The Marquette women's rugby team took on a number of familiar faces in its game against the Milwaukee Scylla this weekend.

The Scylla are a Milwaukee women's rugby team featuring a number of Marquette alumni and current Marquette graduate students. The Golden Eagles played host to the Scylla Saturday afternoon at the Kings Field rugby pitch, losing 34-14.

The game was of special importance to the Golden Eagles, explained team captain and College of Health Sciences senior Jackie Limberg."This weekend is a big building game for next weekend," Limberg said.

According to Limberg, next Saturday's game against Northern Iowa will determine whether the Golden Eagles maintain their Division I status. In order to stay at the Division I level, Marquette will need to win. With that in mind, the Golden Eagles went into Saturday's game with a focus on ball control, according to head coach Tom Schmidtt.

Despite the final score, the Golden Eagles were successful for much of the game in maintaining control. The first half came to an end with Marquette losing by a score of 15-14, with five of the Scylla's points being the result of a late scoring drive just before the final whistle of the first half.

"I was really pleased by halftime," Limberg said.

"In my mind the halftime score is more important than the final score," Schmidtt said. "They scored right at the end of the half. If we hold them we're up 14-10. The team found out that we can score points and control the ball."

For much of the second half the Golden Eagles continued to focus on ball control, but were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities. The defense of both teams came out of halftime looking particularly strong, delivering a number of hard hits that left players from both teams shaken up. Unfortunately for Marquette, the Scylla offense was equally as strong in the second half, putting 19 unanswered points on the board.

With a game that will determine the Golden Eagles future divisional status less than a week away, Limberg feels confident. "We are working on our defense and have a week of practice ahead," she said. "We hope to give them a good run for their money."

The Golden Eagles take on Northern Iowa Saturday on the Kings Field rugby pitch at 2 p.m. Kings Field is located at North 17th Street and West Highland Avenue.