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The Brigham Young women's soccer team is in an enviable position. Even if the sixth-ranked Cougars fail to win this week's Mountain West Conference tournament, they'll still be invited to the NCAA College Cup as an at-large.
But BYU, 15-3-1 all-time in the MWC postseason, sees securing the conference tournament trophy as another step toward earning a berth in the NCAA College Cup Final Four. The Cougars have reached the Sweet 16 three times, and made the Elite Eight in 2003.
"Winning the conference tournament is one of our goals," senior defender Andrea Willis said. "There is a little less pressure on our backs. Mostly our team focuses on getting better every game."
BYU (16-2-2, 6-0-1 MWC) is once again the No. 1 seed and tournament host. The Cougars haven't lost a conference game in two seasons.
A 2-2 tie at San Diego State is the lone conference blemish on BYU's conference record in 2009. The Cougars led late in the game, which went into overtime.
"That was frustrating," Willis said.
BYU received a first-round bye and plays today at 3 p.m. against the winner of New Mexico and Wyoming. San Diego State is the No. 2 seed. The tournament began Wednesday, with the final at South Field scheduled for noon Saturday.
BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood believes her team will have no trouble keep focused on the matches at hand.
"We've worked all year to keep things in our control," Rockwood said. "The girls just want
What makes this season a bit more special for Rockwood is her team's youth. She started four freshmen, including Carlee Payne, who has a team-high 12 goals and 10 assists.
"We didn't realize how much they'd mature throughout the season," Rockwood said. "We knew we had a lot of talent. The upperclassmen did a tremendous job of preparing and building the confidence of the younger players."
USU soccer No. 2 seed in WAC tourney
Utah State enters the Western Athletic Conference soccer tournament at Boise State with a sense of having unfinished business. The Aggies beat New Mexico State 3-0 on Sunday to clinch the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye. USU (10-8-2, 5-2-1 WAC) will play Friday at 3 p.m. against either Boise State or Fresno State, which begin play today. San Jose State earned the No. 1 seed. The final is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Last season, the Aggies were undefeated in league play, but lost in the finals to Fresno State in overtime. USU has never played in NCAA Tournament. USU has now won at least 10 game for four consecutive years.
"This was a pretty fun way to send out our seniors," USU coach Heather Cairns said following the Sunday victory. "The thing that I am most proud of was that we played 90 minutes. I couldn't have asked for our team to come out harder."
SLCC hosts tournament
Despite a loss to end the regular season, Salt Lake Community College finished as the No. 1 seed for the Region 18 Volley Championship tournament, which begins Friday at SLCC. The Bruins (25-7, 8-2 SWAC) will play either No. 5 seed Snow College or the fourth seed College of Eastern Utah at 7 p.m.
Snow and Eastern Utah meet at 1 p.m. Friday. North Idaho is the No. 2 seed. The championship is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. The winner advances to the District A playoffs.
Last season, coach Sue Dulaney guided the Bruins to the District A title and advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament for the fifth consecutive year.
