#3 Utah defeats #6 TCU, 3-1, in First Round of MWC Tournament

The Utes advance to the semifinals vs. #2 San Diego State Thursday

Women's Soccer Home HEADLINES BYU Falls to No. 1 Stanford, 2-0, in NCAA Tournament BYU Defeats UC Santa Barbara, 2-0, to Advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament MWC Women's Soccer Weekly Release RELATED LINKS • Follow all of the college soccer action at CollegeSports.com • Email this to a friend

Nov. 4, 2009

PROVO, Utah -

• 2009 MWC Women's Soccer Championship Central
• Become a Fan of the MWC on Facebook
• Follow the MWC on Twitter

In a match reminiscent of the regular season, the third-seeded Utah Utes (9-9-2) defeated sixth-seed TCU (9-10-0), 3-1, in the first round of the 2009 Mountain West Conference Tournament. With the win, Utah will advance to play second-seeded San Diego State at noon MT on Thursday, Nov. 5. The game will be televised live on The Mtn.

"We played very well and created a lot of chances," Utah head coach Rich Manning said. "After the first 20 minutes, we secured some things in the back that were giving us trouble. We got better defensively and I was pleased with that."

Twenty-five minutes into the half, the Utes took their third corner kick of the match. The deflection fell to the feet of Lauren Dudley, who got the ball to Kelly Isleib. The senior took a few touches before launching the ball into the upper right corner of the net to score the first goal of the contest and put Utah up, 1-0. The Horned Frogs' goalkeeper, Kelsey Walters, had her work cut out for her as she made three crucial saves in the closing minutes of the first half.

Utah struck quickly in the second half to increase their lead to two just 10 minutes into play. Morgan Skeen sent a free kick to Lauren Porter, who lofted a header into the back of the net. TCU made its mark when Kaylie Garcia took the ball down the field unchallenged. Her left-footed shot found the back of the net and put the Horned Frogs back in the game with 11 minutes left to play.

Erin Dalley and the Utes continued their offensive attack. The sophomore forward sped past a TCU defender, dribbled around the goalie and tapped the ball across the line. The teams remained scoreless for the remaining minutes of the game as Utah came away with the 3-1 win.

TCU's Walters made three saves, while Utah's Hannah Turpen made one in the win. The Utes outshot the Horned Frogs, 18-8, and held the edge on corner kicks, 7-1.