— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — No. 9 Marshall has a first-round NCAA Division I soccer date Thursday against Elon at 6 p.m. in Elon, N.C.
The Thundering Herd (10-3-3) is included in the NCAA field for the fourth straight year.
The winner between Marshall and the Phoenix, an at-large entry like the Herd, will play at Virginia on Sunday in the second round.
Elon is 11-4-3 and the host team at Rudd Field for the first time since 2015.
The Herd and Phoenix are 1-1 in the all-time series. The teams last met in 2009 with Elon winning, 2-0.
Marshall is on the same side of the bracket with Indiana, the team it beat for the 2020 NCAA national title. The Hoosiers await the winner of the Memphis-St. Louis contest in the second round.
Kentucky, regular season and tournament champion in its first year in the Sun Belt Conference, is the top seed.
The Wildcats (14-0-5) are the only unbeaten team in the country.
Kentucky and Marshall are the only two Sun Belt teams in the tournament.
Pac-12 Conference winner Washington is No. 2 seed and Syracuse of the Atlantic Coast Conference, is No. 3. Defending national champion Clemson of the ACC is the sixth seed.