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Miami coach Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes will play of their residence stadium within the nationwide championship recreation on Jan. 19. Matias J. Ocner / Getty Pictures
Miami will enter the nationwide championship recreation because the lowest seed within the School Soccer Playoff’s temporary 12-team historical past, however the Hurricanes have a definite benefit over their opponent — enjoying at residence.
Miami will face the winner of Friday’s CFP semifinal recreation — No. 1 Indiana versus No. 5 Oregon — at Laborious Rock Stadium within the title recreation on Jan. 19.
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Laborious Rock Stadium, additionally the house of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, was chosen as the positioning for the title recreation in 2022.
It marks the primary time within the BCS/School Soccer Playoff period {that a} staff will “host” the nationwide championship. In 2019, LSU received the nationwide championship in its residence state of Louisiana, although the sport was performed in New Orleans’ Superdome quite than the varsity’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. LSU has performed within the nationwide championship recreation three different instances in its residence state since 1998, additionally successful in 2003 and 2007.
It’s uncommon for a collegiate or skilled staff to host a championship recreation, however it’s occurred extra lately. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers received Tremendous Bowl LV in February 2021 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, though that recreation was performed in entrance of restricted followers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next yr, the Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in L.A.
A number of World Cup champions have performed for the title of their residence nation. Most just lately, France received the 1998 event in entrance of its residence followers. Argentina did the identical in 1978.
In an earlier period of faculty soccer, groups often clinched nationwide titles in bowl video games on their residence fields.
Three of Miami’s 5 nationwide titles got here by way of Orange Bowl wins on its residence area within the 1983, 1987 and 1991 seasons on the Miami Orange Bowl stadium.
The Hurricanes moved to Laborious Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., in 2008, roughly 25 miles from the varsity’s campus in Coral Gables.
Laborious Rock hasn’t seen the identical dominance from the Hurricanes as its predecessor. Since shifting to the brand new stadium, this system has not appeared in a nationwide championship, hasn’t received an ACC championship and light in nationwide prominence till its resurgence this season. Miami beat Ole Miss, 31-27, in a semifinal recreation on Thursday.
Jan. 19 will put Miami again on faculty soccer’s greatest stage, when the Hurricanes play at residence for the primary time in additional than two months and purpose so as to add a fourth nationwide championship in entrance of their followers.
Sam Jane is a trending information author for The Athletic. He has beforehand labored as an intern for The Baltimore Solar, The Washington Submit, MLive and different publications. He’s a senior on the College of Maryland, the place he was a sports activities editor for the campus paper, The Diamondback.