HELENA, Mont.- The top-seeded Carroll College women's soccer team faces the eight-seed, College of Idaho in the opening round of the Cascade Conference Championship Friday in Springfield.
 
The Saints enter the weekend having already clinched a spot in the NAIA Tournament field by winning the regular-season title but Carroll would like to repeat their tournament performance from a season ago when they won the tournament crown.
 
Carroll had an entire week of rest as the built-in conference bye week came on the last week of the year for the Saints and head coach David Thorvilson is excited to enter the weekend with fresh legs
 
"We are pretty well rested after the break last weekend and we are excited to be the top team in the tournament two years in a row," Thorvilson said. "We know the College of Idaho will be a tough match but we are excited to get on the pitch and play again."
 
Carroll won the regular-season match up against the Yotes 1-0 in overtime in Caldwell with a goal from Boise native Ylena Gazdik. It was just the second match of the conference season for the Yotes which started 0-4. Since that time C of I has dropped only one match, a1-0 loss to Southern Oregon last week en route to a 3-5-3 cascade record.
 
"They had a difficult start to conference and they were 0-4 before they got their legs under them," Thorvilson said. "In their last seven games they only have only one loss. They have come together to push for a conference tournament bid and had to play at a pretty high level."
 
The two matches between the Saints and Yotes since Carroll joined the conference last season were both one-goal affairs with each team notching a win. With the teams so evenly matched, this is not your typical 1-8 matchup.
 
"We are similar type of teams," Thorvilson said. "They are very athletic. They have last year's offensive player of the year in Jamiece Yizar and they have a pretty strong junior and senior group." 

The Saints also need to shake off two days of travel from Helena to the Willamette Valley. The Saints also take the field early, playing at 11 a.m. local time.
 
"The first part is clearing our mind after a two-day bus trip," Thovilson said. "The second is getting ready to play early. We are in the first game in the tournament. We have to mentally prepare for something like this, especially at a time when we aren't used to playing."
 
The Saints and Yotes take the field at 12 p.m. MDT. Live stats are available via the Cascade Conference Stretch Internet portal.