Men's soccer team riding high after tour

PROVO — With a preseason South American tour in the books, the Brigham Young University men's soccer team returned home last weekend to kick its regular season into full gear.

After a whirlwind tour that saw the Cougars play three Chilean teams in three days during the first week of May, BYU returned to the northern hemisphere to play in the Premier Development League, the semi-professional league which the Cougars have been a part of since 2003.

Currently standing at 4-1 and in first place in the PDL's Northwest Division, the Cougars are riding high after they successfully defended their home turf in two matches last weekend, earning a bid to participate in the U.S. Open Cup in the process. Friday night, BYU edged the Yakima Reds, 1-0, as Jake Cavanaugh tallied the game's only score with a goal in the 36th minute.

On Saturday, BYU made a furious rally to come away with a 3-1 win over the Spokane Spiders, with the Cougars scoring all three of their goals in the final four minutes of the game. Morgan Gilliam began the scoring for BYU when, in the 88th minute with the Cougars trailing 1-0, Gilliam notched the equalizer. One minute later, Zack DeFrancis put the Cougars ahead, and he would tack on another insurance goal during injury time to give BYU the win.

The U.S. Open Cup is a tournament for all professional soccer leagues in the United States, with teams ranging from Major League Soccer all the way down. Play begins June 12, with specific matches yet to be determined. BYU qualified last year, losing to the Arizona Sahuaros, 5-1.

The Cougars' next game is Friday against the Ogden Outlaws at 7:05 p.m. at Ogden High School.

BASEBALL: A heartbreaking home run brought BYU's baseball season to an abrupt end at the Mountain West Conference tournament in Las Vegas last weekend.

With the Cougars leading TCU 8-5 and just one out away from ending the game, the Horned Frogs' Austin Adams nailed a three-run homer over the center field fence, tying the score at 8-8. TCU then drove the winning run across two batters later, claiming the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

BYU, on the other hand, was left to hope for an at-large bid when the seedings were announced Monday. Although the Cougars (37-20) boast the team's best ERA in 24 years along with MWC Pitcher of the Year Jesse Craig (10-2, 2.94 ERA), BYU was left out in the cold by the NCAA selection committee. MWC champion TCU will begin play as the No. 2 seed in the Houston regional, while the Cougars were not selected to participate in the 2007 College World Series.