USD to host 2012 College Cup

San Diego Awarded 2012 Women's College Cup

USD will host the final four in 2012 on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2 at Torero Stadium

Oct. 19, 2011

SAN DIEGO -- The University of San Diego is excited to announce that they will serve as host of the 2012 Women's College Cup, which will be held at Walter J. Zable Field at Torero Stadium. The national showcase will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, and will be the first NCAA Division I national championship to be held on the USD campus.

"It is an honor to be chosen as the host institution for the 2012 Women's College Cup," stated USD Executive Director of Athletics Ky Snyder. "It is a great opportunity for us to showcase the University of San Diego and the West Coast Conference. We look forward to putting on a first class event featuring the four best women's soccer programs in the country."

The event, which is made up of the two semifinals matches and finals of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship, has been hosted exclusively by Texas A&M and North Carolina State over eight of the last nine years, with Kennesaw State University breaking up that trend in 2011. Women's soccer juggernaut North Carolina has also hosted seven times since the championship's inception in 1982. San Diego will become the third West Coast Conference school to play host to the final rounds of an NCAA championship in women's soccer, with Portland hosting the national showcase in 1994 and Santa Clara hosting it in 1996.

"San Diego is rich in soccer tradition and we are confident given our partnership with the San Diego Sports Commission that this will be highly talked about and exciting event for the entire community," said Snyder.

"It is exceptional honor for our university and community to get such a prestigious event on our campus," exclaimed USD head women's soccer coach Ada Greenwood. "San Diego has such a strong soccer culture and the atmosphere for the 2012 College Cup will be very special for the teams and the fans."

Torero Stadium is home to USD football, and women's and men's soccer. The stadium, which underwent two phases of renovation, is perfect for an exciting athletic atmosphere inside its cozy confines. Renovations were completed to host the WUSA San Diego Spirit, with over $3.5 million dollars spent to enlarge the seating areas and add spectator comforts. In 2001, the installation of the upgraded lighting system took place, giving Torero Stadium ample illumination for the numerous night events on the field. The final steps included the paving of the pedestrian walkway that curves around three-quarters of the stadium, the installation of a state of the art sound system and the addition of a Daktronics video board that plays movie clips, replays, as well as scoreboard information.

Torero Stadium has hosted the NCAA tournament for both the men's and women's soccer programs with the women hosting the first and second rounds in 1999, and the men's team hosting the NCAA's in 1992, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2003, and most recently in the 2009 season. Torero Stadium has also played host to the US women's national team, as well as the LA Galaxy and Chivas soccer teams.

--from USDToreros.com

purple haze wrote:It's a great vacation city -- far above any of the other recent College Cup sites in terms of attractions. Better weather, too. Good for the West Coast!

GoUP wrote:The stadium is great. Hopefully this means they will spend some effort in upgrading the pitch. Football markings aside, last year the surface was barely playable.

RipCityPilot wrote:

GoUP wrote:The stadium is great. Hopefully this means they will spend some effort in upgrading the pitch. Football markings aside, last year the surface was barely playable.

It's still barely playable:

SAN DIEGO, Calif.- The University of San Diego men's soccer team lost to the visiting Portland Pilots 2-1 on Sunday afternoon from Torero Stadium. In the final home match of the season, the Toreros took an early lead on a goal from Dan Delgado but were unable to hold off the Pilots on a sloppy, muddy pitch.

It wasn't a pretty environment for soccer but both teams slogged through the mud and rain for 90 minutes.