Aggie Soccer Travels to Auburn for NCAA Tournament Saturday

KICKING OFF — For its first NCAA Tournament appearance, the Utah State [University] women's soccer team will make the long trek to Auburn, Ala., to take the third-seeded Auburn Tigers on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. (MT) at the Auburn Soccer Complex.

Utah State earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament by defeating Fresno State in the finals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, 1-0 Sunday, Nov. 6.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY — This is the first NCAA appearance for Utah State after winning the WAC Tournament for the first time Nov. 6. With two wins in the WAC Tournament, Utah State doubled it tournament win total. The Aggies are now 4-6 in the WAC Tournament in five tournaments.

THE OPPONENT — Auburn earned its first-ever Southeastern Conference Tournament title with a 3-2 win over No. 23 Florida Nov. 6 at the Orange Beach Athletic Complex in Alabama. With the win, Auburn becomes the lowest seed to ever win the title (seventh) and the first program from the SEC's Western Division to win the tournament championship.

The Tigers are 14-6-2 this season and have won three-straight matches. SEC Tournament MVP Katy Frierson leads the team with eight goals and 13 assists for 29 points this season. Auburn has five players in double-digits in scoring. Three different players have seen time in goal for the Tigers this season. Amy Howard has seen the bulk of the minutes, playing in 14 of AU's 22 matches this season. She has allowed 19 goals in 14 matches for a 1.38 goals against average.

This is the first meeting between the Aggies and the Tigers and the first time that Utah State has ever faced a team from the SEC. The Aggies are the only team from the Beehive state to earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament as the WAC's automatic bid.

Utah State and Auburn met in football earlier this season in Auburn. The Tigers defeated the Aggies 42-38 in that meeting.

USU vs. Auburn

MERRILL RANKED AMONG THE BEST — In the latest NCAA Rankings senior goalkeeper Molli Merrill has moved up to 11th in the nation in goals against average with a 0.52 GAA. Oklahoma State's Adrianna Franch leads the nation with a 0.25 GAA. Merrill is 21st in the country with a .864 save percentage. As a team, the Aggies’ 0.60 GAA is 15th in the country.

FLANARY BREAKS CAREER POINT AND ASSIST RECORDS — With two assists against Idaho and Fresno State in the WAC Tournament, senior Shantel Flanary passed Aggie-great Lindsey Smart (2006-09) with 17 career assists. In the Aggies historic weekend in Fresno, Flanary also scored her 85 career point which puts her just past Lauren Hansen (2007-10) in career points. Hansen (2007-10) set the record of 84 last season.

AGGIES CAPTURE FIRST WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE — Freshman forward Jade Tarver's goal in the 83rd minute propelled the Utah State women's soccer team to not only its first Western Athletic Conference Tournament title, but also its first NCAA Tournament berth, as the top-seeded Aggies defeated second-seeded Fresno State, 1-0, on Sunday [Nov. 6].

Utah State is in the midst of an eight-match unbeaten streak with seven wins and a tie during that span. The only tie came against Fresno State in Logan Oct. 30 when the Aggies and the Bulldogs battled to 0-0 tie in double overtime. With the win, the Aggies improve to 3-6-3 against Fresno State and 1-3 against the Bulldogs in the WAC Tournament. USU is now 4-6 in WAC Tournament matches, doubling its win total in the tournament.

The Aggies also avenged the loss to the Bulldogs in the 2008 WAC Tournament finals when Fresno State defeated USU, 2-1 in double overtime in Reno, Nev. With the win, Utah State improves to 15-4-2 overall this season which is the most wins in Aggie history. USU captured both the WAC regular-season and tournament title and were the first team to do so since Hawai`i in 2007. Fresno State ends its season with an 11-5-5 record.

FOUR MAKE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM — By not allowing a goal in two matches, senior goalkeeper Molli Merrill was named MVP of the 2011 WAC Tournament. Merrill is the first goalkeeper to earn MVP honors since Nevada's Caitlin Homes in 2006. Sophomore midfielder Kendra Pemberton and freshman forward Jade Tarver, who provided the two goals in the tournament for USU, also earned all-tournament honors. Junior defender Natalie Norris also earned all-tournament honors for her efforts.

All Tournament Team

Amber Pimley Idaho, Jr., MF

Christine Leathem, Idaho, Jr., D

Daisy Hernandez, New Mexico State, So., MF

Yolanda McMillion, New Mexico State, Jr., F

Molly Nizzoli, Fresno State, Sr., MF

Kendall Van Dine, Fresno State, Sr., D

Laura Dodd, Fresno State, Sr., MF

Kendra Pemberton, Utah State, So., MF

Natalie Norris, Utah State, Sr., D

Jade Tarver, Utah State, Fr., F

Tournament MVP

 Molli Merrill, Utah State, Sr., GK

USU in the WAC Tournament

2005: L, Fresno State (First Round), 1-2

2006: L, Nevada (First Round)

2007: W, San Jose State (First Round), 4-0; L, Hawai`i (2OT-Semifinals), 0-1

2008: W, Boise State (Semifinals), 1-0; L, Fresno State (2OT- Finals), 1-2

2009: L, Boise State (Semifinals), 0-1

2010: L, Fresno State (Semifinals), 0-1

2011: W, Idaho (Semifinals), 1-0; W, Fresno State (Finals), 1-0

Read much more, including more on “Marvelous Merrill” in the full summary on the Athletics website.

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.