PPL Park to host 2013 NCAA men's soccer College Cup

THE NCAA men's soccer committee awarded Philadelphia-Chester hosting rights to the 2013 Division I men's soccer championships, to be held at PPL Park on Dec. 13-15.

Villanova will serve as the host school for the event. This will be the first time Philadelphia has hosted the event.

"We are thrilled to have been selected by the NCAA as the host institution for the 2013 College Cup," Villanova athletic director Vince Nicastro said in a statement. "PPL Park is the finest soccer facility of its kind in the nation and together we have forged a partnership with the leadership of the Philadelphia Union and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau that will allow us to create a first-class experience for the fans attending this outstanding event."

The College Cup is the culmination of the 48-team tournament that begins the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Regions Park in Hoover, Ala., is the site of this year's tournament to be held on Dec. 9. Hoover also was the site in 2011, when defending champion North Carolina defeated Charlotte, 1-0.

The NCAA also announced that the women's College Cup will return to Cary, N.C., on Dec. 6-8, 2013, at Wake Med Soccer Park. This will be the sixth time the event will be hosted in Cary.

- Kerith Gabriel