NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. - The Northeast 10 earned four bids Monday night to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, giving the league a 40% chance of sending a team back to the Final Four before the tournament starts. The NE10 pulled the top three seeds in Super Region 1, anchored by Southern New Hampshire as the No. 1 seed. SNHU, Franklin Pierce and Bentley all were placed above the undefeated No. 1 team in the country, Charleston, who was seeded fourth out of the Mountain East.
For Bentley, this year marks the team's first appearance in the NCAA Championship as a member of the NE10. The Falcons last appeared in the dance in 1975, five years before the league was founded. Bentley, the regular season NE10 Champion, will host Gannon on Sunday in the first round. The postseason PSAC Champions defeated No. 23 Millersville for their conference's title.
Franklin Pierce is the most recent NE10 team to win the NCAA Championship, going back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Only DJ Tucker and Joaco Lauria Calvo remain from that team playing major minutes on this iteration of the Ravens. This year's backup keeper Karl Vernet was the starter in goal on that squad. The new Ravens flock continues a six year run of being selected to the bracket.
Southern New Hampshire draws the Super Region's top seed. The Penmen went 14-2-2 and advanced to the NE10 Championship semifinals before falling to eventual champion FPU. The Penmen were led by Martin Fuentes and Philipp Herrmann, who led the conference in scoring during the regular season.
As for Adelphi, this is the first Panther appearance since 2022, when AU advanced to the second round. Adelphi went 9-5-4, falling in the NE10 Championship semifinals in PK's. Adelphi will play at No. 1 (but No. 4 seed) Charleston in the opening round.
The four teams selected from the NE10 are the most from the conference since it received five bids in 2016.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
Fans can subscribe via this link to follow NE10 NOW on FloSports this season. The partnership between the NE10 and FloSports works to provide funds back to the athletic departments of the Northeast-10 Conference in support of student-athletes while promoting the league on a national platform.