BYU Women’s Soccer Will Host Former MWC Rival In 2021 NCAA Tournament
Nov 8, 2021, 3:28 PM
BYU Women's Soccer team celebrates receiving a four-seed in the 2021 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. (BYU Photo)
(BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – BYU Women’s Soccer is heading back to the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars received an at-large bid to the 2021 Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.
BYU landed a four-seed in the 64-team field and will face former Mountain West Conference rival New Mexico at South Field on Saturday, November 13.
SEASON’S NOT OVER
🔹 #4 seed
⚽️ First round home
🆚 New Mexico
🗓 Saturday, Nov 13th pic.twitter.com/EZvcKrTfcg— BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) November 8, 2021
This is the fourth year in a row that BYU has landed a bid in the tournament, and it’s the ninth time in the last 10 seasons the Cougars have been in the field.
BYU finished the 2021 season as Co-WCC Champions with a record of 13-4-1 overall. The Cougars come into the tournament with the nation’s number one scoring offense averaging 3.44 goals per match.
The last time BYU Women’s Soccer played New Mexico in Provo
The last time BYU hosted New Mexico at South Field in Provo was an infamous meeting in 2009. BYU won the match 3-0, but what everyone remembers from that match is the ponytail grab from former New Mexico defender Elizabeth Lambert. It was a viral moment in the sports landscape back then, even catching national attention from ESPN.
New Mexico huh? pic.twitter.com/6bu6qEozGU
— Brett (@BYU_SFGiantsFan) November 8, 2021
BYU leads the all-time series over New Mexico 15-4-2. The last meeting was in the Mountain West Conference Tournament in 2010, BYU’s final year as a member of the MWC.
The winner of this match will face either Alabama or Clemson in the second round of the tournament.
A total of three teams from the West Coast Conference received bids into the NCAA Tournament. Like BYU, Pepperdine also received a four-seed. The Waves will host South Dakota State. Meanwhile, the defending National Champion Santa Clara Broncos will host the 2019 champs Stanford Cardinal.
BYU’s history in the NCAA Tournament
This is the second NCAA Tournament in the 2021 calendar year for women’s soccer. Back in the spring, the NCAA hosted a COVID-delayed tournament that featured only 48 teams. BYU lost their opening-round match against Virginia.
In BYU’s bracket, this year is those same Virginia Cavaliers. If BYU and one-seed Virginia get past their first two-round matchups, they’ll meet again in the Sweet 16.
The 2021 NCAA Tournament bid is BYU’s 22nd all-time. BYU has a record of 18-17-5 in games played in the NCAA Tournament.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
