Heading into the last two games of its regular-season schedule, the women’s soccer team is in a fifth-place tie with St. Bonaventure.

Before the A-10 Tournament, which will be held at Robert R. Hermann Stadium this year, the team will finish up its A-10 schedule with two road games against Massachusetts Oct. 31 and Rhode Island Nov. 2. Massachusetts (3-5-1) comes into the match tied for ninth in the A-10, while URI (2-7-0) is 12th.

“The next games determine which six teams make in to the tournament,” said Tim Champion, who is in his 13th season as head coach. “My hope is that we can use those two games to make sure we are playing like we need to be.”

Champion said both Massachusetts and Rhode Island are strong defensively. Despite their low conference rankings, UMass and URI are No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, in “goals against” in A-10.

What UMass makes up in defense, it lacks in offense. The Minutewomen bring a three-game losing and scoreless streak into tomorrow’s match. Saint Louis University has shut out UMass the past three years and leads the overall series, 3-0.

“It is still going to be tough,” senior back Katie Allgaier said. “The competition gets tougher each conference. We really have to come out ready to play based on the higher level of competition.

“Each player needs to know what they are doing individually and what to expect on the field. We need to win these games in order to secure our spot in the conference tournament.”

The top six teams advance to the postseason tournament. The Billikens won the tournament in 2005 and 2006, its first two years in the A-10 Conference, and made an unexpected exit last year with a loss to Dayton.

“We need to go out and not be afraid,” junior goalie Amber Zdanovec said. “Hopefully we can get two wins so we can build our confidence and have a strong run in the tournament.”

The first round of the championship is set to begin Nov. 6.