Nov. 9, 2009

2009 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament Bracket

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - BYU and San Diego State will represent the Mountain West Conference in the 2009 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. The Aztecs earned the Conference's automatic bid to the tournament after upsetting No. 1 seed BYU, 1-0, in the MWC Soccer Championship Final, Nov. 7, in Provo, Utah. The Cougars earned an at-large berth to the national postseason tournament for the fourth time since joining the MWC.

San Diego State (14-3-5) is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999. The Aztecs hold a 1-2 all-time record, after advancing to the second round in 1998. San Diego State will face San Diego (12-6-2) in the first round on Friday, Nov. 13, in Los Angeles, Calif. The Aztecs hold a 6-4-1 all-time record vs. the Toreros, but have lost three of the last four outings. The team's last meeting resulted in a 2-0 San Diego win in 2006. The winner of the San Diego State/San Diego game will play either No. 1 seed UCLA (17-2-1) or Boise State (13-6-4) on Sunday, Nov. 15.

BYU (17-3-2) is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship and 10th as a member of the Mountain West. The Cougars will face UC Santa Barbara (9-9-3) in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 12, at Palo Alto, Calif. The winner of the BYU/UCSB game will play either No. 1 seed Stanford (20-0-0) or Northern Arizona (9-8-2) on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Cougars have faced the Gauchos once, earning a 3-0 win in 1997. In BYU's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2008, the Cougars defeated Virginia Tech, 2-0, in the first round in Provo, Utah. BYU tied USC in the second round, but the Trojans advanced on penalty kicks, 4-2. The Cougars' best finish in the NCAA Tournament was an Elite Eight appearance in 2003.

With BYU and San Diego State in the 2009 field, the Mountain West Conference now has 23 appearances all-time in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. Overall, the Conference holds an 11-18-4 record in the tournament.

The four No. 1 seeds in the 2009 NCAA Championship are Stanford, UCLA, North Carolina and Florida State.

All first- and second-round matches in the 64-team tournament will take place at campus sites on either Thursday, Nov. 12 and Saturday, Nov. 14, or Friday, Nov. 13 and Sunday, Nov. 15. Third-round matches will be played on campus sites Nov. 20, 21 or 22, while quarterfinal matches will be Nov. 27, 28 or 29. The 28th annual NCAA Division I Women's College Cup will be played December 4 and 6 at the Aggie Soccer Stadium in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M University will serve as host of the championship.

For more information or the complete NCAA Women's Soccer Championship bracket, please log on to www.ncaa.com.

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