Nov. 4, 2005
LAS VEGAS -
UNLV MWC Championship game notes
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Coming off a thrilling comeback overtime victory over San Diego State in the semifinals on Thursday night, the UNLV women's soccer team will play in their second-ever MWC championship game on Saturday afternoon against the fifth-seeded New Mexico Lobos, who upset top-seed Utah in the semifinals. The game will kickoff at 12 pm at Peter Johann Memorial Field. Live game stats will be available over the internet via the Mountain West Conference's official website at www.themwc.com. Saturday's championship game will also be shown on CSTV tape-delayed on Sunday at 6 pm (PST), and will be available live on the MWC website as well.
The last time UNLV (12-6-3) made the championship game, the tournament was also in Las Vegas and they fell to BYU 2-1. The Rebels already have posted a 2-0 win over New Mexico (8-6-4) this season, though the Lobos were without their starting goalkeeper Kristen Winters, who sat out the game after receiving a red card in the previous contest.
Known as one of the top defensive teams on the West Coast, the Rebels have been just as impressive offensively in this tournament, having scored a total of five goals, two more than San Diego State and Utah, and three more than New Mexico has totaled in reaching the championship match. The Lobos scored in the final few minutes in their win over 5th seed Wyoming for a 1-0 win on Wednesday and scored an early goal against Utah and saw it hold up in the 1-0 upset over the 22nd-ranked Utes.
The Rebels have won the last two matches against New Mexico and are 2-1 all-time in Las Vegas. Today's game also marks New Mexico's second trip to the MWC title game, the Lobos fell to top-seed BYU 5-1 in the 2002 finals. New Mexico is the lowest seed to ever reach the championship game, while this is the fourth time the host school has made the championship game. The host school is 2-1 all-time in championship games, with the one loss being UNLV's to BYU, though that was also the only time the host school was also the lower seed.
Saturday's winner will receive the MWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. If the Rebels win, it would mark their second-ever and second straight trip.
