As has become tradition with the Women’s College Cup when it is staged in Cary, North Carolina, the semifinals and finals have been announced as sellouts well in advance of the contests.

The national semifinals set for December 5 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary are sold out. However, a few tickets for the December 7 championship match will be available for purchase at the gate on game day.

The Women’s College Cup has sold out in each of the previous years Cary has hosted the event (2003, 2004 and 2006). While seating capacity at WakeMed Soccer Park is listed at 7,000, championship-game crowds in Cary have been 10,042 (2003), 7,644 (2004) and 8,349 (2006).

“Cary and the surrounding community have continually demonstrated their support of high-quality college soccer,” said Barry Clements, associate athletics director at the University of South Florida and chair of the Division I Women’s Soccer Committee. “The Women’s College Cup’s status as a marquee championship is reflected in the way Cary promotes the contests and in the enormous crowds that attend the games. The sell-out crowds make for a tremendous championship experience for our student-athletes who have earned the right to compete on college soccer’s grandest stage.”

The 2008 Women’s College Cup is the first event to be held in an NCAA-designated “Championship City.” The NCAA launched the six-city pilot program this fall, which includes Cary. Each Championship City will host several NCAA events over the next four years. Click here for more information on the Championship Cities initiative.

The women’s soccer committee will select the 64-team tournament field this weekend. First-round play begins November 14 at campus sites. For more information on the Women’s College Cup, see www.NCAA.com.