Women's Soccer Opens Big South Tournament Against VMI
11/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 1, 2009
Release courtesy of the Big South Conference
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Liberty has claimed the Big South women's soccer regular-season title for the third time in program history and has earned the No. 1 seed in next week's Big South Women's Soccer Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C., it was determined today as the Conference season concluded this afternoon. The Lady Flames (6-1-2) are the first team in Big South history to finish in first-place after finishing with the League's worst record the year before.
Gardner-Webb landed the No. 2 seed, after being the No. 8 seed in last year's Championship, with a 6-3 mark in League play. Tournament host Charleston Southern notches the No. 3 seed with a 5-2-2 record, while last year's regular-season champion Coastal Carolina (5-3-1) earns the No. 4 seed with 16 points. VMI (5-4) and defending Tournament champion Radford (5-4) tied for fifth-place with 15 points in the regular-season Conference standings, with the Keydets earning the No. 5 seed due to a 2-1 win over Radford earlier this season. High Point (4-4-1) claims the No. 7 seed with 13 points and Winthrop receives the No. 8 seed with its 2-5-2 record (8 points).
UNC Asheville finished ninth in the Conference standings with a 2-7 record (6 points) and did not qualify for the eight-team tournament. Presbyterian College finished 10th in the League with two points (0-7-2) and is not eligible for the Championship due to its transition to Division I.
The 2009 Big South Women's Soccer Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting begins Thursday, Nov. 5 with four games and concludes with the Championship game on Sunday, Nov. 8. The Big South's Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. All games will be video streamed live on the Conference's premium content website, the Big South Network. In-game statistics will be available on www.BigSouthSports.com and www.csusports.com. The Conference Championship schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Nov. 5
Game 1: No. 4 seed Coastal Carolina vs. No. 5 seed VMI, 11:30am ET
Game 2: No. 1 seed Liberty vs. No. 8 seed Winthrop, 2:00pm ET
Game 3: No. 2 seed Gardner-Webb vs. No. 7 seed High Point, 4:30pm ET
Game 4: No. 3 seed Charleston Southern vs. No. 6 seed Radford, 7:00pm ET
(The bracket has been adjusted to allow the host institution to play in the late match on the first day).
Friday, Nov. 6
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (Semifinals), 4:30pm ET
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner (Semifinals), 7:00pm ET
Sunday, Nov. 8
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (Championship), 2:00pm ET
