The road to Disney World begins Saturday.

No, not for Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or any other football player who seeks the Super Bowl MVP trophy and the complimentary trip to America’s empire of kitsch.

The 19th ranked Washington University men’s soccer team begins NCAA Tournament play tomorrow on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, with four wins separating the veteran Bears from a trip to Disney’s Wide World of Sports, host site of the Division III semi-finals and finals over Thanksgiving weekend.

To get there, the Red and Green (13-4-2) will have to beat Carthage College in Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. contest and then turn around and knock off the winner of Saturday’s opening game between UW-Whitewater and Dominican University (IL).

This weekend’s action marks the second consecutive year that Wash. U. has qualified for the tournament. The Bears fell at home last season, 1-0, on a late goal by Wheaton College, the eventual 2006 national runner-up.

With every starter back from last year’s squad, there is reason to believe that this year’s team could make a legitimate run in the tourney. And while the team’s goals for 2007 have been ambitious since the moment last season’s dreams were dashed, all current discussion focuses on the present.

“We’re going to take it game-by-game, though I don’t think anyone who gets in the tournament doesn’t look a little down the road. But our goal right now is to beat Carthage Saturday,” said Elie Zenner, a senior captain.

Indeed, before Wash. U. can even think about accomplishing the lofty goals they set in the pre-season (including winning a national title), they will have to focus on winning two difficult games in as many days. Taking the first contest could prove the most psychologically challenging, since no member of the current Wash. U. team has ever won an NCAA tournament match.

“Getting this first win is definitely huge. You have to come in with that one-and-done mentality. You can’t have mental lapses, you can’t have an off day,” said fellow captain and senior Onyi Okoroafor.

Carthage enters the tournament riding high, having just clinched the Collegiate Conference of Wisconsin and Illinois (CCIW) title after completing their conference slate at a perfect 7-0. Though unranked, the Red Men will have to travel less than 60 miles to the Whitewater campus; the school’s Wisconsin location and proximity to the host site may serve as a mini-home field advantage.

Whitewater (15-2-2) currently sits at 11th in the D3kicks.com national poll, while Dominican (16-3-1) checks in at number 16. Clearly, this weekend’s action will serve as nothing even resembling a free pass for Wash. U., and on paper it would appear that the Bears enter as the underdogs.

Even so, members of the team expressed confidence entering the weekend.

“We’ve definitely seen teams like this throughout the season and we’ve performed well against them. As long as we can come out and work hard, we’ll be fine,” said Okoroafor.

Zenner reported that this year’s pre-tournament practices have taken on a much different feel than those last fall, when the Bears were appearing in their first post-season in seven years.

“I think that this year we feel a lot more confident going in. We know what’s coming more and we’re really focused on just becoming more focused on each individual aspect of the game within our practices. It’s been more pointed toward to the things that will allow us to succeed in the playoffs,” noted the suburban Chicago product.

Should the Bears emerge from this weekend’s single-elimination regional action unscathed, they would find out Monday where their next contests are to be played.

For now, Disney World remains a long two weeks away.

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