2025 NCAA Division I Tournament: Opening & First Round

Host: North Carolina | Chapel Hill, N.C.

Two Philadelphia schools will travel to North Carolina to play in one of two First Round matches of the NCAA Tournament. A match-up that ended in shootouts in the regular season, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will move on. Tune in to ESPN+ on Wednesday to see No. 20 Drexel take on Saint Joseph’s.

Without a case for an at-large bid, both teams–ranked the No. 3 seed in their respective conferences–knew they had to win big to keep their seasons alive. Drexel took down No. 2 seed Northeastern, 3-2, in a gritty Coastal Athletic Conference (CAA) semifinal, then followed it up with another 3-2 win against top-seeded Monmouth in the final. The Dragons had lost both of those match-ups previously.

It was a nearly identical story for the Hawks, who flipped their two Atlantic 10 (A10) regular season losses to victories in the A10 tournament. Saint Joseph’s garnered a 3-2 win in shootouts over VCU in the semifinals, and followed with a 2-0 shutout over No. 1 seed Richmond in the championship.

Last season, Saint Joseph’s made it all the way to the NCAA Championship, where they fell to Northwestern, while this is Drexel’s first time in the tournament since 2012. In their meeting this fall, the Dragons were victorious, 3-2, after shootouts.

FINAL: DREXEL 0 - 2 SAINT JOSEPH'S

Host: Princeton | Princeton, N.J.

It will be another hard outcome to predict over in Princeton, N.J., when No. 20 Fairfield takes on Boston University. Watch it live at 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

Fairfield had a fairly straightforward entry into the NCAA Tournament, winning the NEC title for the second consecutive year to snag the automatic bid. The Stags went 9-0 in NEC play, earning the top-seed in the conference tournament and shutting out both Rider (2-0) and Wagner (3-0) in the semifinal and final, respectively. Last fall, Fairfield’s postseason dreams were cut short by a 2-1 OT loss to Delaware in the First Round.

It was a bit more of a Cinderella story for Boston University, who is the only team with a sub .500 record to feature in the NCAA Tournament. The 8-10 Terriers just barely made it into the Patriot League tournament, finishing 3-3 in conference and garnering the fourth and final spot. Once in, Boston University got hot at the right time–defeating No. 1 seed American, 1-0, in the semifinal–then taking down No. 2 seed Lafayette in dramatic fashion. In the back-and-forth 3-2 win, Caroline O'Brien was a player possessed–notching a hat trick and earning Tournament MVP honors.

The Terriers are back in the postseason for the first time since 2018, when they fell to Miami (OH) in the First Round. Boston University has won all ten meetings with Fairfield, most recently in 2017.

FINAL: FAIRFIELD 1 - 0 BOSTON U