Marquette Women's Soccer Preview: vs Villanova

First things first: This is Senior Night, and it's the last home game guaranteed to goalkeeper Amanda Engel, defender Jacie Jermier, and midfielder Ann Marie Lynch.

Next things next: The possibility of playing one more home game is alive for the Golden Eagles.  The Big East tournament sets up like this:

• Six teams qualify
• Top two teams get a bye to the semifinals
• Next two teams host a quarterfinal game

Right now, Marquette's in fifth place, and if the tournament started today, they'd be visiting Butler for a quarterfinal match.  But Marquette has 10 points in the league standings, Butler has 12, and third place St. John's has 13.  The possibilities of moving up the table with three matches left and thus getting one more home game are definitely there.

But it has to start with three points against Villanova.  Marquette ends the season with road trips to Butler and to see league leader DePaul.  Coming away from those two with six points for a pair of wins is not likely, not with this year's team.  That's why getting three points from the Wildcats will be crucial for Marquette's seeding.

One roster note for this game: Junior defender Cali Pyzdrowski is suspended by NCAA rule for this match.  She was issued a red card against Georgetown on Sunday, and thus has to sit this one out.  MU's defense has been suspect at times this season, so the instant thought is that this could mean trouble for Marquette's chances of coming away with the win.  Well, let's just say that maaaaaaaaybe it's not that much of a worry.....

Big East Match #7: vs Villanova (1-14-0, 0-6-0 Big East)

When: Thursday, October 22, 2015, at 7pm Central
Where: Valley Fields
Audio/Visual: The Big East Digital Network on Fox Sports Go has your streaming broadcast, plus there's live stats.
Special Promotions: GOLD OUT! Wear your gold for the home finale.  Students in gold will get entered in a raffle, and the best outfit's going to win something, too.
Twitter Updates: @MUWomensSoccer

Villanova gets shut out a lot.

Through 15 games, the Wildcats have been shut out 11 times.  ELEVEN.  That's a lot.  They're currently riding a streak where they haven't scored a goal in over 318 minutes. That's more than three games!  That's not their worst streak of the season!  VU opened up the season by getting shut out in six straight games!

In short, if you're looking to prolong some momentum and also get through a game while missing one of your starting defenders, then Villanova is the team to be playing.

Villanova's goaltending has been a little schizophrenic this season.  Let's put it this way: If Emma Meyer (2.41 GAA, .651 SV%) plays, she's starting.  But she's been pulled at halftime for Emily Harris (2.50 GAA, .659 SV%) four times this season, and Harris has started four of the 15 contests.  The last three matches have all been Meyer's show, though, so I'd expect to see her in net against Marquette.

If you wanted to bet on which Wildcat would end up finding the back of the net in this game (but if you're thinking about doing this, please call a gambler's anonymous line, because you have a serious problem), your smart money would be on Amanda Vocelka.  Why, you ask?  Well, she's the only Nova player that's score more than one goal this season, and she has two of them.  A nice secondary option would be Christina Camassa, since the senior from New Jersey has a goal and an assist this season, and she's the only player on the team that can make that claim.