The Valparaiso University women's soccer team heads into the 2005 Mid-Continent Conference Tournament this weekend as the second seed and will face Southern Utah on Friday evening in the semifinals beginning at 7 p.m.

The Crusaders, Mid-Con co-champions with Oakland during the regular season, enter the league's premier event with a 10-7-1 record overall and finished conference play 4-2-0.

Valpo dropped its regular season match with the Thunderbirds 1-0 this past Saturday, October 29, in Cedar City, Utah. Southern Utah (7-3-6, 3-1-2 Mid-Con) is making its first tournament appearance since the 2002 campaign.

The winner of the Valpo-Southern Utah match will play the winner of Friday's first semifinal (4:30 p.m.) between top-seeded Oakland (8-7-1, 4-2) and number four seed Western Illinois (9-5-3, 3-2-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the championship. The winner earns the Mid-Con's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's College Cup.

Valpo defeated Western Illinois 2-1 at Eastgate Field on September 18 but fell to Oakland 2-1 at home on October 21.

All of Valpo's matches will be broadcast live on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso) and online at www.valpo.edu/athletics.