The USU-Eastern men’s soccer team will travel to Ephraim for the first ever Scenic West Athletic Conference tournament Friday at Snow College.

Ending the regular season with a 5-4-1 conference mark, the Eagles will enter the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed. Getting a bye past the opening round, the team will face Southern Nevada on Friday at 11:00 AM.

“They are a tough school and in this conference whoever makes the most mistakes typically gets the loss,” said head coach Ammon Bennett Wednesday on KOAL’s Drive Time Sports. “The last three weeks have been playing very, very good. I like our chances going into the tournament.”

USU-Eastern finished the season set 1-2 against Southern Nevada, getting their lone win at home 3-1 back on Oct. 13. The four conference losses this season have been by a combined five goals, adding to the team’s confidence heading into the final days of conference play.

For the season the men’s team has averaged just over two goals and 11 shot attempts per game. Those two statistics rank outside of the top 50 in the country. Bennett believes his team will have to increase that number, but also play aggressive defense in the tournament.

“What I’ve experienced is you want to score the first goal, but defense is always going to be important heading into a game like this,” he said. “Everything gets a little more intense because its a must win for everyone. Two goals is certainly enough to win, but if you get beyond that its even better.”

While the conference tournament will begin Thursday as No. 4 Snow meets No. 5 Colorado Northwestern, the Eagles will have a bye to the second round on Friday. A win for the team would put them in the title game on Saturday against Snow, Colorado or the No.1 seed Salt Lake Community College.

Below is the complete schedule and bracket for the men’s tournament: