Women's Soccer Tournament Bids to be Determined This Weekend

The seeding for the 2010 Horizon League Women's Soccer Tournament comes down to the final weekend, as key conference matches dot the schedule on Friday and Sunday.

Milwaukee (9-5-2, 5-1-0 Horizon) enters the weekend the conference leader with 15 points, but Cleveland State (8-6-2, 4-2-0 Horizon), Butler (6-10-0, 4-2-0 Horizon) and Detroit (7-5-4, 3-2-1 Horizon) are all alive with chances to claim the tournament's No. 1 seed.  Loyola (6-11-1, 4-3-1 Horizon) wrapped up their conference slate on Tuesday and presently sits in second with 13 points.

The Panthers own tiebreakers with the Vikings, while the Bulldogs possess the tiebreaker over Milwaukee.  With 15 points, Milwaukee has a chance to clinch no worse than a tie for a 11th-straight regular season Horizon League crown with a win over either Detroit on Friday at Englemann Field or on Sunday at Wright State (8-8-0, 3-3-0 Horizon).  Coming out of the two matches with four points would clinch the outright title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament, guaranteeing hosting rights for the semifinals and championship.

Cleveland State and Butler enter the weekend knotted at 12 points apiece and identical 4-2-0 league records; the Vikings wrap up their season on the road, first meeting a Valparaiso (5-7-4, 1-4-1 Horizon) squad that needs to come away with six points in two matches to have a chance at the conference tournament on Friday night.

Butler entertains Youngstown State (3-12-0, 1-5-0 Horizon) on Friday afternoon before the Bulldogs host the Vikings on Sunday in what should be a crucial and potentially tie-breaking match for a bye in the conference tournament.

After meeting Milwaukee on Friday, the Titans of Detroit head to Green Bay, for a matchup with a resurgent and stingy Phoenix squad.  Green Bay went to Chicago and pulled out a 2-1 road win over Loyola on Tuesday, capturing their first conference win of the year to keep their tournament aspirations alive.

The Phoenix will know their fate by Friday night, needing a win over Wright State on Friday night to stay alive for a tournament bid; if Wright State comes out of the match with a single point, they eliminate the Phoenix from tournament contention.

With six teams qualifying for the tournament, Wright State is five points clear of Valparaiso and Green Bay entering the weekend.  A single point in two matches would clinch a bid for the Raiders, as they own the tie-breaker over the Crusaders by virtue of their 1-0 win on Oct. 17.

By the early evening on Sunday, the tournament seeds should be set for the 2010 Horizon League Women's Soccer Tournament, which begins with the No. 3 and 4 seeds hosting the No. 6 and 5 seeds, respectively, at campus sites.  The semifinals and finals will be at the No. 1 seed.