The regular season has come down to one game. 

The postseason fate of the Illinois soccer team will be decided Thursday afternoon when the team takes on Minnesota in Minneapolis in its season finale.

In terms of Big Ten Tournament qualification, Illinois is tied for seventh place with Iowa and Wisconsin. The Illini hold the head-to-head tiebreaker because they beat both teams this season. With that, the math can be simple: a win and Illinois is in. A win is no guarantee, though, considering how competitive the Big Ten has been this season.

“We certainly want to win and go out on the season on a good note,” head coach Janet Rayfield said. “But Minnesota is in the same boat. They want to do the same thing, and it’s going to be a challenge and I feel like a broken record. I think I’ve said that every Big Ten game.”

Minnesota (11-5-2, 4-4-2 Big Ten) is tied with Ohio State for fifth place in the Big Ten. It won its last two games on the road against Wisconsin and Purdue and has beaten Penn State and is the only Big Ten team to beat No. 8 Michigan.

Illinois’ game in Minneapolis will be on Thursday afternoon at 2. Temperatures are forecast to be in the upper 40s, and a daytime kickoff is not likely to attract many fans. The fixture is also the first of the afternoon in a series of pivotal matchups for the Big Ten. Therefore, Illinois will not have the option of scoreboard watching, as the team will look to take care of business on the field, something the senior members of the team are especially looking to do.

“Games in the past probably we, for as much as I hate to say it, probably let off a little bit, but to realize that this really … could be the last game possibly, just to give it your all,” senior defender and midfielder Kassidy Brown said. “We’ve worked so hard for so long not to have that be our last game.”

Minnesota’s defense will be one of the better units the high-powered Illinois offense has faced this season. Freshman goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs for Minnesota leads the Big Ten with 108 saves, and Minnesota is second with 0.93 goals allowed per match. Offensively, the Gophers are second to last in the Big Ten in shots and goals, with 228 and 25, respectively. Although the Illini had a solid performance the last time they saw the pitch, both Rayfield and her players want to come out with a bit more of a bang.

“I definitely think (we need) to start strong,” senior forward Megan Pawloski said. “They’re known for quick start Janet said. So if we come out strong, and I think definitely getting that first goal or those opportunities and just going at them and not letting them get into their game.”

In the event of a loss or tie, Iowa or Wisconsin will need to have the same result in their games for Illinois to advance to the Big Ten Tournament. If Illinois wins and Ohio State loses or ties its game, Illinois will be the fifth seed. If Illinois and Ohio State wins, Illinois will be the sixth seed.

Rayfield and the team has been saying all season that they will take it one game at a time, but now that they face the final game of the regular season, Illinois is already in mental postseason mode.

“You always want to be in control of your own destiny and not count on anyone else,” Rayfield said. “It just became a four-game tournament for us in some ways.”

Alex can be reached at [email protected] and @AlexOrtiz2334.