The UChicago women’s soccer team has two big matches this weekend after a successful past week. The team recorded victories in its two home matches against Kalamazoo and Emory, which was ranked No. 19 prior to the match. It was a dominant display by the Maroons, who controlled the game from the first whistle, thus increasing their record to 12–0–0. It would be an understatement to say that they are in good form.
The No. 1 Maroons face a home test on Friday against No. 10 Carnegie Mellon. The match is at 3 p.m. and is expected to be played on Stagg Field. Carnegie Mellon comes into the match with an electrifying attacking prowess, averaging three goals and nearly 20 shots a game. However, they have not faced a team as dominant as the Maroons, who have only allowed four goals for the entire season.
Carnegie Mellon has had a successful start to the season with a record of 8–1–2. They are unbeaten so far this year through 90 minutes, with their only loss occurring in overtime. Carnegie Mellon is in the midst of an extremely difficult road trip against three ranked teams. They started the road trip with a draw that elicited mixed reactions against No. 22 Brandeis due to the dominance of their performance, but also the fact that they scored an equalizer at the death to force overtime. Starting first-year fullback Charlotte Waechter expects an even match. “Carnegie [is] usually a really strong team that plays a similar style to us, so it'll be a really good match,” Waechter said.
After their match against the Maroons, the Tartans will face Wash U, which is ranked second in the division. So far this season, Carnegie Mellon has not faced any common opponents with UChicago. Last year Carnegie Mellon beat the Maroons 1–0 in Pittsburgh, and are unbeaten in the last six years against the Maroons.
The second match of the weekend for the Maroons is another conference match against Case Western Reserve. The match is at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Case Western has gotten off to a slow start this year with a 5–5–2 record. However, they are unbeaten in their past two matches with a narrow 1–0 loss to Brandeis at home. Prior to the match against UChicago, the Spartans have a difficult match at Wash U on Friday. Case Western has struggled in away games this year, having only won one of their four away matches.
Case Western has already improved from last year by winning a conference match. The Spartans have not beaten UChicago since the 2011 season. Case Western is likely going to make it difficult for the Maroons to pass it around by packing in the box.