The Arizona men's soccer team kept its season rolling and its national title hopes alive with a strong weekend tournament in Las Vegas.

Although Arizona fell short in Sunday's championship game against San Diego State by a score of 3-1, the Wildcats still earned an invitation to the national tournament, which was the team's goal heading into the tournament.

"It's disappointing we didn't win the tournament, but at the same time it feels great that we got one of 16 bids to the nationals, out of a possible 150 teams," junior Mychal Sierra said. "It was a tough weekend. Everyone contributed and our bench came up big for us."

By finishing as the runner-up in the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Region 6 Conference Tournament, Arizona is guaranteed one of the two automatic bids to the nationals held in Bakersfield, Calif.

The weekend tournament saw the Wildcats lose their unblemished 12-0 record with losses against Santa Barbara and champion SDSU.

Arizona lost starter Afam Nwambuonwo to a leg injury, sidelining the junior for the San Diego State game.

Victories over Utah State and Salt Lake City Community College were enough to advance No. 1 UA to the championship game against the Aztecs.

"We have been playing for this since the beginning of the season," team captain Will Yokubaitus said.

The Wildcats now have two weeks off and will take the time to rest their starters and fine-tune their game plan for the national tournament.

Arizona will travel to Bakersfield to participate in the NIRSA National Tournament on Nov. 20-23. Schedules will be announced after the remainder of other regional tournaments conclude.