Nov. 9, 2005

LAS VEGAS -

NCAA First Round Notes
Download Free Acrobat Reader

For the second straight year the UNLV women's soccer team is traveling to California for its NCAA appearance, as the Rebels will take on 15th-ranked Cal State Fullerton on the Titans' home field on Friday night for their first round matchup at 7:30 pm in Titan Stadium. Though they are coming in with a four-game win streak after winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament title on Saturday, the Rebels will face a big challenge this weekend. UNLV drew what is easily the toughest regional matchup in this year's tournament, as the Cal State Fullerton regional is the only one to have three ranked teams (#15 Cal State Fullerton, #23 Gonzaga, #24 Southern Cal) in the field. Meanwhile eight of the 16 regional sites have just one ranked team.

The Rebels began the year with a 3-4-3 record while three-time all-conference goalie Jenna Huff was out with a broken foot, but have been on fire ever since her return, having won 10 of their last 12 games. Even more impressively, nine of the 10 wins were by shutout, and the Rebels have allowed just three goals in their last 12 matches. They will be taking on a Cal State Fullerton team that is just as hot however, as the Titans have won nine straight and are 8-1 at home this season.

This is the third meeting between the two schools, as the Rebels have played Cal State Fullerton twice before and won both meetings, taking a 3-2 win in Las Vegas on Sept. 19, 1999, and a 3-1 victory in Fullerton on Aug. 25 to open the 2000 season. They have never met the other two regional opponents before in women's soccer.

Not only is this UNLV's second trip to the NCAAs, it's the second for the Titans as well, and their first time as a host. Cal State Fullerton first played in the postseason in 2001, and were handed a 3-0 loss at UCLA.