Nov. 9, 2010

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

MWC Women's Soccer Weekly Release 11-9-10

BYU and New Mexico will represent the Mountain West Conference in the 2010 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. The Cougars earned the Conference’s automatic bid to the tournament after defeating the top-seeded Lobos, 1-0, in the MWC Women’s Soccer Championship Final, Nov. 6, in San Diego, Calif. New Mexico earned an at-large berth to the national postseason tournament after winning the Mountain West regular-season title.

BYU is making its 13th appearance in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship and its 11th as a member of the MWC. The Cougars will face UCLA in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 11, in Los Angeles, Calif. The winner of the BYU/UCLA match will play either fourth-seeded Central Florida or Fresno State on Saturday, Nov. 13. The Cougars own a 2-1 series advantage over the Bruins. UCLA secured a 6-0 victory in 2002, while BYU tallied a 2-0 regular-season win over the Bruins in 1998 and earned a 3-1 decision over UCLA in the second round of the 1997 NCAA tournament.

New Mexico is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Lobos will face fourth-seeded Notre Dame (15-2-2) in the first round on Friday, Nov. 12, in South Bend, Ind. This will mark the first-ever meeting between the Lobos and Fighting Irish. The winner of the New Mexico/Notre Dame contest will play either Illinois or USC on Sunday, Nov. 14.

The Mountain West Conference now has 25 appearances all-time in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. Overall, the Conference holds a 13-20-4 record in the tournament.

NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

FIRST ROUND (LOS ANGELES, CALIF.)
November 11 (Thursday)
BYU (16-3-2) vs. UCLA (12-7-1), 5:30 p.m. PT
Fresno State (9-8-5) vs. Central Florida (1 4-4-3), 8 p.m. PT

FIRST ROUND (SOUTH BEND, IND.)
November 12 (Friday)
NEW MEXICO (12-2-5) vs. #4 seed Notre Dame (15-2-2), 7:30 ET
Illinois (13-4-1) vs. USC (12-5-3), 5:00 ET

SECOND ROUND (LOS ANGELES, CALIF.)
November 13 (Saturday)
BYU/UCLA winner vs. Fresno State/Central Florida winner, 7 p.m. PT

SECOND ROUND (SOUTH BEND, IND.)
November 14 (Sunday)
NEW MEXICO/Notre Dame winner vs. Illinois/USC winner, 1 p.m. ET