C-USA Soccer Tournament: Know Your Foe

The Lady Toppers soccer squad left Bowling Green yesterday, en route to the C-USA soccer tournament which kicks off tomorrow morning (the Lady Tops are actually the first game of the day) in Charlotte, N.C. The ladies were one of only eight teams who made the cut to play in the second season, and look to carry on a winning soccer tradition from the Sun Belt to C-USA, in which the Lady Tops had made the SBC  championship game in 2008, 2011 and of course last year.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each of the four matches that will kick the tournament off tomorrow.

The Lady Tops and Owls didn’t meet this year in regular season play, but they did meet in the non-conference schedule in 2013, and played to a nil-nil draw in Bowling Green. The Owls outscored opponents 39-13 over the year, and averaged 2.29 goals per game, while allowing just 0.76 per. They have two double-digit goal scorers in Lauren Hughes (12) and Holly Hargreaves (10) and nine players who have played over 1000 minutes.

UTEP went 6-2-2 in conference play, but, just like WKU & Rice, the Miners and Lady Techsters didn’t face eachother in the 10-game league schedule. The Miners have only allowed three goals over their last six games. UTEP doesn’t have a multi-goal scorer, but do have three double-figure point getters – Angela Cutaia (17), Aleah Davis (11) and Bri Barreiro (10). The Techsters, on the other hand, are unbeaten in their last five games (4-0-1), and are lead by Kathryn Sloan with 11 goals and six assists.

Kind of a fun matchup from a Hilltoppers point of view – the first team the Tops ever faced in conference play (Marshall) vs. the last team the Lady Tops played in the regular season (North Texas). The Mean Green allowed multiple goals just three times this year, and only once in C-USA play. In fact, in only one conference game – a 2-1 win over FIU – did the Mean Green win a game in which the other team scored. The rest of their eight wins all came in shutout fashion, including the 4-0 win against WKU on Friday. The Herd actually have a losing record down the stretch – 1-2-1 over their last four – but still find themselves in Charlotte, where it’s a clean slate. You’re not going to believe this, but I’m going to tell you anyway – UNT vs. Marshall is

also

a matchup of teams who didn’t meet this regular season.

Finally

. A first-round matchup in which the two teams faced each other in the regular season. In fact, to make things even more interesting, the Niners and Raiders met for the final game

of

the regular season – a 2-0 victory in favor of the #4 seed. Charlotte’s Martha Thomas scored both goals on four shots to seal the deal for the host school. Since falling to WKU, the loss to Charlotte was the only other one the MTBR’s suffered. They beat both Marshall and UAB in 1-0 contests.

Well, there you are. A little look at the matchups for Wednesday. Do you have a matchup you’re most looking forward to? Any predictions as to who will advance? Let us know in a comment below, or on twitter at @WaveTheRedTowel.