MIAMI — Two familiar foes who battled to an instant classic in the regular season will meet in the opening round of the Conference USA Championship at FIU Soccer Stadium on Wednesday.
 
Sam Houston will tangle with Middle Tennessee in a matchup of the fourth seed versus the five at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The top six teams in the league are squaring off this week for the right to represent CUSA in the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Bearkats (8-7-2) edged the Blue Raiders 2-1 when the two meet up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Oct. 20. Jasmine Marquez scored the game-winning goal in the final minutes.
 
Senior Landri Townsend also scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season and the 19th of her career, moving her into a tie for fourth all-time in the school record books, in the victory.
 
This is the second straight season Sam Houston has qualified for the CUSA tournament in just its second year in the league. The Bearkats beat FIU 2-1 in the quarterfinals before dropping a heartbreaking 2-0 match to No. 1 seeded NM State in the semifinals.