The Marquette women’s soccer team did what it needed to do.
The Golden Eagles won their last four matches of the conference season, including a nail biter against St. John’s Sunday. They captured the Big East American division title for the first time since joining the conference. And they earned a first-round bye in the Big East Championship.
Now the team must wait.
Marquette plays Sunday at 1 p.m., but it has yet to be determined who the team will be suiting up against. No. 5-seeded Connecticut (10-7-1, 5-5-1 Big East) will take on No. 4-seeded Villanova (11-4-4, 4-4-3 Big East) Thursday at 1 p.m. And until approximately 3 p.m. on Thursday, the Golden Eagles will be not so patiently awaiting the results.
“It’s hard. You always want to be thinking about the next opponent,” senior defender Allison McBride said. “But it’s kind of exciting, too. I’m really excited to see the Thursday game result.”
Whichever team Marquette ends up facing Sunday, the Golden Eagles will have their hands full.
In Connecticut, Marquette would find a team that was unable to live up to its preseason billing — picked to finish second in the American division, the Huskies finished fifth. Connecticut fell to Marquette in an unlikely 3-2 double overtime tilt, and following the loss the Huskies went 1-3-1 to finish the season.
However, the Huskies do rank in the top three in the Big East in almost all offensive categories, including third in shots per game (16), points per game (4.89) and goals per game (1.67).
“UConn has a lot to prove towards us,” sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Kulla said. “We came back from a 2-0 deficit and were able to win.”
Unfortunately for Marquette, Villanova is right behind Connecticut in many of those same offensive categories—sixth in shots per game (14.68), and fourth in points (4.74) and goals per game (1.58).
As a result, neither McBride nor Kulla were sure which team they would rather see across the pitch come Sunday.
“I have a different feeling toward both teams,” Kulla said. “I’ve never played Villanova, and I’ve played UConn three times. I have mixed feelings towards both. It’d be nice to play UConn again and beat them again.”
But be it Villanova or Connecticut, the Golden Eagles and their stingy defense (0.50 goals against average, good for second in conference) are up to the task, especially with freshman stopper Ally Miller expected to be back on the field.
Miller injured her ankle during the team’s Oct. 18 game against Louisville and didn’t play at all against Syracuse or St. John’s. But with the defense at full strength, the Golden Eagles are confident they warrant their No. 1 seed in the Big East Championship.
“We’ve done something we’ve never done before,” junior midfielder Julia Victor said. “Why can’t we do that again? … We know we can win. It’s not a question or a doubt. We know if we do what we need to, we can beat those teams.”
No wonder the waiting game is so difficult.
