The Colorado College men's soccer team is preparing to host its first NCAA Tournament game since 1997. The No.5 nationally ranked Tigers are in their first consecutive NCAA Tournament since 2001.
 
In The Dance
 
CC (15-2-3) will play Pacific Lutheran (13-2-5) in the first round on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 11 a.m. (MT), while Claremont-Mudd-Scrips (14-3-3) and Oglethorpe Unversity (9-2-6) will battle in the other first-round game at 1:30 p.m. (MT). The first-round matchup winners will face each other on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 1 p.m. (MT) at Stewart Field. 
 
This will be the Tigers' 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the first time they have danced in back-to-back seasons in 22 years. CC enters the tournament with its best record since 1992 when the Tigers made it to the Final Four.
 
Last Time Out
 
CC fell in the semifinals of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference to St. Thomas by a final score of 2-0. The Tigers outshot the Celts 13-10, including 4-3 shots on goal, but a goal off a free kick and another penalty kick elevated UST over the No. 1-seeded Tigers. 
 
Post Season Accolades
 
12 Colorado College men's soccer players received All SCAC honors, announced on Nov. 8th. Three Tigers received first-team nods, while two of the major four SCAC awards were given to CC. 
 
It's the second consecutive year the Tigers have had multiple major award winners. 
 
Head coach Scott Palguta and two assistant coaches, Sean Elvert and Tomas Martinez were named the SCAC Coaching Staff of the Year. It was Palguta's second-consecutive and third all-time Coach of the Year award in his coaching tenure.
 
Palugta led CC to a 10-0-1 conference mark and a share of the program's third SCAC regular season title. Last fall, the Tigers made history, reaching the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years, marking their best season since 1992. 
 
Senior Curtis Hale was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. He is the first men's soccer player to earn Defensive Player-of-the-Year honors three times in his career.
 
Hale was one of the three first-team selections. Senior Alexandar Ward earned his first career first-team nod after being named a second-team selection for the prior four seasons. Ward currently is second on the team with six goals and 15 points. 
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Wolter earned his first All-SCAC selection. The New Canaan, Conn. native had a 6-2-2 record on the season and five shutouts. The Tigers had the best goals-against average in the nation entering the SCAC Tournament. 
 
Rex Karjian, Wyatt Linggi, Oliver Ramirez, Will Bavier and Jack Hillard were named second-team selections. It's Bavier's third all-conference selection and second on the second team. Freshman Teddy Opler was the only Tiger named to the All-Freshman team. The Chicago native leads all CC first-year players with 20 games played, four goals and three assists. 
 
Sophomore Dylan Stapley and seniors Charlie Wagner and Vincent Luglio were named Honorable Mention selections. 
 
Scouting The Opposition
 
Pacific Lutheran has an 11-1-4 record in Northwest Conference play. Their lone loss in conference play was to Whitman in the regular season's final game; PLU strives to make the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history, as John Yorke's squad will seek a second-round appearance for the first time since 2022.
 
The Lutes rank first in their conference in most offensive categories, including points, goals, assists, and shots. They are the 11th-best scoring offense in the nation and are led by seniors Trevor Thompson and Craig Johnson. Thompson is tied for the most goals scored in a single season in program history with 21. 
 
This will be the second matchup between the two teams in the last two seasons. PLU handed the Tigers a 2-1 loss in non-conference play at the beginning of last season. The Lutes have a 3-1 overall record vs the Tigers and are winners of the previous two meetings. 
 
How To Follow
 
You can watch all the games for the NCAA Tournament live on NCAA.com, and all the stats for this weekend can be found at CCTigers.com. 
 
For all information about the first and second rounds at Stewart Field, you can find tickets, parking, and other valuable insight by clicking here.