ABILENE -- The UT Tyler women's soccer team will be making its fifth-consecutive appearance in the American Southwest Conference Women's Soccer Championship Tournament when they travel to the HSU Soccer Complex this weekend.

Coach Stefani Webb and the Patriots head into the tournament as the No. 5 seed with a season record of 10-6-2. They open the tournament at 11 a.m. Friday with a quarterfinal match against Howard Payne (11-5), the No. 4 seed. The winner will face top-seeded and defending national champion Hardin-Simmons at 11 a.m. Saturday.

UT Tyler beat Howard Payne, 2-0, when the two teams met Sept. 24 in Tyler.

Senior Emily Bechdol and junior Charity Shipman are the Patriots' leading scorers on the season, both with eight goals. Bechdol also has four assists, while Shipman has taken 59 total shots, including 32 on-goal.

On the season, UT Tyler has outscored opponents 37-21.  

The entire six-team, single elimination event will be available for fans through free live video and statistics, while Sunday’s championship game will also have live audio.

Hardin-Simmons (17-1), winners of the last seven ASC titles and 12 overall, will receive a first-round bye. HSU has won 17 straight games and has not lost to a conference opponent in 145 regular season games. Texas-Dallas (15-3), which won the 2002 ASC championship and lost only to HSU this season by the score of 1-0, locked up the No. 2 seed and will receive the other first-round bye.

Concordia Texas (13-5) will be the No. 3 seed and Howard Payne (11-5) is seeded fourth. UT Tyler, which reached the title game last year, is the No. 5 seed, while East Texas Baptist (11-5-1) secured the sixth seed.

Returning All-Tournament selections are most valuable player Katie Kuykendall of Hardin-Simmons along with teammates Miranda Berosa, Christina Hartsfield and Megan Ryan. Howard Payne’s Leslie Jones and Adrienne Walker also return after being honored last year.

The ASC tournament winner earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Championship.

NOTES: Admission: $5 for adults, $3 for students/children. No complimentary admission passes will be accepted. . . . This is the 14th year of the ASC women’s soccer tournament. . . . Hardin-Simmons has served as host for the ASC women’s soccer tournament 11 different times (1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011). . . . You can follow ASC_sports on Twitter for quick results.
 

2011 AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
HSU Soccer Complex / Abilene, Texas / Hosted by: Hardin-Simmons University

Friday, November 4
Quarterfinals
Game 1: [4] Howard Payne (11-5) vs. [5] Texas-Tyler (10-6-2), 11 a.m.
Game 2: [3] Concordia Texas (13-5) vs. [6] East Texas Baptist (11-5-1), 2 p.m.

Saturday, November 5
Semifinals
Game 3: [1] Hardin-Simmons (17-1) vs. Winner Game 1, 11 a.m.
Game 4: [2] Texas-Dallas (15-3) vs. Winner Game 2, 2 p.m.

Sunday, November 6
Championship
Game 5: Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.