By James Hernandez 

A pair of top ten teams headline the 2018 Region XVIII tournament field October 26^th and 27^th in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Scenic West Athletic Conference will take over the Beehive State this weekend as four teams battle for conference supremacy and a berth into next week's Western District Tournament.

(3) USU-Eastern Eagles 5-7-1 overall, 1-7-1 SWAC
Players to watch: Morgan Hall (8* goals, 2 assists, 18* points) McKenna Wiscombe (6 goals, 3* assists, 15 points) Logan Duran (5 goals, 2 assists, 12 points)

USU-Eastern can win the 2018 Region 18 tournament if… The Eagles find a way to breakthrough versus the top two seeds in the tournament. USU-Eastern has a steep hill to climb by facing SLCC in the opener, however if they can pull the upset the momentum could potentially carry them to a conference crown.

#9 (2) Snow College Badgers 13-1-1 overall, 7-1-1 SWAC
Players to watch: Sophie Stewart (14* goals, 28* points) Kaoru Hayashi (5 goals, 4* assists, 14 points) Mei Seutsugu (7 goals, 4* assists, 18 points)

Snow College can win the 2018 Region 18 tournament if… The Badgers continue to suffocate opponents defensively. The top defensive team in the SWAC must continue to dictate the pace of play on the pitch by playing great defense. That formula got Snow up to #10 in the final NJCAA poll and it will be even more critical this weekend in a single elimination tournament where the slightest mistake can cost a team its season.

#10 (1) Salt Lake City Bruins 12-1-1 overall, 7-1-1 SWAC
Players to watch: Zoe Moses (7* goals, 5* assists, 19* points) Madison Schmidt (7* goals, 4 assists, 18 points) Baylie Saunders (6 goals, 5* assists, 17 points)

Salt Lake can win the 2018 Region 18 tournament if… The Bruins continue to take care of business on its home field. A 10-0 record at home during the regular season has SLCC feeling confident heading into postseason play. They have allowed the fewest goals in the conference at home, if that recipe continues these Bruins will be a tough out this weekend.

(4) College of Southern Nevada Coyotes 7-7-1 overall, 1-7-1 SWAC
Players to watch: Ashlee Jordan (9* goals, 2 assists, 20* points) Brianna Duran (4 goals, 3 assists, 11 points) Olivia Meza (6* assists, 6 points) Samantha Silva (24 GA, 1.70 GAA, .671 save percentage, 49 saves, 2 shutouts)

Southern Nevada can win the 2018 Region 18 tournament if… The Coyotes spring the upset of the year in the tournament opener Friday. CSN enters the tournament as the fourth seed and therefore draws top seeded SLCC in the opener. The Lady Coyotes will be playing with "house money" versus the Bruins, and the longer they can keep the match close the more pressure they put on Salt Lake. If star striker Ashlee Jordan can rise to the occasion on the biggest stage, CSN will have a chance to play for a Region 18 crown on Saturday afternoon.   

*Denotes 2018 team leader
() Denotes Region XVIII Tournament seeding 

Attention SWAC soccer fans, a live feed for each 2018 Region XVIII tournament match will be available on the Scenic West Athletic Conference Sports Network. In addition live updates will be provided for each Southern Nevada match by logging onto www.csncoyotes.com as well as Twitter @CSN_MSoc and Facebook CSNCoyotes.     



Click Here for the Region XVIII Women's Soccer Bracket