With five teams separated by just four points and jockeying for position in the standings, the Suburban East Conference title chase will be a fight to the finish.
Several teams will face a sprint through this week, when every game matters and each team has a say in its destiny, including East Ridge and Cretin-Derham Hall, who meet Tuesday.
Both have two games remaining and each is staring up at Stillwater, which leads the league with 16 points but has only one game remaining — a home match with White Bear Lake on Oct. 2.
A victory for either East Ridge, which is second in the standings with 15 points, or Cretin-Derham Hall (tied for fourth place with 12 points) could be the fuel each needs to make a run at the Ponies and take the regular-season title.
Coming off a 1-0 win on Sept. 27 over Park of Cottage Grove and a 2-0 loss on Sept. 25 to Stillwater, the No. 7-2A Raptors (10-2-1, 5-1-0) will need to finish the season on a hot streak if they want a piece of their first Suburban East crown.
While Raptors strikers have outscored opponents 28-11, the defense hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a game all year, largely thanks to senior goalkeeper Erika Freiberg.
Any offensive response by Cretin-Derham Hall (10-3, 4-2) will likely come through Paige Peltier, who leads the team in goals (18) and assists (10). Although they have a bigger mountain to climb in the standings for a shot at the league title, the Raiders can stay optimistic: They’ve beat East Ridge in the final week of the regular season the past two years.