UNLV earned the Mountain West's automatic bid after winning a penalty kick shootout over San Diego State in the title game of the Mountain West Tournament last weekend. The Scarlet and Gray were the No. 1 seed in the league tournament thanks to its first regular season title since 2007. The regular season and conference titles mark the first time ever the team has won both in the same season. The Cougars have also had a stellar year, entering the game ranked fourth in the country with a 16-2-1 record and fresh off winning their fifth-straight West Coast conference title on Saturday.

The Rebels head into Friday's game with a 16-3-3 record and a 12-game unbeaten streak, having not lost since the conference opener against San Jose State on Sept. 23. The stretch has included nine wins and three draws.

UNLV's offensive explosion this season continued at the Mountain West Tournament as the team scored five goals over two games during the title run. Much like it has been during the regular season, five different players scored for the Rebels, with seniors Dakota Blazak and Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year Lily Sender nabbing two in a 2-1 win over Utah State in the semifinals and junior Sophie Cortes, redshirt senior Susie Bernal and senior Jordan Magnin collecting goals in the 3-3 2OT championship game against SDSU. They will need that attack in Provo on Friday, in addition to stout defense, as the Cougars' offensive attack has been just as prolific this year, with 54 goals on 56 assists in 2016. The Rebels do have familiarity with the Cougars and playing in Provo as the two teams met at South Field during the regular season in 2015, a 2-0 win by BYU. The two schools also competed in a spring exhibition game in 2015.

Record-Setting Rebels
The Rebels have enjoyed one of their best seasons in program history. UNLV's 4-0 start was the best-ever through the first four games of the season, while the team's 16-3-3 overall record and 8-1-2 conference record are both program-bests. The eight conference wins are also the most in program history, while the team's 12-game unbeaten stretch is also the longest unbeaten streak in program history. The offense has been the catalyst to the team's success in 2016. The Rebels have set new single-season records for wins (16), goals (51) and assists (50), breaking marks the old marks of 13, 38 and 32 that were set in 2005, 2010 and 2015, respectively. It's been a team effort in the attack this year, as 12 different players have scored at least one goal, eight scoring at least three and six scoring at least four.

Offensive Onslaught in 2016
Leading the attack for the Rebels has been seniors Lily Sender and Susie Bernal, who have combined for 20 goals, 18 assists and 58 points on the year. Sender in particular has had a breakout final campaign as she led the Mountain West in points (38) and goals (15) and tied for third in assists (8) en route to earning UNLV's third Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year honor in program history. Bernal was stellar this year as well, ranking tied for sixth in points (20) and second in assists (10) in the Mountain West.

The offensive production had the Rebels atop the Mountain West in all the major offensive statistical categories, ranking first in goals (2.32 per game), assists (2.27 per game), points (6.91 per game) and shots (17.82 per game). Nationally, UNLV boasts a top-20 scoring offense as they are 14th in goals per game, and tied for 11th in assists per game and points per game. In total goals (51), assists (50) and points (152), the Rebels are top-5 in all three categories, ranking tied for fifth in all three. Individually, Sender and Bernal rank in the top-15 nationally, with Sender tied for 12th in total points (38) and tied for 13th in total goals (15), while Bernal is tied for 12th in total assists (10).

Single-Season & Career Records
Bernal's 10 assists this season is seven more than she had in all of 2015. Her 10th assist came in the Mountain West Championship game, which broke the single-season record of nine held by teammate Jordan Magnin, who set it in 2015. The 10 also brings her career total to 22, a new program record after she surpassed the old mark of 19 set by Katie Carney from 2004-07. A year after setting the single-season record for assists in 2015, Magnin has seven more this year, moving her into second place all-time to tie with Carney at 19. Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year Lily Sender's 15 goals and 38 points this season are both new single-season records as well, breaking Ashleigh Shoughro's 2010 totals of 14 goals and 31 points.

NCAA Tournament History
The Rebels are making their fourth overall appearance and first since 2006. UNLV made the NCAA tournament three-straight years from 2004-2006, losing all three first round games the team has appeared in. The program's first-ever appearance came after the team won its first-ever conference title, with the season ending in a 1-0 in double overtime loss to San Diego. After losing in the league tournament in 2004 after winning the regular season title, the Rebels received its only at-large bid in program history. In 2005, the team won its first Mountain West Tournament to receive the league's automatic bid, coming close to an upset for the second-straight year with a 1-0 overtime loss to Cal State Fullerton. In 2006, UNLV had to win three games at the conference tournament to make the NCAAs after winning in the semifinals and championship with two-straight PK shootout wins. The team was sent to UCLA that year, losing 6-1 in the first round.

Scouting BYU
The Cougars (16-2-1) enter the game ranked fourth overall in the country in the NSCAA poll, with two wins over top-25 opponents (#5 Penn State, #19 Ohio State) and three more wins over power-five schools (Washington State, Utah, Tennessee). Their two losses have come against another power-five foe in Nebraska and No. 25 Pepperdine during league play. The team's lone draw came against Santa Clara, also during league play. BYU is strong on both sides of the ball, with a prolific attack up front and stout defense in the back.

As a team, BYU is third in the country in scoring offense, averaging 2.84 goals per game, while its 2.89 assists per game is best in the nation. Defensively, the Cougars have given up just nine goals all season, ranking eighth in the country with a 0.46 goals-against average (GAA). Up front, BYU has been led by the senior duo of Ashley Hatch and Michele Vasconcelos, who have combined for 32 goals and 17 assists on the year. For her performance, Vasconcelos was named the West Coast Conference (WCC) Offensive Player of the Year. In the back, the Cougars have deployed three different keepers this season, with Hannah Clark seeing the majority of minutes in goal. The junior has given up just seven goals this season with 44 saves and a 0.49 GAA. BYU has also had the luxury of having the WCC's Defensive Player of the Year in junior Taylor Isom to keep opponents out of the net this season. Overall, the Cougars had eight All-WCC honorees.

Next Time Out (Hopefully)
BYU (16-2-1) and UNLV (16-3-3) appear in second-ranked South Carolina's regional bracket, who received one of four No. 1 seeds in the tournament. No. 10 North Carolina is the two seed and No. 9 Clemson is the three seed in that part of the bracket. Assuming the Gamecocks take care of business against Alabama State, the winners of Oklahoma St./Colorado, Oklahoma/SMU and BYU/UNLV will head to Columbia for the second and third rounds on Nov. 18 & 20, respectively.

All-Time Series
The Rebels and the Cougars have met 18 times previously in the all-time series between the two schools with BYU owning a 15-1-2 mark over UNLV. The teams last met during the 2015 regular season in Provo, a 2-0 win for the Cougars. BYU and UNLV met at least once a year from the first year of the program in 1998 through 2010 when the Cougars left the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels' lone win over BYU came at home on November 2, 2007 in a 1-0 double overtime win.

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