Nov. 9, 2007
PROVO, Utah -
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UNLV is now in position to win its third-straight Mountain West Conference Women's Soccer Tournament championship, as the top-seeded Rebels earned their way into Saturday's title game with a 2-1 victory over Utah in the semifinal round. This also marks the second-straight year UNLV will face the tournament host on its own home field in the championship game, as in the 2006 tournament, UNLV defeated Utah in Salt Lake City 6-5 in a penalty kick shootout following a 0-0 double-overtime tie.
A win on Saturday would not only extend UNLV's championship streak, it would also assure the Rebels of a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight season, though UNLV will have a strong case for an at-large berth if they do not claim the automatic bid. UNLV, which won the regular season title this year, received an at-large bid the last time they were the MWC regular season champions, during the 2004 season.
UNLV also looks to continue its recent success against the Cougars. BYU won the first 10 meetings between the two schools, but UNLV finally broke through with a tie in last year's semifinals, with UNLV advancing to the final after winning the shootout 4-1. The Rebels then claimed a 1-0 double-overtime victory in Las Vegas on Nov. 3 that clinched the regular season crown.
Saturday will be a matchup of the Katie's, as the Cougars feature Katie Larkin, who has 15 goals on the season and has scored three times in this year's tournament. UNLV meanwhile counters with Katie Carney, MWC Offensive Player of the Year, who became the school's all-time assist leader on UNLV's first goal in the semifinals. Carney has 21 points on the year and is three points away from tying for the all-time career scoring mark of 68, set by former MWC Player of the Year Annii Magliulo (2001-04).
