This year it is anyone’s guess as to who will come away with the Ohio Valley Conference women’s soccer title this weekend.

This year’s competition is wide open and the four remaining teams of Eastern, Southeast Missouri, Murray State and Tennessee Tech feel that anyone can come away as champions and go on to the NCAA tournament.

“SEMO is going to be the favorite, but I think we have as good of a chance as any of the teams,” Eastern head coach Steve Ballard said.

SEMO received the No. 1 seed in the tournament after an near perfect 15-1 overall record and 5-0 in the OVC. This earned the Otahkians the right to host the tournament, which could prove to be the big advantage.

The Otahkians are undefeated at home this season, finishing 9-0.

“I think playing at our home field is a big advantage for us,” SEMO head coach Heather Nelson said. “We will also have more fan support than the other teams.”

In the first round, the Otahkians will be facing Murray State (8-8-2, 2-3), a team they defeated 4-0 in the regular season. But the shutout doesn’t mean SEMO has an easy game ahead.

“At tournament time, any team is a threat,” Nelson said.

The Racers also have a little motivation headed into the game.

“We have already played a playoff game,” Murray State head coach Mike Minielli said. “We had a game against (Tennessee) Martin last week to decide the final spot in the tournament.”

The other first round matchup features Eastern (12-5, 4-1) and Tennessee Tech (12-6, 3-2). The Panthers handed the Golden Eagles a 2-1 loss during the regular season and are looking to do it again on Friday.

“This was our goal at the beginning of the year,” Ballard said. “We are focused on making it to the NCAA tournament.”

The Panthers may be the best bet to knock off the top seeded Otahkians. They fought hard in 1-0 loss one month ago in a game that could have gone either way. But Sunday will be the final day with one team celebrating and moving on to the NCAA tournament next weekend.