After a weekend split against Notre Dame and DePaul, the Seton Hall women's soccer team will finish their season on the road this weekend as they prepare to face the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Louisville Cardinals.
Seton Hall (8-5-2) are 4-4 in Big East play which is good for fourth place in the National Division, just behind last year's national champion Notre Dame who defeated the Pirates 2-0 on Friday.
The Hall heads to Cincinnati (5-7-4) on Friday to face a struggling Bearcat team with just one Big East victory in eight matches.
Cincinnati has not won a match since its Sept. 16 competition with DePaul in which they completed a 1-0 victory in double overtime.
The Bearcats are 0-5-2 in their last seven matches and 1-4-2 at home on the season.
Cincinnati ranks in the bottom half of the Big East with just 1.19 goals scored per game on the season and they allow opponents to score an average of 1.50 goals per game placing them 14th in the conference.
The team's leading scorer, freshman Mackenzie Grause, has six goals on the season to go along with her three assists and 15 points. Cincinnati as a team has only scored 19 goals on the season.
The Bearcats have received strong play in goal from true freshman Kristina Utley who, despite the team's record, is third in the Big East in saves and tied for 10th in shutouts with three.
On Sunday, the Pirates head south for Kentucky where they take on a Louisville Cardinal (7-5-3) team that leads the National Division with 17 points and five Big East victories.
The Cardinals are 6-2-2 in their last 10 matches.
While Louisville has not had problems winning on the road, the team has struggled at home this season.
They are just 1-4-1 in all home matches including a 1-1-1 record in home Big East matchups.
The Cardinals' leading scorer, sophomore Christine Exeter, has gathered nine goals this season which is the third best mark in the Big East. She also has two assists and 20 points and is tied for third in the Big East with 50 shots taken.
Senior keeper Chloe Kiefer has started all 15 games for Louisville and is tied for fifth in the Big East with 63 saves.
Kiefer also ranks seventh in the Big East with a 1.05 goals against in goals against average.
According to Seton Hall coach Kazbek Tambi, Cincinnati's record does not mean his team should be complacent about the game.
"The Big East is an extremely tough conference and we can't be fooled by a team's record," Tambi said. "Some of their losses were tough, overtime losses and we've been in the same boat, so we know.
"Anyone can beat anyone on a given day and nothing should surprise us at this point."
Kick off in Cincinnati is set for Friday, Oct 14 at 7 p.m. while their match in Louisville kicks off Sunday, October 16 at 1 p.m.
John Lopiano can be reached at john.lopiano@student.shu.edu
Follow John on Twitter @johnlopiano.
