RSC Men's Soccer Tournament Qualifiers & Seeds announced, playoffs begin Nov. 5
FLORENCE, Ky. -- The River States Conference Men's Soccer Tournament qualifiers and seeds were announced on Saturday night, Oct. 29 on the league's Twitter stream @RiverStatesConf at 9 p.m. ET. This came after all results were in on the final day of the regular season.
The University of Rio Grande (16-1-1, 7-0-1 RSC) is the No. 1 seed in the six-team, single-elimination tournament. The RedStorm are ranked No. 3 in the NAIA Top 25 and are the two-time defending conference champions. They are also the defending NAIA national champions.
WVU Tech (15-1-2, 7-0-1 RSC) is the No. 2 seed in the RSC Tournament and like Rio Grande will receive a bye in the first round. The Golden Bears, ranked No. 12 in the NAIA Top 25, had the same record as Rio Grande but were edged out for the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs because of the second tiebreaker of goals allowed in conference games.
Rio Grande and WVU Tech will host RSC Tournament semifinals games on Nov. 9. The RSC Tournament begins Nov. 5 with the quarterfinal round.
Midway (Ky.) University secured the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will host a quarterfinal round game Nov. 5. The Eagles went 9-6-1 overall and 6-2 RSC in their first year of existence as a men's soccer program. They stood alone in third place.
The next four teams in the standings all had identical conference records of 3-5 RSC. The tiebreaker system went into effect revealing the following seedings:
Asbury (Ky.) University (9-7-1, 3-5 RSC) claimed the No. 4 seed and a quaterfinal home game Nov. 5. The Eagles went 2-1 in the head-to-head matchups of the four tied teams to advanced out of that tied grouping.
Brescia (Ky.) University (9-6-1, 3-5 RSC) earned the No. 5 seed and will play at Asbury in the quafterfinals. The Bearcats were also 2-1 in the head-to-head matchups of the four tied teams to advance out of that tied grouping as well. Asbury got the fourth seed over Brescia due to the head-to-head win.
Point Park (Pa.) University (9-8-1, 3-5 RSC) got the No. 6 and final playoff seed and will play at No. 3 Midway in the quarterfinals Nov. 5. The Pioneers and Cincinnati Christian were both 1-2 in the group of four tied teams and were left remaining after Asbury and Brescia advanced. Point Park's head-to-head win over CCU gives it the final playoff spot.
Follow the River States Conference Men's Soccer Tournament on RiverStatesConference.com. Live video streaming of all tournament games will be available at the RSC Game Central presented by Stretch Internet, the official video streaming platform of the RSC.
2016 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Nov. 5-12, 2016 (All Times Eastern)
Nov. 5 -- Quarterfinals
No. 6 Point Park (9-8-1, 3-5 RSC) at No. 3 Midway (Ky.) (9-6-1, 6-2 RSC), 1 p.m.
No. 5 Brescia (Ky.) (9-6, 3-5 RSC) at No. 4 Asbury (Ky.) (9-7-1, 3-5 RSC). 7 p.m.
Nov. 9 -- Semifinals
No. 6-No. 3 winner at No. 2 WVU Tech (15-1-2, 7-0-1 RSC), 7 p.m.
No. 5-No. 4 winner at No. 1 Rio Grande (16-1-1, 7-0-1 RSC), 7 p.m.
Nov. 12 -- Finals
at Highest Remaining Seed