Colorado State is coming off their fourth RMLC championship in five years after beating #3 Colorado 8-7 on April 29th in Logan, UT. The Rams have run their record to 14-3 on the season with only one loss to MDIA opponents. #5 Brigham Young defeated the Rams 11-8 in Denver, CO on April 17th.

The Rams face a difficult road to the championship with some very tough teams in their bracket. If CSU gets past the Longhorns, they will play the winner of #8 Arizona and #9 Oregon. #4 Michigan and #5 Brigham Young are also in CSU's bracket. On the other side of things, #2 Sonoma State, #3 Colorado, #6 Florida State and #7 UC-San Diego are the favorites to reach the quarterfinals in the other half of the draw.

Tuesday's match-up will be CSU's third against Texas since 1999. The Rams faced off against the Longhorns in the 2001 Michigan Invitational and the two teams tangled last year in Arlington as part of CSU's first road-trip of the season. Colorado State has won both of the previous games against this year's Lone Star Alliance champions, 16-3 in 2001 and 18-2 last season.

This is the first time that CSU has played a national tournament game anywhere other than St. Louis, MO. Last year, the USL-MDIA held its championships in Blaine, MN, but the Rams missed out after self reporting an eligibility violation and being barred from the tournament. This year is the MDIA's first year in Texas.

Colorado State is led by junior attackman Danny Stevens (Suffern HS; Suffern, NY) and sophomore attackman Tyler Treece (Upper Arlington HS; Columbus, OH), who both garnered first-team All-RMLC honors last week. Junior midfielder Pat Bird (Bishop O'Dowd HS; Oakland, CA) and Kellin Bershinsky (Poudre HS; Fort Collins, CO) were also named to the first team.

The Rams and the Longhorns will face off at 4:30pm on Field 4 at the Russell Creek Athletic Park in Plano, TX. For real-time coverage of all USL-MDIA tournament games, stay tuned to www.uslia.com.