The No. 4 BYU women's soccer team has been selected as a No. 1 seed for the upcoming 2012 Women's College Cup, the highest seed ever for a women's team at BYU in the NCAA tournament and the highest seed in the team's history. The Cougars will host Utah State in the first round of the tournament on Friday at 6 p.m. at South Field.
"It has been such a fantastic year and we're so pleased to represent the West Coast Conference," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "Earning a No. 1 seed, obviously, is a big deal and the girls have worked so hard for this. It doesn't matter who we play, we're just ready and I know these girls will play their hardest."
The Cougars finished the regular season 18-1-1, on a 17-game unbeaten streak, and an unbeaten 7-0-1 record through conference play to earn themselves the West Coast Conference Championship title and automatic bid to the 2012 postseason.
The other No. 1 seeds for the tournament are Pac-12 automatic qualifier Stanford, ACC at-large bid Florida State and Big 10 at-large bid Penn State.
"I can't tell you how excited and honored I was seeing that No. 1 seed," said senior defender Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall. "I don't think there's a better way to wrap up my senior season - we get home advantage, we won our conference and now this. It's taken a lot of work to get where we are now. We have amazing seniors who are all so motivated, and we're excited to see how far we can go."
"Utah State is a very good team -- they don't let in very many goals and they're hard to play against," said senior forward Carlee Payne Holmoe. "They will want it and the game will be hard but I'm confident our team can beat anyone in the country right now."
The Aggies finished the season 9-2-6 and repeated as the WAC tournament champions with a 1-0 win over then-No. 19 Denver. Utah State has allowed just 10 goals all season and never more than one goal in a single game.
The game will be BYU's 12th home game of the season and the first time hosting a NCAA tournament game since 2008.
BYU is one of four WCC teams playing in the NCAA tournament, for the second-straight year. Pepperdine, Portland and Santa Clara will also participate.
"We're very familiar with Utah State," Rockwood said. "They gave us a good battle at their place earlier this season and now we're excited to play them at home. I know the girls will be really excited to play and I can't wait to see all our fans out at the game."
The winner of the match between the Aggies and the Cougars will face the winner of the Washington (10-7-3) vs. Auburn (12-10-1) match in the Second Round.
Tickets for the NCAA First Round match are available at the BYU Ticket Office and can be ordered by calling (801) 422-BYU1 or by visiting www.byutickets.com. Tickets will also be available at the door.
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