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by Ashley Henderson, BYU Athletic Communications
PROVO, Utah (Nov. 6, 2006) -- The BYU women's soccer team was given an at-large bid in the 2006 NCAA tournament, ESPNEWS announced Monday afternoon. BYU will play defending National Champions Portland in Salt Lake City Thursday, followed by a Utah-Idaho State matchup.
"We're definitely excited for this weekend," head coach Jennifer Rockwood said. "You play all year to get to this point of the season, so we're excited. We get to the play the defending national champs, which is great. We play well and get up for talented teams. I think we have a lot to look forward to."
The NCAA tournament is comprised of 64 teams, with 30 teams earning automatic bids after winning their conference tournaments and 34 teams receiving at-large invitations. The games this weekend will be played at 16 different sites across the nation.
The top-16 teams in the nation are seeded, consisting of four sets of teams ranked one through four. Utah (15-4-1) received the ranked position in its division of the bracket, hosting Idaho State (10-8-1).
The Cougars (13-2-4) will challenge Portland (14-3-3) in the other game. BYU will play at 7 p.m., followed by the Utah-Idaho State game. The winners of both games will play Saturday.
Having already played three teams making NCAA appearances, including two other teams in the bracket, BYU is prepared for this weekend. The Cougars defeated Idaho State and Colorado, while losing to Utah earlier this season.
