today for bubble team Trinity (#34) vs Berry (#94) at a neutral site. A Trinity win would move them up to ~31st in NPI while a tie would drop their NPI to ~39th and they're definitely out of NCAA if they lose (~44th). The other semi is Southwestern (#9) vs Rhodes (#82); Southwestern is a lock regardless so other bubble teams are rooting for Southwestern to win.

CCIW: North Park (#23) hosts Wheaton-Illinois (#197) in conference finals on Saturday 5pm.  North Park seems like they should be a lock for NCAAs with a win or tie, but a loss would put North Park in a precarious spot around the bubble ~33rd.

Landmark: Scranton (#10) hosts Moravian (#60) on Saturday 3pm. Scranton is a lock so a Moravian win would hurt other bubble teams.

Any conference that I haven't already mentioned likely will only send the conference champ to NCAAs.

Summary of bubble teams who are out of their conference tournament and no longer control their own fate:
#27 Wash Lee
#30 Hobart
#31 Oneonta
#35 TCNJ
#38 Rutgers

Coast Guard with the win in PKs over Babson! Now they play Wheaton in CGAs first championship game, rooting for the cadets!

[LibbyMoore]

And I'm sure weather was a factor in the feed (not blaming Flo on this one), but after a near flawless video for 110 minutes we were left with audio only for 6-7 PKs.

oh no, that is awful. Those conditions were terrible and I do feel for Babson, always such a strong contender.

[Sandon Mibut]

UAA Emory goes down and likely out of NCAA.

Chicago up 2-1 over WashU and with ~13 to play. WashU needs a tie to have a chance at NCAA

FWIW Amherst knocked off #1 Willams at Williams in PKs. Crazy game.

[DagarmanSpartan]

Case wins UAA title and finishes undefeated.

TICKET PUNCHED!!!

[stlawus]

Bubble burst, Plattsburgh wins the SUNYAC after pk's against Cortland.

[Crossit4fun]

Bubble burst, Plattsburgh wins the SUNYAC after pk's against Cortland.

Great match.....both teams deserving, happy for Platts!

[Kuiper]

It happened again in the ASC!

FINAL:  Hardin-Simmons 1 - Mary Hardin-Baylor 0

UMHB dominated all regular season, Hardin-Simmons was struggling and looked down early in the season, but H-S flipped a switch and came alive by the time the ASC tournament came around.  It takes the AQ and UMHB remains at home.  Fourth year in a row that Hardin-Simmons wins the ASC tournament despite UMHB winning the regular season title and second year in a row that it beats Mary Hardin-Baylor in the finals.  Hardin-Simmons has a new head coach this year as their former coach moved to a DII school, so this is a pattern that has repeated itself across coaching regimes.

[Kuiper]

Whitman and Pacific Lutheran take care of business today

Whitman 3 - Puget Sound 1

Pacific Lutheran 3 - Whitworth 0

Tomorrow's Pacific Lutheran @ Whitman game is for the NWC regular season title and the conference AQ

[Sandon Mibut]

Bubble burst, Plattsburgh wins the SUNYAC after pk's against Cortland.

That's gonna be tough for Babson.

Crazy day in NESCAC. Tufts and Amherst both advance on PKs. Hamilton and Amherst NPI will rise while Tufts will likely drop a small amount.

[LibbyMoore]

Bubble burst, Plattsburgh wins the SUNYAC after pk's against Cortland.

That's gonna be tough for Babson.

Crazy day in NESCAC. Tufts and Amherst both advance on PKs. Hamilton and Amherst NPI will rise while Tufts will likely drop a small amount.

Can anyone take a guess at who the lowest ranked team will be to gain an AQ?

[stlawus]

Bubble burst, Plattsburgh wins the SUNYAC after pk's against Cortland.

That's gonna be tough for Babson.

Crazy day in NESCAC. Tufts and Amherst both advance on PKs. Hamilton and Amherst NPI will rise while Tufts will likely drop a small amount.

Can anyone take a guess at who the lowest ranked team will be to gain an AQ?

I would bet on whoever wins the CUNYAC

[Kuiper]

Bubble burst, Plattsburgh wins the SUNYAC after pk's against Cortland.

That's gonna be tough for Babson.

Crazy day in NESCAC. Tufts and Amherst both advance on PKs. Hamilton and Amherst NPI will rise while Tufts will likely drop a small amount.

Can anyone take a guess at who the lowest ranked team will be to gain an AQ?

I would bet on whoever wins the CUNYAC

John Jay upset Medgar Evers in the CUNYAC finals and John Jay was ranked #247 in the NPI before today

Hardin-Simmons upset Mary Hardin-Baylor on the ASC finals and H-S was ranked #198 in the NPI before today

Southern Virginia upset NC Wesleyan in the USA South finals and S. Va was ranked #213 in the NPI before today.

Those could be the three lowest

[Kuiper]

Hope beating Calvin means another at large spot is not going to be available.  They were #54 in the NPI before today