The Maroons look to finish the regular season with a victory this Saturday against the Wash U Bears. After two wins last weekend, the No. 11 South Siders boast a 13–3–1 overall record (4–1–1 UAA), while the No. 17 Bears are 12–3–2 overall (2–3–1 UAA).
The women will head to St. Louis for the final regular season contest with confidence, coming off of two conference wins at home last weekend against NYU and Brandeis.
“We are going into this game with a lot of confidence,” said third-year defender Bethany Robinson. “If we play our game and our style, there’s no reason we shouldn’t win this game.”
The women also want to keep Wash U’s unique style of play in mind. In practice, the Maroons worked on exploiting the gaps in the Bears’ defense, which is expected to be a major strategy in this weekend’s match.
“This week, we really focused on switching our point of attack to exploit Wash U’s wide space on the weak side. We definitely have the skill set to do that successfully,” Robinson said.
This weekend’s matchup also provides the Maroons the opportunity to earn the UAA title, depending on the outcome of Carnegie Mellon’s match against Emory. With that in mind, the team wants to make sure to focus on winning this game and using it as a chance to improve before the tournament.
“We’re confident at this point about our chances of getting a bid into the tournament,” Robinson said.
First-year midfielder Whitley Cargile commented on the importance of this final regular season contest.
“This is a big game for us, and we definitely want to finish regular season play on a high note. Winning our last regular season game would be a great confidence boost that would help our chances in the tournament,” Cargile said.
A major strength for the Maroons all year has been the strong performances in goal by fourth-years Mallory Morse and Jacinda Reid. Combined, the two goalkeepers have 10 shutouts this season, two of which were last weekend in conference play. The Maroons’ strong defense will be vital this weekend.
“Wash U is a very attack-minded team, and they keep the ball really well. Our defense has been great all year, though, and we should be able to stop them successfully if we play our game,” Robinson said.
Chicago’s performance in this contest will determine its chances of making the NCAA Tournament.
The Maroons kick off against the Bears on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
