Since 2001, the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, the tournament features 64 teams in a single-elimination tournament.[3] The 64-team tournament draws from a possible field of 332 teams. Of the 64 berths, 31 are allocated to the conference tournament or regular season winners.[4] The remaining 33 berths are supposed to be determined through an at-large process based upon teams' Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) that did not win their conference tournament.[4]
The NCAA Selection Committee names the top sixteen seeds for the tournament for home field hosting through the quarterfinal matches while teams that do not receive a seed are placed in matches to reduce travel.[4] The 16 seeded teams and teams from the same conference cannot play each other in the first-round or second-round.[4]