The 12th-ranked University of Louisville men’s soccer team begins what we can all hope will be a long post-season run Saturday night, hosting No. 10 Marquette in a Big East Conference quarterfinal match.
If there was any doubt that the Big East is the toughest conference in men’s college soccer, a quick look at the tournament bracket should dispel that notion. The other quarterfinal matchups are #4 Georgetown vs. #13 St. Johns, #6 UConn vs. Villanova and #7 Notre Dame vs. Syracuse. That’s right – six of eight teams in the top 13, and four in the top 10.
All six also carry top-20 rankings in the RPI, which is crucial in determining the field for the NCAA tournament. Notre Dame is No. 1 in the RPI, followed by No. 5 Georgetown, No. 6 UConn, the Cards at #8, Marquette at No. 13 and st. Johns at No. 20. Also worth noting that U of L has beaten Notre Dame and St. Johns and tied Georgetown already this season.
All six of those Big East powerhouses are sure to make the NCAA field of 48, with most likely to be in the top 16 seeds and thus in line to play their first couple of games at home. Under those circumstances, making it to the College Cup final weekend will be no harder than getting to the last game of the Big East tourney.
For Ken Lolla’s Cards, the journey begins against a familiar quarterfinal opponent. The Cards beat the Golden Eagles 1-0 in Milwaukee last year. At 15-2-1, this Marquette team is improved over last year’s edition, and has built its success around a defense that has not allowed a goal in 10 of its games. The offense isn’t too shabby either, scoring at a clip of 2.1 goal per game, nearly half a goal per game more than louisville.
After something of a shaky start, Louisville has come on strong in the latter half of the season, sparked by Lolla’s decision to go with Mike Mauro in goal and the return of a healthy Dylan Mares as the linchpin of the Cards attack. They have shown an ability to eke out wins in tight games.
Playing at home also should prove a big advantage for Louisville. They are averaging nearly 2,400 fans at Cardinal Park, while Marquette has averaged less than a third that number at home. A typically large and vocal U Of L crowd could prove a decisive factor.