The 2015 NCAA men's soccer tournament has reached its final stages, with four top programs set to meet at Sporting Kansas City's home ground this weekend to battle for a College Cup championship.
This year's event kicks off on Friday, as Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, hosts a semifinal doubleheader. The evening opens with No. 6 Syracuse (16-5-3) vs. No. 2 Clemson (17-2-3) at 6 pm ET, followed by No. 8 Stanford (17-2-2) vs. No. 4 Akron (18-3-2) in the nightcap, scheduled for 8:30 pm ET.
Friday's winners will meet in the national championship match on Sunday at 2 pm ET. Tickets for all three games can be found here, and all three games can be seen live on ESPNU.
US national team striker and Seattle Sounders academy product Jordan Morris (pictured) is one of 10 Stanford players with MLS academy ties, while Akron – former home of Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter and several of his club's standouts – boast seven such players, including New York Red Bulls academy midfielder Adam Najem, whose overtime free kick sent Akron to the semifinals. Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champions Syracuse carry six players with MLS links, and Clemson have one.
This year marks the first time that Sporting Park will host the NCAA Division I Men’s College Cup.
The event comes one week after Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri, hosted the NCAA Division III men’s and women’s soccer championships on Saturday. Amherst College (Massachusetts) defeated Loras College (Iowa) 2-1 in the men’s final, while Williams College (Massachusetts) beat Washington University (St. Louis) 1-0 in the women’s final.
