Big 12 Soccer Championships kick off Wednesday

The Big 12 Soccer Championship will kick off Wednesday, November 4^th at the Swope Soccer Village. Sporting Club and the University of Kansas are again co-hosting the event. The top eight teams from the Big 12 will compete for the Conference postseason title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship.

Amongst the eight teams are two of the top 20 teams in the nation. West Virginia is 2^nd ranked nationally and won the regular-season title for a record fourth straight year. The Mountaineers are the top seed and will be going for their third straight postseason title.

Texas Tech is ranked 18^th nationally but are only the fifth seed so they will be a team to watch out for.

The Tournament will also feature four of the top eighteen college players. Kadeisha Buchanan a junior defender for West Virginia is the number one overall player according to Top Drawer Soccer's ratings. Buchanan plays for the Canadian National team and won the young player award at the 2015 Women's World Cup.

Senior Abby Smith plays for Texas and is the 11^th overall and best ranked keeper in the country.  Forward Janine Beckie from Texas Tech is ranked 15^th overall and the senior is the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. Columbian Liana Salazar helped lead a surging Kansas last season and is ranked 18^th in the nation.

The past couple tournaments have been held at Swope Soccer Village also and have featured a number of players from the area and have included future pros like West Virginia's Frances Silva (FC Kansas City) and Texas Tech's Jaelene Hinkle (Western New York).

2015 BIG 12 SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Swope Soccer Village - Kansas City