VERMILLION, S.D.—The South Dakota women's soccer team is en route to Edinburg, Texas, to compete at the UTRGV Invitational this weekend. The four-team tournament is hosted by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, a program formed from the recent consolidation of the University of Texas at Brownsville and former Great West Conference foe University of Texas-Pan American.
South Dakota will have head-to-head matches against two of the other three teams at the tournament. The Coyotes (2-4-0) kick off against UTRGV (1-2-2) at 7 p.m. tonight. South Dakota returns to the pitch at 11 a.m. Sunday to play Southern Utah (3-3-0).
In the tournament standings, three points will be awarded for a win and one for a tie. In the event of a tie for overall tournament standings, the tiebreakers will come down to goal differential, goals scored, and goals allowed.
At the conclusion of the tournament, an 11-player all-tournament team will be selected. The first place team will receive five selections to the team. Second place will receive three, third place will receive two, and fourth place will receive one.
The match on Friday against UTRGV will be streamed free on the
WAC Digital Network. Live stats will be available
here for both matches.
About the Teams South Dakota: The Coyotes are coming off a two-game win streak with victories over Chicago State (4-0) and Green Bay (4-3). Freshman
Sammie Villwock's hat trick and assist versus Green Bay leads South Dakota this season with seven points. Senior
Rebecca Sparkman's two goals and junior
Corey Strang's goal and two assists rank second with four points.
UT Rio Grande Valley: The Vaqueros tied Texas A&M-Corpus Christy (2-2) and fell to Mississippi Valley (0-2) on the road last weekend. At home, UTRGV has one win, loss, and tie. Andreya Barerra leads the team with two goals and an assist for five points. Erica Gonzalez has seen most of the action in goal and carries a 0-2-2 record. Maria Erikson was in the net for the Vaqueros lone win so far this season.
Southern Utah: The Thunderbirds finished last weekend with two wins, beating both Utah Valley (2-1) and Dixie State (2-1). Shelby Green has made an impact on the attack, leading the way with two goals over the weekend. Kristy Johnson has been the defensive anchor for Southern Utah from the back line.
Houston Baptist: Katie Turner tied her career high of five saves in a dual effort in goal with Alanis Guevara as HBU lost at UC Riverside, 2-0, Sept. 4. The Huskies are in the midst of a season-high six-match road trip. Sabriah Spencer leads HBU on the year with two goals and four points, while Ellee Hall is tops with three helpers. Turner has seen the majority of action between the pipes and is 2-1-0 with a 1.59 goals-against average, a .733 save percentage, and one shutout.
