Photo Courtesy of Jeff Barrett
The USU Eastern soccer squads are both ranked No. 20 nationally and are set to begin the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) season ending tournament this Thursday at Snow College.
The top four teams in men’s and women’s advanced to the conference tournament with both teams from USU Eastern entering as the No. 3 seed on the bracket.
The men’s team enters play ending the regular season on a four game winning streak including a 3-2 defeat of Snow College, the team they will face in round one. The Eagles ended the regular season 10-5 overall and 8-4 in SWAC play.
During their last four games including the win over Snow, they also defeated Colorado Northwestern Community College, Community Christian College and College of Southern Nevada.
The men’s team has been led this season by Joseph Valle, a freshman who attended American Leadership Academy in Spanish Fork. Valle has found the back of the net nine times this season and added five assists in 13 games. Parker Huff, a sophomore from Fremont High School in St. George, is right behind him with five goals and eight assists in 15 games.
Salt Lake Community College and College of Southern Nevada are the two teams on the other side of the bracket and will play at 8:30 in the morning on Thursday with USU Eastern and Snow College facing off at 10:30. This is single elimination with the two winning teams taking to the field on Saturday at 10:00 a.m..
The USU Eastern ladies squad ended the regular season on a three game winning streak including a 10-0 rout of Colorado Northwestern Community College, they also gathered wins against Community Christian College and College of Southern Nevada.
Ending the regular season 9-6 and 7-5 in SWAC play the Lady Eagles find themselves ranked in the No. 20 spot as well, tied with Casper College. The ladies team has been ranked as high as the No. 18 spot this season.
Gracie Sorenson, a sophomore out of Spanish Fork High School, has led the Lady Eagles this season scoring 10 goals and adding 10 assists. Miranda Hales, a sophomore from Weber High, has added seven goals this season.
In their opening round match they will square up with Salt Lake Community College, the No.2 team in the bracket at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The other two teams in the ladies bracket, Snow College and the College of Southern Nevada will take to the field at 1:00 p.m., and just like the on the men’s side of the bracket, the two winning teams from Thursday will face-off on Saturday at 12:30.
The winning teams from the men’s and ladies bracket will then travel to the district tournament on Saturday Nov. 6.
To view the men’s bracket click on the link below:
To view the women’s bracket click on the link below: