SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The 2021 Summit League Men's Championship bracket was released by league officials on Saturday night with reigning regular season champion Denver earning the No. 1 seed after clinching a share of the regular season title thanks to a 1-1 draw with Kansas City earlier in the day.
 
The Pioneers shared the title with Oral Roberts, who matched their point total at 13 thanks to a 1-0 win at Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles will be the No. 2 seed.

The men’s soccer championship returns this fall after the teams elected to not have a 2020 event at the conclusion of the spring season. The four-team tournament starts Thursday and will take place at John MacKenzie Alumni Field on the campus of Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill.

Denver won the previous tournament title in 2019 on its home field as the No. 3 seed and the Pioneers will look to claim their seventh tournament title in eight tries since joining the league prior to the 2013 season. Those seven tournament titles would be the most ever by a Summit League team as the Pioneers are currently tied with Western Illinois with six a piece.

DU will take on No. 4 seed Kansas City in a rematch of their regular season finale in the opening semifinal at 11 a.m. CT. The Roos returned to the league prior to the 2020-21 academic year. Their last Summit League postseason appearance came in 2012 when they fell to Western Illinois, 1-0 in overtime, in the semifinals.
 
The second semifinal features the second-seeded Golden Eagles and No. 3 seed Omaha at 2 p.m. CT. The Golden Eagles won the regular season matchup between the two squads, 3-2, in Tulsa on Oct. 16. That was the highest-scoring league match of the season.
 
Omaha secured its place in the tournament field with a 1-0 overtime win at home over Western Illinois Saturday afternoon. Oral Roberts is looking for its first tournament title since 1999. The Golden Eagles were the runner-up in 2011, 2012 and 2015. Omaha won the title in 2017 and has made the championship match four consecutive times (2016-19).

The winners of Thursday's semifinal matches will play in Saturday's championship match at 1 p.m. CT with the champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. All three matches in Macomb will be streamed on ESPN+ or ESPN3.
 
For complete information on this year's championship, visit The Summit League Men's Soccer Championship page.

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