Nov. 7, 2007

LAS VEGAS -

UNLV semifinal game notes vs. Utah

Looking to win the Mountain West Conference women's soccer tournament for the third straight season, the regular season champion UNLV Rebels know it will be a difficult road when they begin play on Thursday. They will have to go through Utah in the semifinals, and then meet either second-seed San Diego State or third-seeded BYU on its own home field if they make it to the championship match on Saturday. Thursday's game will tipoff at 12 pm (PST) in Provo, in a game televised live by The Mtn.

Though this is the second time UNLV has been a No. 1 seed, the two tournament titles came when the Rebels were a No. 2 and No. 3 seed. The last time UNLV was a No. 1 was in the 2004 season, when it lost to fourth-seeded Utah 2-0 on this very same field. UNLV was able to earn a NCAA Tournament at-large bid that year, and hope to do so again this year if not able to claim the tournament's automatic bid.

UNLV and Utah met in last year's title game, which ended in a 0-0 tie but the Rebels won the title on a PK shootout, which is also how the Utes advanced past UNLV in the 2003 semifinals. Earlier this year, the game finished in a tie as well, 2-2 in Las Vegas.