NCAA Play to Begin in SLC

PROVO -- The BYU women's soccer team is headed to its ninth NCAA tournament in the past 10 years, ESPNEWS announced Monday afternoon. BYU will play defending National Champions Portland in Salt Lake City Thursday at 7 p.m. Utah battles Idaho State in the 4:30 p.m. game.

In an unusual fashion, two ranked teams will be facing each other in the force round. According to the Soccer America Top-25 Poll, Portland is ranked No. 6 in the nation, while the Cougars are currently No. 14.

"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). All games will be played at Ute Field on the University of Utah campus.

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.

Tickets:

$15 for adults

$5 for children

Children under 2 years will be admitted for free.

Tickets can be purchased at Utahtickets.com