Katie Kelly still remembers how she felt last year, waiting to see if she and the rest of the Marquette women's soccer team would be granted a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The Golden Eagles had finished that season 12-4-4, and made it to the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament before dropping a 1-0 decision to Louisville. But that wasn't good enough to earn them a chance for more postseason play.

There were "tears, lots of tears," the senior defender said. "On the edge of your seat, sweating and unfortunately coming up short."

Midfielder Julia Victor, a freshman at the time, seconded that account.

"It was a weird sensation, because you were sitting there kind of hoping, but I think in the back of your mind you sort of knew we didn't do enough to make it," she said. "Even though we were a bubble team, you sort of had this sour taste in your mouth."

Marquette has some work to do just to get itself back in that situation this season. The Golden Eagles stand at 10-6-3 (6-3-2 Big East) with a home match against Rutgers (12-5-1, 7-3-1) in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.

The Golden Eagles scored a 2-0 win over Pittsburgh in their last game of the regular season to finish second in the Big East American Division and clinch a No. 2 seed in the tournament. A win against Rutgers would place Marquette in a semifinal game in South Bend, Ind.

In No. 3-seeded Rutgers, Marquette will face a strong defensive team that relies on keeping possession of the ball on offense. The Scarlet Knights have allowed opponents to score just 11 goals on 158 shots. Rutgers has tallied 25 goals on the year, taking 255 shots in the process.

"They're very solid in the back, haven't allowed many goals, and up front they have a couple of players that can put the ball in the back of the net," coach Markus Roeders said. "This isn't going to be a team that will be surprised by playing us. We're not going to present something they haven't already seen this year."

Sunday's game will be essentially a must-win for the Golden Eagles, who would almost certainly see their season come to a close with a loss. It's a fact not lost on some of the players who experienced last season's disappointment.

"A bunch of us understand that feeling from last year, and I know we don't want to miss out on the NCAA Tournament for two years of our college career," Victor said. "We know what it takes, and we know that it's as simple as you just have to win. That's the most important thing. Win."

To that end, Roeders has firmly embraced the old "one game at a time" cliché.

"The selection show, the disappointment of not being picked (last year), hasn't really been brought up," he said. "We've had so much to play for up until now . the thinking is more, you win the quarterfinal match you move onto the Final Four.

"The NCAA Tournament is less than two weeks away, but it hasn't been in our minds. You can't lose sight of what you're trying to do now."

Even so, there's no question among Marquette players whether the 2008 season would be a disappointment if they were to miss out on an NCAA berth.

"Absolutely," freshman goalkeeper Natalie Kulla said. "I try not to even think about that."