In the days before the Marquette women's soccer team's late-season game against West Virginia on Oct. 24, senior defender Katie Kelly recalled the scene at last year's NCAA Tournament selection show viewing party, which ended with Marquette being denied a berth.

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

What a difference a year makes. On Monday night the Golden Eagles gathered at the Union Sports Annex to watch this season's selection show, anxiously awaiting word of whether they would make the field of 64. They didn't have to wait long—the Golden Eagles earned a berth and will face Minnesota (20-3-0) in the NCAA Tournament's first round this Friday at 6 p.m.

"It's a great feeling, especially to see it first round, right up (on the TV screen) right away," senior defender Shannon Cusick said. "I think (Minnesota) is definitely beatable."

For a team with a relatively modest 11-7-3 record, the Golden Eagles were very optimistic in the weeks leading up to the seeding announcements.

"Everyone was a lot more optimistic (this season) because we did have a tougher schedule…We were a lot more confident than last year," Kelly said. "I was pretty sure, but you never know sometimes."

The other side of Marquette's four-team mini-bracket features a match between No. 4 seed Colorado (14-4-4) and South Dakota State (14-4-1).

"I kind of think back to my freshman year when we did make (the tournament), and I think that tonight meant a little bit more because I'm older," junior forward Anna Sawicki said. "Last year we didn't make it, so that just makes this year even more special. The sophomores, the freshmen, obviously don't know what it's like yet, but it's pretty exciting."

A pair of wins in the first two rounds of the tournament would likely give Marquette a rematch against No. 1 Notre Dame, which beat the Golden Eagles 2-0 in the Big East Tournament semifinals Friday, and 3-1 earlier this season.

But for now, the Golden Eagles are more than satisfied with a simple tournament berth to extend their season.

"This is what you work for all year, you want to be in postseason," coach Markus Roeders said. "I think we did a great job of getting ourselves to this point."