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BYU, UNLV and Utah to Represent MWC in NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament
Three MWC teams advance for second consecutive year
Nov. 6, 2006 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - BYU, Utah and UNLV will represent the Mountain West Conference in the 2006 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. The 2006 tournament marks the second consecutive year that three MWC teams will advance to NCAA postseason play. The three teams advancing to the postseason also match the most in league history. UNLV earned the conference's automatic bid to the tournament after tying Utah, 0-0, and advancing on penalty kicks (6-5) in the MWC Soccer Championship, Nov. 4, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Utes earned an at-large bid from the NCAA committee after winning the MWC regular-season title with a 7-0-0 record, while Cougars' impressive 13-2-4 overall record earned them a berth. UNLV, with a 9-10-3 record, travels to Los Angeles, Calif., to take on second-seeded and third-ranked UCLA in first-round action, Friday, Nov. 10. Cal State Fullerton and Loyola Marymount face each other in the second opening round game. The winner of the UNLV/UCLA game will play the winner of Cal State Fullerton/Loyola Marymount on Sunday, Nov. 12. No. 19 BYU (13-2-4) and No. 10 Utah (15-4-1) will both see first-round action in Salt Lake City, Utah. BYU will face-off against defending national champion Portland on Thursday, Nov. 9, while fourth-seeded Utah hosts Idaho State. Utah and Idaho State met in the first round of the tournament in 2002, with Idaho State advancing on penalty kicks. The first-round winners will play Saturday, Nov. 11. BYU is making its ninth appearance in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship (1997, 98, 99, 2000, 01, 02, 03, 05, 06). In BYU's last appearance, the Cougars tied Weber State, 1-1, but the Wildcats advanced on penalty kicks. Utah is making its fifth straight appearance in the championship (2002, 03, 04, 05, 06). The Utes fell in the first round to Arizona, 1-0, last year. UNLV will be making its third consecutive trip (2004, 05, 06), following last year's first-round loss to Cal State Fullerton in overtime. With BYU, Utah and UNLV in the 2006 field, the Mountain West Conference now has 19 appearances all-time in the NCAA Soccer Championship. Overall, the conference holds a 9-15-2 record in the tournament. All first and second round matches in the 64-team tournament will take place at campus sites on either Thursday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 11, or Friday, Nov. 10 and Sunday, Nov. 12. Third-round matches will be played on campus sites Nov. 17, 18 or 19, while quarterfinal matches will be Nov. 24, 25 or 26. The 25th annual NCAA Division I Women's College Cup will be played December 1 and 3 at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. North Carolina State University is the host of the championship. The four No. 1 seeds in the 2006 NCAA Championship are North Carolina, Texas, Santa Clara and Notre Dame. In the tournament, 30 teams received automatic bids, while 34 teams received an at-large berth. The ACC and Big East received the most selections with seven apiece. For more information or the complete NCAA Women's Soccer Championship bracket, please log on to www.ncaasports.com.
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