USU Soccer Continues Tournament Run Thursday

No. 4 Utah State [University] soccer (12-8-0, 7-4-0 MW) continues its tournament run in San Diego as it plays No. 1 UNLV (15-3-2, 6-1-1 MW) in the semifinals of the 2016 Mountain West Championship Thursday, Nov. 3, at 5 p.m. (MT).

The six-team, single-elimination tournament, which runs through Saturday, Nov. 5, will feature all five matches broadcast live and for free on the Mountain West Network. Live stats for each match will also be available on the 2016 MW Women’s Soccer Championship Central page. Links to both options will be posted on the Utah State Soccer social media pages and on the USU Athletics website.

UNLV enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed, claiming the 2016 regular season title. The Rebels ended the regular season with a 15-3-2 record, including an 8-1-2 Mountain West ledger. UNLV secured its season championship with a 4-2 win over Nevada last weekend.

Senior forward Lily Sender leads the team and the Mountain West in scoring with 14 goals and seven assists this season. The Rebels have six other players who have scored three or more goals each, while the team has combined for a league-best 46 goals. Junior Jordan Sallee has guarded the net for the majority of the Rebels’ season, allowing 17 goals while tallying 68 saves. Chris Shaw is in his eighth year as the head coach at UNLV, where he has compiled a record of 35-21-4.

UNLV returns eight starters and 18 total letterwinners from its 2015 squad. Last season, the Rebels went 11-10-0 overall, including a 6-5-0 conference record, finishing tied for fifth. UNLV leads the all-time series between the two teams, 8-2-0. Utah State and UNLV met on the pitch just over a week ago in Las Vegas. After pushing the 0-0 game to double-overtime, a goal from Sender ended the match in the Rebels’ favor. USU’s last win over UNLV came in the team’s first season in the Mountain West in 2013.

For the Aggies, senior forward Jessica Brooksby leads the team in scoring with nine goals and 10 assists. Sophomore Grace McGuire has spent the majority of time in the net for Utah State, allowing 16 goals while tallying 67 saves.

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Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.