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Utah Soccer Heads To MWC Tournament As No. 2 Seed
11/3/2008 12:00 AM | Soccer
Nov. 3, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah women's soccer team (10-8-2, 5-2-0 MWC) heads to Las Vegas, Nev., this week for the Mountain West Conference Championships. The tournament will be hosted by UNLV at Johann Field, Nov. 5-8.
Utah enters the championships as the No. 2 seed and will have a quarterfinal-round bye. The Utes' first game of the championships will in the semifinals where they will face the winner of the quarterfinal contest between No. 3 TCU and No. 6 San Diego State.
The Utes are 1-1 on the year against their prospective semifinal opponents. Utah defeated San Diego State in Salt Lake City during their regular-season meeting by a 4-1 score, equaling the most goals scored by the Utes in a game this year. On the road against TCU, Utah fell by a 2-0 score on two second-half goals in Fort Worth.
Utah has faced San Diego State on a neutral field three times, coming away with a 2-0-1 record. The last time they met in the MWC tournament was a 2004 matchup in Provo, Utah, a contest that ended in a 1-1 tie. Officially ruled a draw for record-keeping, the Aztecs advanced on penalty kicks. Utah has never met TCU on a neutral field. The two schools have never faced off in the conference tournament.
The Utes have appeared in the MWC semifinals nine years in a row by either earning a first-round bye or by playing into them. Utah became back-to-back conference champions in 2003 and 2004, sweeping both the regular-season and the tournament crowns in `03. The squad won the tournament in `04 as the No. 4 seed.
In last year's championships at Provo, Utah, the Utes entered as the No. 5 seed and took down No. 4 Wyoming in the quarterfinals, 2-0. The Utes' run was ended by No. 1 UNLV in the semifinals, 2-1.
Utes Finish Second In The MWC...
For the seventh time in the 10-year history of the Mountain West Conference, Utah finished in the top two in the final regular-season standings. With a win at Air Force last Friday, Utah clinched second place and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
With a final conference record of 5-2, the Utes improved to 58-19-8 all-time in MWC games, good for a .729 winning percentage. After falling to BYU in the conference-opener, Utah reeled off three straight wins, including a road victory at New Mexico. Following a road loss at TCU, the Utes battled through double-overtime to beat Wyoming with less than two minutes remaining. That win put the Utes at 4-2 in the MWC and left them in control of their own destiny with respect to earning a first-round bye in the tournament.
Regular-Season Conference Wrapup...
BYU captured the MWC regular-season title with an undefeated record, while Utah took second place at 5-2. With tremendous parity throughout the conference, the Nos. 2-7 spots were up for grabs entering the final weekend.
Utah defeated Air Force to clinch the No. 2 spot, while TCU topped San Diego State to finish third. New Mexico earned a hard-fought win at UNLV to jump up to the No. 4 spot, leaving the Rebels to finish fifth. The Aztecs of SDSU claimed the final playoff berth coming in at No. 6, while Wyoming just missed postseason play with a 2-5 MWC record. Air Force finished the season winless in conference play.
The preseason prognostications were fairly accurate in that all six teams predicted to make the MWC tournament field did so. The order however, was where the poll missed. BYU won the conference, as predicted. However, defending champion UNLV came in two spots below their predicted second-place finish.
Utah and San Diego State tied for third in the preseason voting but went in very opposite directions in the table. Utah finished higher than expected, coming in at No. 2, while San Diego State just edged Wyoming for the final playoff berth, finishing in sixth place.
TCU improved by two places, garnering third-place points, two spots above their predicted finish of fifth, while New Mexico also one-upped their preseason spot, from sixth to fifth.
From The Mind Of Manning...
Quotes from Utah head coach Rich Manning regarding his squad, this week's MWC Tournament, and other items of note:
On the status of the team heading into the tournament:
"I feel we have grown and improved as a team in every area of the game since the beginning of conference play. We have more confidence and experience and I think that has played a big part in their improvement. I feel good coming into the tournament about our ability to put our best effort out there, and we'll see if we can win a couple of games."
On the importance of the team winning some close games recently:
"The important thing is that when the game kicks off and your nerves are rattling, you still have a sense of confidence that you have been there before and have been successful. Whether you are nervous early or in the neck of the game, you have to know that your team and your players can make a decisive play with the game on the line. That's what I have seen out of our team in these games recently. It got close and we stepped up and made plays. It's all about confidence when the game is tight."
On the play of sophomore forward Lauren Hair toward the end of the season:
"Forwards are always going to go through periods where they are scoring a lot and others when they might struggle. The team always has a better chance to win when those people are on a roll, and Lauren is right now. She is in good scoring form and is scoring the kinds of goals that we expect her to score. She is playing to her strengths and not trying to do things that are uncomfortable for her. Lauren is getting herself in good positions and finishing chances, and that is really encouraging for our team."
On the value of offensive and defensive contributions from all over the field:
"If we are going to be successful we can't rely only on one or two players offensively or defensively. It really has to be a team effort. We need everyone out there to feel that they can be the player to make a big play or score a big goal. When everyone is in that mindset it boads well for our team.
Isleib Becomes Utes' All-Time Assist Leader...
With the assist on Lauren Hair's game-winning goal against Wyoming Oct. 26, junior midfielder Kelly Isleib (Park City, Utah) became the all-time assists leader at Utah. Isleib now has 23 helpers in her career, surpassing Amanda Feigt's previous school record of 22 (2003-06).
Isleib set a new school record last year for assists in a season with 13, bringing her career total to 17 and placing her fourth on the all-time Utah assists list entering the 2008 campaign.
Isleib is tied for fourth in the MWC in assists in all games but is No. 1 in the league when including only conference games. In addition to leading the team in game-winning goals (4), she is tied for the team lead in game-winning assists this year with two.
Hair Continues To Burn Opposition...
Sophomore forward Lauren Hair (Alpine, Utah) struck her third consecutive game-winning goal last Friday, lifting Utah to a 2-1 win at Air Force and clinching second place in the MWC. The game-winner was her third straight and fourth in three games.
Hair has found the back of the net five times this season, tied for second on the team, including four game-winning efforts, which ties her for the team lead.
Mitamura Leads Off Against Air Force...
With her second goal of the year, freshman midfielder Mallory Mitamura (Centerville, Utah) cracked the lid on Friday's season finale at Air Force. Her composed effort in front of the box gave the Utes a 1-0 first-half advantage on the road in a game they would go on to win 2-1.
Mitamura has started the last three games at holding midfielder in place of fellow freshman Katie Martinez (Littleton, Colo.) who is battling soreness in her lower legs.
Sanchez Posts Second Assist...
Senior midfielder Amanda Sanchez (Sacramento, Calif.) doesn't get a lot of notice on the stat sheets but has played a vital role in the Utah midfield. Her physical presence and leadership have helped the Utes gain control of games in midfield and provided a link from the defense to offense in transition. In Friday's crucial win against Air Force, Sanchez assisted on Mitamura's game-opening goal, lofting a perfectly weighted ball over the Falcon back line for Mitamura to run on to. It was Sanchez's second assist of the season and the third of her career.
Senior Utes Head To Final MWC Tourney...
Four seniors will be playing in their final MWC championship this weekend in Las Vegas. Goalkeeper Amy Edman (Salt Lake City), defender Addie Hair (Alpine, Utah), forward Katy Reineke (Salt Lake City) and the aforementioned Sanchez will take one last crack at the tournament as they fight for their last opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the MWC championship receives an automatic bid to the field of 64.
Edman, Reineke and Sanchez were all members of the 2005 and 2006 squads that won the regular-season championship, but neither team could capture the tournament crown, falling short in the finals in `06 on PK's after tying UNLV 0-0.
Reineke and Sanchez are the only two of the four seniors who have seen action in an MWC tournament game, combining for eight starts in 10 appearances. Sanchez has scored twice in tournament play while Reineke has found the back of the net once.
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