By Brett Jager
The University of women’s soccer team will host the Pittsburgh Panthers, the No. 5 seed in the American Division, this Thursday at Cardinal Park in the first round of the Big East Tournament.
If the Cards defeat Pittsburgh on Thursday, they will take on American Division winner West Virginia, but they are not worried about that yet.
“It’s about us, not others,” said senior midfielder Mallory Lampson. “We have all the tools to be successful and it’s all about putting it all together for the results.”
The team is confident about their chances of moving on further in the postseason.
“With a good performance in the Big East Tournament, I feel we can put ourselves on the map for the NCAA tourney,” Jessica Mello, senior defender said. “If we reach the final four in the Big East, we should be able to pick up a bid.”
Coming into this past weekend, the Cards unsure what the future held for them. The team could have received anywhere from a number five to a number two seed in the Big East Tournament, or not qualify for the tournament at all.
On Friday night, the Cards lost a tough 1-0 game to No. 23 Georgetown, but clinched a Big East berth anyway because of Cincinnati’s win over Villanova. The Cards defeated Villanova 2-0 and clinched a first round home game Sunday with Cincinnati’s double overtime loss against Georgetown.
“This [Villanova] win is significant for us for a lot of reasons,” said head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes. “First and foremost, it’s a win our senior class deserves and they’re lasting memory of their last regular-season home game will be a win. Secondly, it gave us a greater chance of staying at home for the first round of the Big East Championship, and with the result from the Cincinnati-Georgetown game, it did guarantee us a home game in the first round.”
The Cards played a tough non-conference schedule against some quality opponents including Texas, Oklahoma State and Ohio State. Although the team did not win any of those games, they gained valuable experience against such top competition.
“It was definitely frustrating not getting the wins,” said senior defender Jessica Mello. “I feel it will help us because we played some of the best teams in the country and there’s not much more we can face.”
After playing a tough schedule, earning some good wins, and sitting with an 8-6-3 record, the Cards still have some work to do if they hope to receive an NCAA tournament bid.
The Cards are hoping to do well enough to defeat Pittsburgh at home, then hit the road and play as well as they have on the road all season to obtain an NCAA Tournament Bid.
