BYU soccer: Top-seeded Cougars shoot for a tournament title

PROVO — The Mountain West Conference women's soccer tournament gets under way today at BYU's South Field soccer stadium, with both BYU and Utah seeking to earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Women's College Cup.

The Cougars (16-2-2, 6-0-1) appear to have the easier track after winning the conference's regular-season title and earning the No. 1 seed. BYU has a first-round bye before meeting up with the winner of today's Wyoming/New Mexico game on Thursday at 3 p.m. in one semifinal.

The championship game is set for Saturday at noon, and that's the only possibility of Utah and BYU meeting in the MWC tournament.

Since the MWC's inception in 1999, the Cougars hold a 15-3-1 all-time record in MWC tournament play. They've recorded six shutout wins and six tournament championships.

The Cougars, led by freshman Carlee Payne, junior Kassidy Shumway, senior Andrea Willis and goalie McKinzie Olson, shut out both of their two possible semifinal opponents during the regular season. BYU has never lost to New Mexico, and defeated Wyoming 2-0 last Saturday.