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Utah Soccer Heads to MWC Tournament as No. 4 Seed
11/1/2010 12:00 AM | Soccer
Nov. 1, 2010
MWC Championships Headquarters
This Week's Action...
The University of Utah women's soccer team (5-14-1) heads to San Diego, Calif., this week for the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The No. 4-seeded Utes take on No. 5 UNLV (10-7-1) in the quarterfinals, Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. MT. If the Utes advance, they will face No. 1 seed New Mexico (11-1-5) at 1 p.m. MT on Thursday.
The All-Time Series...
The Utes hold an 11-3-3 all-time record against UNLV, with a 1-1-0 mark on neutral soil. Utah has won three straight contests against the Rebels, including a 3-0 shutout victory at home on Oct. 23. Utah's last loss to the Rebels was a 2-1 result in the 2007 MWC Tournament semifinals.
Against possible semifinal opponent New Mexico, Utah is 10-6-2 all-time, including a 1-2-0 mark at neutral sites. In their regular-season meeting, New Mexico took a 3-0 victory in Albuquerque. Utah's last win against the Lobos was a 1-0 victory on the road in 2008. The last time the two squads faced off in the MWC Tournament was a quarterfinal contest in 2006, which saw the Utes capture a 2-1 victory in overtime.
Turpen Finishes Regular Season as MWC Leader in Saves...
Heading into the MWC Tournament, junior goalkeeper Hannah Turpen leads the MWC in saves with 91. Despite missing two and a half games due to injury, Turpen is averaging a league-best 5.06 saves per game.
Turpen's 91 stops give her the fourth-highest single-season save total in Utah history. She overtook Tawni Martineau's 89 saves, recorded in back-to-back seasons in 1997 and `98. She needs just nine saves to become the fourth Ute goalkeeper ever to total 100 stops in a season.
The MWC Tournament...
New Mexico claimed its first regular-season MWC women's soccer title after finishing with a 5-0-2 league record. The first-place finish earned the Lobos (11-1-5 overall) the No. 1 seed in the 2010 MWC Women's Soccer Championship, scheduled for Nov. 3-6 in San Diego, Calif.
BYU finished in second place with a 5-1-1 league record and a 14-3-2 overall mark. San Diego State (7-9-3, overall, 5-2-0 MWC) finished third, while Utah (5-14-1 overall, 3-3-1 MWC) and UNLV (10-7-1 overall, 2-4-1) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Wyoming (7-9-3 overall, 1-3-3 MWC) rounds out the top six teams advancing to the MWC Championship.
The conference tournament will take place Nov. 3-6 at the SDSU Sports Deck on the campus of San Diego State University. The opening match will pit No. 4 Utah vs. No. 5 UNLV at noon PT on Wednesday. The second match on Wednesday will feature No. 3 seed San Diego State vs. No. 6 seed Wyoming at 3 p.m. PT. No. 1 seed New Mexico and No. 2 seed BYU will have first-round byes and will play in the semifinals on Thursday. The Lobos will play the winner of the No. 4 Utah/No. 5 UNLV contest at noon PT, while the Cougars will face the winner of the No. 3 San Diego State/No. 6 Wyoming contest at 3 p.m. PT.
The MWC Women's Soccer Championship title match is slated for noon PT on Saturday, with the winner earning an automatic bid into the 2010 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship.
The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network will broadcast Thursday's semifinals live at noon and 3 p.m. PT. The championship game, scheduled for noon PT on Saturday, Nov. 6, will be streamed live on The Mtn.'s Web site (www.themtn.tv) and air on the linear network via same-day tape delay at 11 p.m. PT. It will also be re-broadcast at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. PT on Sunday, Nov. 7. The tandem of Jim Watson and Mark Rogondino will call the matches on Thursday and Saturday.
Last Year's Conference Championships...
After defeating TCU by a 3-1 score in the first round of last year's MWC championships, the Utes' run was ended in the semifinals as San Diego State captured a 2-1 double-overtime decision in Provo, Utah.
Scouting This Weekend's Opposition...
No. 5 Seed UNLV Rebels
UNLV enters the tournament as the No. 5 seed, after earning a 2-4-1 conference record. The Rebels finished the season with two straight losses, falling to the Utes in Salt Lake City, 3-0, and dropping the season finale at San Diego State, 2-0.
The Rebel attack is led by Ashleigh Shoughro, who has netted 13 goals and tallied three assists for 29 points. Amanda Forrester has added six goals, while Colette Jepson has chipped in five. Three players are tied for the team lead in assists with four.
In goal for the Rebels, Kylie Wassell has seen the majority of action, making 59 saves and allowing 23 goals for a 1.43 GAA and a save percentage of 72.0%. She owns three shutouts this year and has been the goalkeeper of record in all 17 games.
UNLV is led by first-year head coach Jennifer Klein.
New Mexico Lobos (possible)
New Mexico enters the MWC tournament as the No. 1 seed, having finished the conference season unbeaten at 5-0-2.
New Mexico is led offensively by Jennifer Williams, who has logged 23 points on eight goals and seven assists. Rachel Fields has accounted for six goals, while Zaneta Wyne and Jordan Craig have scored three each. Seven other players have found the back of the net once each.
Defensively, Kelli Cornell has started every game and played all but 45 minutes in net for the Lobos this year. Allowing just six goals all season, Cornell holds a goals-against-average of 0.33 and a save percentage of 92.4%. She owns 10 shutouts on the year.
The Lobos are coached by Kit Vela, who owns a record of 80-74-34, now in her 10th season at the New Mexico helm.
Utah's Mountain West Conference History...
Utah captured its first conference title in 1999, the inaugural year of the MWC. The Utes were named co-champions as they finished in a three-way tie with San Diego State and BYU.
Utah's next league title came in 2003, as the Utes swept both the MWC regular-season and tournament championships. Utah went undefeated in conference play for the first time in school history, posting a 6-0-0 record. The Utes then topped BYU by a 2-0 score in the tournament championship match, held in Salt Lake City. The successful 2003 campaign kicked off a string of four straight years in which either the regular season or conference tournament hardware would rest in the Utes' trophy case at season's end.
In 2004, Utah won its second consecutive MWC Tournament championship, advancing past San Diego State in the finals. The match was tied 1-1 following regulation and overtime play, but the Utes eventually conquered the Aztecs in penalty kicks to claim the title.
The 2005 season saw Utah finish atop the MWC standings in the regular season, posting another undefeated conference record at 6-0-1.
With another flawless year in 2006, registering a 7-0-0 record, Utah joined BYU as the only two programs in the MWC's history to post back-to-back unbeaten seasons. Utah and BYU also share the distinction of being the two most successful soccer programs in MWC history. Utah has captured either the regular-season or conference tournament championship five times, while BYU has claimed a title eight times. Both squads have also twice doubled up to sweep both titles in the same year.
SHOW YOUR SCARF!!
This week will mark the final week of the SHOW YOUR SCARF! fan photo contest. The Utah women's soccer team would like to thank everyone who participated in the season-long effort to raise awareness of the team, improve game atmosphere and fan experience, and increase season ticket sales.
To find out more about the ongoing campaign, purchase your UTAH UTES scarf or check out the results of the SHOW YOUR SCARF! weekly contests, log on to the team's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/utahwsoccer or visit www.UtahUtes.com.
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
/ SoccerCrimson Corner with Bill Riley - Urban Meyer
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Utah Soccer's Grace Watkins - ESPN+ Feature
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Utah Soccer's Devi Dudley - ESPN+ Feature
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Utah Soccer's Ava Hetzel - ESPN+ Feature
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