The 1979 NCAA Division I soccer tournament was the 21st annual tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national men's college soccer champion among its Division I members in the United States.
| 1979 College Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country |  United States |
| Venue(s) | Tampa Stadium Tampa, Florida |
| Teams | 19 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | SIU Edwardsville (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Clemson |
| Third place | Penn State |
| Fourth place | Columbia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 19 |
| Goals scored | 66 (3.47 per match) |
| Attendance | 30,947 (1,629 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Obed Ariri, Clemson (5) |
← 1978
1980 →
| |
The final match was played at Tampa StadiuminTampa, Florida on December 9.
SIU Edwardsville won their first Division I national title, defeating Clemson in the final, 3–2.[1]
Three teams made their debut appearance in the NCAA Division I soccer tournament: SMU, South Carolina, and Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
| First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship | |||||||||||||||
| San Francisco | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Santa Clara | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| San Francisco | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| SIU Edwardsville | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Louis | 1 | SIU Edwardsville | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| SIU Edwardsville | 2 | SIU Edwardsville | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin–Milwaukee | 1 | Cleveland State | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland State | 2 | Indiana | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Philadelphia Textile | 0 | Princeton | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Princeton | 1 | SIU Edwardsville | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| American | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Virginia | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| American | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Columbia | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hartwick College | 2 | Third place | |||||||||||||||||
| Columbia | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Columbia | 5 | Penn State | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Rhode Island | 1 | Columbia | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rhode Island (OT, PK) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| SIU Edwardsville | 3–2 | Clemson |
|---|---|---|
Attendance: 5,500
