Conference USA Announces Women's Soccer Tournament Pairings
10/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
C-USA Tournament Bracket
IRVING, Texas - Having won its first regular-season title since 1999, host Saint Louis (13-5-1, 9-1-0) earned the top seed in the 2004 C-USA Women's Soccer Tournament to be held Nov. 3-6 at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.
Eight of the 14 C-USA teams advance to the league tournament, which begins Wednesday with first round matches at noon, 2:30 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The semifinals are Thursday at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the final set for Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST). The final will be aired on the Conference USA Television Network. Don Russell will call the play-by-play, and Bill McDermott provides the color commentary. Conference USA's official website, www.ConferenceUSA.com, will provide updates, box scores, recaps and photos.
The host Billikens meet eighth-seeded DePaul (9-8-2, 4-5-1) in the 7:30 p.m. nightcap on the opening day. The pairing is a rematch of the 2003 C-USA Tournament Final. Following a 1-1 double overtime tie, the Blue Demons won the tournament title, 4-3, on penalty kicks. This year, DePaul edged into the final tournament spot despite tying TCU and Tulane with 4-5-1 conference records. The Blue Demons defeated TCU, 3-0, during the regular season. Although DePaul and Tulane did not meet head-to-head, the defending C-USA Tournament champions posted a better record against the eight common opponents both they and the Green Wave faced this season.
No. 2 seed UAB (12-5-1, 8-2) will kick off the 2004 C-USA Tournament Wednesday at noon against seventh-seeded Memphis (11-7-0, 5-5-0). The Blazers are led by the conference's top scorer senior Tara Kidwell. Memphis will look to avenge a 2-1 loss to UAB during the regular season.
Another interesting pairing follows as No. 3 Marquette (11-7-1, 7-2-1) and No. 6 Charlotte (5-11-1, 5-3-2) square off at 2:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles shutout the 49ers, 4-0, when the teams met on October 1. However, Charlotte has posted a 4-0-1 record in its last five matches, allowing only one goal during that span due to the stellar goalkeeping of sophomore Shannon Huffman. Charlotte and Marquette are the only teams to qualify for all ten conference tournaments. The 49ers have advanced to the C-USA semifinals eight times.
The 5 p.m. match pits fourth-seeded East Carolina (8-8-2, 6-3-1) against No. 5 Louisville (11-4-3, 5-2-3). Although the teams tied with 13 points each during the regular season, ECU won the tiebreaker by virtue of a 3-2 double overtime win against the Cardinals last week. Meghan McCallion scored the game-winning goal for the Pirates in the Oct. 24 match.
2004 CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 3
Match 1 - (2) UAB vs. (7) Memphis - 12 p.m.
Match 2 - (3) Marquette vs. (6) Charlotte - 2:30 p.m.
Match 3 - (4) East Carolina vs. (5) Louisville - 5 p.m.
Match 4 - (1) Saint Louis vs. (8) DePaul - 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 4 (Semifinals)
Match 5 - Winner of UAB/Memphis vs. Marquette/Charlotte - 5 p.m.
Match 6 - Winner of ECU/Louisville vs. Saint Louis/DePaul - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 6 (Finals)
Match 7 - Semifinal Winners - 1 p.m. (C-USA Television Network)
All times are Central.
All Games played at Robert R. Hermann Stadium, St. Louis, Mo.