Utah and BYU to Represent Conference in 2003 NCAA Women's Soccer Cup

Both schools to play first-round matches on Thursday.

Utah (pictured) will face Idaho State while BYU will battle Colorado on Thursday.
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Nov. 10, 2003

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - BYU and Utah will represent the Mountain West Conference in the 2003 NCAA Women's College Cup. The 14th-ranked Utes will take on Idaho State in first round action on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m. on Ute Field in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Cougars will face No. 11 Colorado in the preceding first round match on Thursday at 11 a.m. The winners of the first round contests will face each other in second round action on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 11 a.m. Utah received the MWC's automatic bid after defeating BYU in the conference championship last week in Salt Lake City, while the Cougars received an at-large berth.

Utah (16-2-1, 6-0-0 MWC) will be making its second straight appearance in the NCAA Women's College Cup. In their first-ever appearance in 2002, the Utes defeated BYU, 3-2, in overtime, in the first round, then fell, 3-0, to eventual national champion Portland in the second round. This will be the first time that Utah has hosted. BYU will be making its seventh straight appearance in the Women's Cup where it holds a 5-6 all-time record. The Cougars have made it to the "Sweet 16" twice, with their last appearance coming in 2000, where they fell to Santa Clara, 2-1, in overtime.

All first and second round matches in the 64-team tournament will take place at campus sites on Friday, Nov. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 16, except for the matches played in Salt Lake City, which will be on Thursday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 15. Third-round matches will be played on campus sites Nov. 21, 22 or 23, as will quarterfinal matches on Nov. 28, 29 or 30. The 22nd annual NCAA Division I Women's College Cup will be played December 5 and 7 at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. North Carolina State and the Capitol Area Soccer League are hosting the championship.

The No. 1 seed in the 2003 Women's College Cup is North Carolina. The Big 12 had eight teams selected to the tournament, while the ACC will be represented by seven teams. The Big East and Big Ten will have six teams each represented.

Twenty-nine conferences were granted automatic bids for the 2003 championship. The remaining 35 teams were selected at-large.

You can find the NCAA Women's College Cup bracket on-line at www.ncaachampionships.com.