1997 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament

1997 NCAA women's soccer tournament

Women's College Cup (semifinals & final)
Tournament details
Country	United States
Dates	November–December 1997
Teams	32
Final positions
Champions	North Carolina Tar Heels (14th title, 16th College Cup)
Runners-up	Connecticut Huskies (3rd title match, 6th College Cup)
Semifinalists	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4th College Cup) Santa Clara Broncos (5th College Cup)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	31
Goals scored	115 (3.71 per match)
Attendance	40,572 (1,309 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Sara Whalen, UConn (5)
Awards
Best player	Robin Confer, UNC (Offensive) Siri Mullinix, UNC (Defensive)
←  1996 1998  → All statistics correct as of 5/29/2015.

The 1997 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament (also known as the 1997 NCAA Women's College Cup) was the 16th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. The semifinals and championship game were played at the UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina during December 1997. ^[1]

North Carolina defeated Connecticut in the final, 2–0, to win their fourteenth national title. Coached by Anson Dorrance, the Tar Heels finished the season 27–0–1.

The most outstanding offensive player was Robin Confer from North Carolina, and the most outstanding defensive player was Siri Mullinix, also from North Carolina. Confer and Mullinix, along with twelve other players, were named to the All-tournament team.

The tournament's leading scorer, with 5 goals, was Sara Whalen from Connecticut.

Qualification

Main article: 1997 NCAA Division I women's soccer season

All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field remained at 32 teams although it would expand again, to 48, in 1998.

Play-in games

	November 11
		Fairfield (MAAC, 17-3)	2
		Central Conn. State (NEC, 13-6)	1

	November 11
		UNC Greensboro (Southern, 17-5)	5
		South Alabama (Big South, 18-2-1)	0

	November 11
		Cincinnati (C-USA, 15-4-3) (OT)	2
		Georgia State (TAAC, 18-3-2)	1

Teams

North Carolina Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record Florida SEC Automatic 19-2-1 George Mason CAA At-large 13-5-4 Harvard Ivy League Automatic 10-2-2 Maryland ACC At-large 12-8-3 Massachusetts Atlantic 10 Automatic 17-4 North Carolina ACC Automatic 22-0-1 Vanderbilt SEC At-large 14-7 Wake Forest ACC At-large 11-7-2	Santa Clara Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record BYU WAC At-large 19-3 Clemson ACC At-large 13-6 Duke ACC At-large 14-5-1 Georgia SEC At-large 15-5-1 Milwaukee Midwestern Collegiate Automatic 13-2-4 Minnesota Big Ten At-large 17-2-2 Santa Clara West Coast At-large 17-2-1 UNC Greensboro Southern Automatic 18-5
Connecticut Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record Colgate Patriot Automatic 13-3-3 Connecticut Big East At-large 19-3 Fairfield MAAC Automatic 18-3 Hartford America East Automatic 18-1-1 James Madison CAA At-large 13-6-2 Penn State Big Ten At-large 15-6-1 Virginia ACC At-large 13-4-2 William & Mary CAA Automatic 18-4	Notre Dame Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record Cincinnati Conference USA Automatic 16-4-3 Michigan Big Ten Automatic 18-3-1 Nebraska Big 12 At-large 17-3 Notre Dame Big East Automatic 20-0-1 Portland West Coast Automatic 14-4 SMU WAC Automatic 16-4-1 Texas A&M Big 12 Automatic 18-2 UCLA Pac-10 Automatic 17-2

Bracket

	First round				Second round				Third Round				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
	Wake Forest	0
					North Carolina	5
					Florida	0
	Florida	3
	Vanderbilt	2
									North Carolina	1
									Harvard	0
	Harvard	2
	UMass	0
					Harvard (3OT)	2
					George Mason	1
	George Mason	2
	Maryland	1
													North Carolina	2
													Santa Clara	1
	UNC Greensboro (2OT)	3
	Duke	1
					UNC Greensboro	0
					Clemson	5
	Clemson	1
	Georgia	0
									Clemson	0
									Santa Clara	3
	Minnesota	2
	Milwaukee	1
					Minnesota	1
					Santa Clara	5
	Santa Clara	1
	BYU	0
																	North Carolina	2
																	Connecticut	0
	Connecticut	3
	Fairfield	0
					Connecticut (2OT)	2
					Hartford	1
	Hartford	4
	Colgate	0
									Connecticut	4
									William & Mary	0
	William & Mary (2OT)	3
	Penn State	2
					William & Mary	1
					Virginia	0
	Virginia	3
	James Madison	1
													Connecticut	2
													Notre Dame	1
	UCLA	1
	Portland	0
					UCLA	3
					SMU	2
	SMU	1
	Texas A&M	0
									UCLA	0
									Notre Dame	8
	Nebraska	5
	Michigan	1
					Nebraska	0
					Notre Dame	6
	Notre Dame	7
	Cincinnati	1

All-tournament team

• Mandy Clemens, Santa Clara
• Robin Confer, North Carolina (most outstanding offensive player)
• Carey Dorn, Connecticut
• Lorrie Fair, North Carolina
• Jacqui Little, Santa Clara
• Holly Manthei, Notre Dame
• Siri Mullinix, North Carolina (most outstanding defensive player)
• Cindy Parlow, North Carolina
• Tiffany Roberts, North Carolina
• Heather Stone, Connecticut
• Jenny Streiffer, Notre Dame
• Jen Tietjen, Notre Dame
• Sara Whalen, Connecticut
• Staci Wilson, North Carolina

See also

• 1997 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division II women's soccer tournament
• 1997 NCAA Division III women's soccer tournament
• 1997 NAIA women's soccer tournament

References

1. "Division I Women's Soccer Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved November 11, 2025.