At this point in the past two seasons, Marquette breezed through this week as well, knowing that a Big East tournament semifinal match and a likely NCAA tournament invite lied ahead.,”The weeks used to pass by impatiently for the Marquette women's soccer team. For the past nine weeks, the Golden Eagles were preoccupied with earning points toward a seed in the conference tournament and building their NCAA tournament resume.

At this point in the past two seasons, Marquette breezed through this week as well, knowing that a Big East tournament semifinal match and a likely NCAA tournament invite lay ahead.

These days, though, time drags along, accompanied by a grating insecurity. At 12-4-4 (5-3-3 Big East) and eliminated from the Big East tournament after a 1-0 loss Sunday at Louisville, the Golden Eagles are forced to sit and wait for a decision completely out of their control.

"Do we feel as comfortable as we have in the last couple of years? I would say we're not smiling right now," head coach Markus Roeders said. "It's a little different."

For the players as well as the coaches. Senior goalkeeper Laura Boyer said she thought about the precarious position Marquette had put itself in before the Louisville match even started.

The Golden Eagles played to a draw with both Cincinnati and Syracuse – two sub-.500 squads – and allowed a goal in the final 11 seconds of regulation that led to a regular-season tie with Louisville.

Letting those wins slip away meant the Big East quarterfinal match against Louisville was a must-win. After the defeat, Boyer said some of the players were unsure of how to react. Were they supposed to stay positive? Were they supposed to cry?

"I've never been in this situation before at Marquette where you're left wondering," Boyer said. "You almost take it for granted. I thought we could do it."

In 2005, Marquette boasted a 17-2-1 record heading into its conference semifinal match with Notre Dame. A No. 13 seed in the NCAA tournament and a trip to the Sweet 16 followed.

A year later, the Golden Eagles' regular season record was an unspectacular 10-5-4, but they advanced to their conference's final four, which proved to be enough for a return trip to the field of 64.

Roeders said that, back then, the team had less time to worry about its NCAA tournament fate because it continuously had a game for which to prepare, a luxury not afforded to the Golden Eagles this time around.

"We have to be realistic about this situation," junior defender Katie Kelly said. "We might make it, but we also might be done."

In previous seasons, the NCAA released each team's RPI just once a year, but this year, teams get to see where they stand in the ratings index used by the NCAA selection committee to help seed teams for the postseason tournament.

Marquette's most recent RPI is 54, though that does not necessarily mean it is a lock to be invited to the 64-team NCAA tournament. The field will consist of 30 automatic bids, which go to conference champions, and 34 at-large bids. Each year, upsets relegate a conference's best team to an at-large NCAA tournament invite.

The more upsets there are this year, the further Marquette's chances will sink. The Golden Eagles used to be the underdog other potential at-large teams cheered against. Now they are the ones hoping for the balance of power to remain intact.

Boyer said she would rather have hope now and be disappointed later than not have any belief at all. Her teammates echoed that sentiment.

"You have to turn this into a positive," Kelly said. "If you don't, it will just make the week even longer."

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