The road to the College Cup at Hoover, Ala., runs through South Bend, Ind.
The 2012 NCAA Division 1 Men's Soccer Championship tournament bracket was released yesterday:
Seeds
#1 Notre Dame (16-3-1)
#2 Maryland (17-1-2)
#3 Georgetown (17-3-1)
#4 Connecticut (15-3-1)
#5 Akron (17-1-2)
#6 UCLA (13-2-3)
#7 Marquette (16-3-1)
#8 Saint Louis (16-4-0)
#9 North Carolina (15-3-2)
#10 Louisville (12-5-1)
#11 Tulsa (13-5-1)
#12 Creighton (15-3-2)
#13 New Mexico (16-3-1)
#14 VCU (12-3-5)
#15 Wake Forest (11-3-5)
#16 Indiana (11-5-3)
Conference USA
#11 Tulsa (13-5-1) received a bye - plays @ winner of Florida Gulf Coast (11-5-2) @ South Florida (8-5-4)
SMU (10-5-4) vs. Winthrop (12-8-1) - winner plays @ #7 Marquette (16-3-1)
Kentucky (10-8-2) vs. Xavier (13-2-5) - winner plays @ #16 Indiana (11-5-3)
UAB (10-7-2) @ Charlotte (14-3-3) - winner plays @ #3 Georgetown (17-3-1)
Others
Coastal Carolina (18-2-2) vs. Elon (15-4-2) - winner plays @ #15 Wake Forest (11-3-5)
Northwestern (11-5-4) vs. Western Illinois (7-8-5) - winner plays @ #7 Marquette (16-3-1)
(Former USC assistant coach Mike Babst is the top asst. at Northwestern)