Nov. 8, 2008

RENO, Nev. - After a hard-fought win in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals against Boise State, the top-seeded Utah State soccer team will prepare for its first championship match against second-seeded Fresno State on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. MT.

USU defeated Boise State, 1-0, on Nov. 7 to earn its first trip to the title match. Last season, the Aggies fell in the semifinals to Hawai`i. The last three seasons, Utah State has fallen to the eventual title winner, Hawai`i in 2007, Nevada in 2006 and Fresno State in 2005.

This is the Bulldogs fourth-straight appearance in the WAC Tournament final. Head coach Steve Springthorpe led the team to the title in 2005 with a win over San Jose State in Boise. In 2006, Fresno State lost to host and third-seed Nevada in penalty kicks. Last season in Boise, the Bulldogs fell to the top-seeded Rainbow Wahine, 1-0.

The Bulldogs advanced to the title match with a, 2-0, win over host and sixth-seed Nevada. Fresno State is led by all-WAC goalkeeper Kaity Revel who allowed only one goal in the WAC season. The one goal was against Utah State as the Aggies defeated the Bulldogs, 1-0, in Logan.

Utah State has had a record-setting season winning a school record 13 matches and seven conference matches. With the win against Boise State, USU won a record eight-straight matches dating back to its first conference win against Idaho on Oct. 10.

The Aggies have had several players step up the season but are led offensively by sophomore forward Lauren Hansen who has eight goals this season. Hansen scored the game-winning goal against the Broncos on Friday. Senior goalkeeper Ali Griffin has seven shutouts this season, including four in the regular season.

The winner of the championship match will not only take the WAC title, but also earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.