Women's soccer: Favored USU women host WAC Tournament

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If soccer teams live and die with goal keeping, Utah State may well make reservations for its second consecutive NCAA Tournament.

USU enters the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, which begins noon with quarterfinal play Thursday in Logan at Bell Soccer Field, with the conference's best keeper in senior goal Ashlyn Mulford, ranked fifth nationally in save percentage and eighth in goals against average.

The Aggies (11-2-6, 6-0-2 WAC), first time tournament host, will play either fourth-seeded Louisiana Tech or fifth-seeded Seattle on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Second-seeded Denver will face the winner of third-seeded Texas State or sixth-seeded Idaho at noon Friday.

The championship is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.

Utah State, its unbeaten streak now at nine matches, has out-scored its opponents 17-2 in the last six matches. While the Aggies have scored nearly three goals a game during the run, their defense has only allowed a sparkling 0.28 GAA, including four shutouts.