1996 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament

The 1996 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament was the 15th 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 Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, California during December 1996.

1996 NCAA women's soccer tournament

Women's College Cup (semifinals & final)
Tournament details
Country	United States
Dates	November–December 1996
Teams	32
Final positions
Champions	North Carolina Tar Heels (13th title, 15th College Cup)
Runner-up	Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3rd title match, 3rd College Cup)
Semifinalists	Portland Pilots (3rd College Cup) Santa Clara Broncos (4th College Cup)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	31
Goals scored	114 (3.68 per match)
Attendance	53,322 (1,720 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Danielle Fotopoulous, Florida (5) Amy Van Laacke, Notre Dame (5)
Best player	Debbie Keller, UNC (Offensive) Nel Fettig, UNC (Defensive)
All statistics correct as of 5/23/2015.

North Carolina defeated Notre Dame in the final, 1–0 (in two overtimes), to win their thirteenth national title. Coached by Anson Dorrance, the Tar Heels finished the season 27–0–1. North Carolina returned to the championship after appearing in all thirteen finals prior to 1995.

The most outstanding offensive player was Debbie Keller from North Carolina, and the most outstanding defensive player was Nel Fettig, also from North Carolina. Keller and Fettig, along with eleven other players, were named to the All-tournament team.

The tournament's leading scorers, with 5 goals each, were Danielle Fotopoulous from Florida and Amy Van Laacke from Notre Dame.

Qualification

Main article: 1996 NCAA Division I women's soccer season

All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field expanded again, increasing from 24 to 32 teams, and for the third time in the previous five years.

Eleven conferences sent automatic bids to the tournament, accompanied by twenty-one at-large bids.

Records

North Carolina Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record Clemson ACC At-large 15–6–1 Florida SEC Automatic 20–2 James Madison CAA At-large 14–4–2 NC State ACC At-large 11–8–1 North Carolina ACC Automatic 20–1 UNC Greensboro Big South Automatic 16–5–1 Wake Forest ACC At-large 13–7 William & Mary CAA Automatic 14–8	Santa Clara Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record Connecticut Big East At-large 20–2 Dartmouth Ivy League At-large 12–3–1 George Mason CAA At-large 14–6–2 Harvard Ivy League Automatic 15–1 Massachusetts Atlantic 10 Automatic 15–4–1 Penn State Big Ten At-large 14–4–2 Santa Clara West Coast At-large 15–3–2 Stanford Pac-10 Automatic 12–8
Portland Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record Duke ACC At-large 09–9–3 Kentucky SEC At-large 13–5–2 Minnesota Big Ten At-large 13–6 Nebraska Big 12 Automatic 21–0 Portland West Coast Automatic 16–0–2 Vanderbilt SEC At-large 11–8–1 Virginia ACC At-large 12–6–2 Washington Pac-10 At-large 12–7	Notre Dame Regional Seed School Conference Berth Type Record George Washington Atlantic 10 At-large 10–6–4 Indiana Big Ten Automatic 11–10 Maryland ACC At-large 17–4–2 Northwestern Big Ten At-large 13–7–1 Notre Dame Big East Automatic 20–1 San Diego West Coast At-large 13–5–1 Texas A&M Big 12 At-large 19–3 Wisconsin Big Ten At-large 14–4–4

Bracket

	First round					Second round					Third Round					Semifinals (Women's College Cup) Buck Shaw Stadium Santa Clara, California					Championship (Women's College Cup) Buck Shaw Stadium Santa Clara, California
		North Carolina	5
		William & Mary	0
							North Carolina	5
							James Madison	0
		James Madison	3
		UNC Greensboro	1
												North Carolina	9
												Florida	0
		Wake Forest	2
		Clemson	1
							Wake Forest	0
							Florida	5
		Florida	7
		NC State	3
																	North Carolina	2
																	Santa Clara	1
		Santa Clara	3
		Stanford	2
							Santa Clara	3
							Penn State	1
		Penn State	2
		George Mason	0
												Santa Clara	1
												Connecticut	0
		UMass (3OT)	2
		Harvard	1
							UMass	0
							Connecticut	2
		Connecticut	1
		Dartmouth	0
																						North Carolina (2OT)	1
																						Notre Dame	0
		Portland	1
		Washington	0
							Portland (2OT)	3
							Vanderbilt	1
		Vanderbilt (3OT)	2
		Kentucky	1
												Portland	1
												Nebraska	0
		Duke	1
		Virginia	0
							Duke	0
							Nebraska	3
		Nebraska (2OT)	3
		Minnesota	2
																	Portland	2
																	Notre Dame	3
		San Diego	5
		Texas A&M	3
							San Diego	0
							Maryland	1
		Maryland	2
		George Washington	0
												Maryland	0
												Notre Dame	2
		Wisconsin	1
		Northwestern	0
							Wisconsin	0
							Notre Dame	5
		Notre Dame	8
		Indiana	1

All-tournament team

• Justi Baumgardt, Portland
• Mandy Clemens, Santa Clara
• Robin Confer, North Carolina
• Lorrie Fair, North Carolina
• Nel Fettig, North Carolina (most outstanding defensive player)
• Jen Grubb, Notre Dame
• Regina Holan, Portland
• Debbie Keller, North Carolina (most outstanding offensive player)
• Jennifer Lalor, Santa Clara
• Cindy Parlow, North Carolina
• Jen Renola, Notre Dame
• Laurie Schwoy, North Carolina
• Jenny Streiffer, Notre Dame

See also

• NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship
• NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship