2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament (also known as the 2006 Women's College Cup) was the 25th 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 SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina from December 1–3, 2006 while the preceding rounds were played at various sites across the country from November 8–25. North Carolina defeated Notre Dame in the final, 2–1, to win their eighteenth national title. This was a rematch of  the 1994, 1996, and 1999 tournament finals, all won by the Tar Heels. The "Most Outstanding Defensive Player" was Robyn Gayle from North Carolina, and the "Most Outstanding Offensive Player" was Heather O'Reilly, also from North Carolina. Gayle and O'Reilly, alongside nine other players, were named to the "All-Tournament Team". The tournament's leading scorer, with 4 goals and 8 assists, was Kerri Hanks from Notre Dame. Qualification. All Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. The tournament field remained fixed at 64 teams. Pre-Tournament Top 25. 1. Notre Dame 2. North  Carolina 3. Santa Clara 4. UCLA 5. Florida State 6. Texas 7. Portland 8. Texas A&M 9. Penn State 10. West Virginia 11. Oklahoma State 12. Wake Forest 13. Utah 14. Florida 15. Rutgers 16. Stanford 17. BYU 18. Villanova 19. Navy 20. Colorado 21. California 22. Illinois 23. Tennessee 24. 25. William & Mary Format. Just as before, the final two rounds, deemed the Women's College Cup, were played at a pre-determined neutral site. All other rounds were played on campus sites at the home field of the higher-seeded team. The only exceptions were the first two  rounds, which were played at regional campus sites. The top sixteen teams hosted four team-regionals on their home fields (with some exceptions, noted below) during the tournament's first weekend.