No. 13 Benedictine Women's Soccer hosts Central Methodist University in the final match of the regular season tonight at 5 p.m. on Legacy Field.

The Ravens enter the match with a 9-2-2 mark in the Heart with 29 points in the standing while the Eagles sit atop of the standings at 10-1-1 with 31 points. Tonight's match can be streamed on BRSN at https://www.urbanedgenetwork.net/watch/4280. Live Stats are available at https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=675956.

Both teams are playing for seeding at this point in the schedule as they have each locked in a top four position for next week's Heart Women's Soccer Conference Tournament. The Eagles, Clarke University and the Ravens are separated by by two points with Clarke tied with Benedictine with 29 points with two matches remaining on their Heart schedule. A win tonight for the Ravens locks in at least the No. 3 seed. The conference championship will come down to Saturday's matches with CMU and Clarke still in contention for the regular-season title.

SERIES HISTORY

While Benedictine leads the series 14-11-2 since 2007, Central Methodist has taken control of the series over the last 10 meetings with an 8-2-0 record. The two programs have played twice each season since the start of the 2023 season. The Eagles have won three straight, which includes wins over 2-1 and 4-1 on Legacy Field during the 2025 regular season and 2024 Heart Tournament. Benedictine's last home win in the series – which is also their last win in the series – was a 3-2 win on Oct. 23, 2024.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Benedictine's Payton Vogelbacher has pulled away for the team lead in goals over the last two weeks. She now has 14 goals and 31 points to lead the Ravens in both categories. She has scored at least 1 goal in the last five matches and is coming off back-to-back 2-goal matches. Sara Garcia and Madison Davis lead the Eagles offensive. Garcia has 6 goals and 14 points while Davis has 5 goals and 11 points. The Eagles have four players with 11 or more points this season, led by Jenna Brouwer with 15 points (3 goals, 9 assists). 

Maura Maher has taken advantage of her scoring opportunities as a defender this season. She is now the Ravens second-leading scorer with 9 goals on 14 shots on goal this season. She has also helped anchor a defensive back line that has limited opponents to 62 total shots on goal. Emma Smith has taken over the starting position in goal for the Ravens and has registered a 0.88 goals-against average in 8 matches. She has a .816 save percentage with 31 saves. Amber Bennett has started every match in goal for the Eagles this season, logging 1,377 minute in goals. She has a 0.78 goals-against average with a .806 save percentage and 50 saves this season. 

RANKING NOTES
Benedictine ranks sixth in the NAIA with 123 corner kicks this season. … CMU has a 0.84 goals-against average this season while Benedictine has a 0.65 goals-against average. The duo is ranked fourth and second respectively. … Benedictine is tied with MNU for second in goals allowed this season at 11 while CMU is fourth, having allowed 15. … Benedictine leads the Heart in goals with 54 while CMU is fourth at 38. The Ravens are averaging 3.18 goals per match while CMU is averaging 2.38 per match. 

UP NEXT
Benedictine is off for the final Saturday of the regular season. The Heart Women's Soccer Conference Tournament gets underway on Nov. 3 with the Quarterfinals on the campus site of the top team in each of the four pairings. The Semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 6 while the Championship Match is scheduled for Nov. 10.

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