The regular season is over.

Now, every game matters.

For eight Big Ten women's soccer teams, the road to the NCAA tournament starts Thursday at the Big Ten Tournament in Champaign, Ill.

While some teams have all but locked up a tournament bid, the lower seeds in the Big Ten are hoping to win some games to impress the selection committee or win the tournament and grab the conference's automatic qualifying spot.

To do so, they'll have to win three games in four days. It will be difficult, but they're hoping it's not impossible.

Minnesota comes into the tournament as the No. 8 seed, the last entry into the bracket. And their reward, facing No. 1 seed and No. 7 in the nation Penn State.

"I think we're going to give them a tough game," Minnesota women's soccer coach Barbara Wickstrand said.

Wickstrand also said it was interesting the way the seeding worked because the Golden Gophers were in a three-way tie for sixth place in the conference and had beaten the other teams they were tied with but were still give the lower seed.

While the Gophers have not sustained any major injuries, Wickstrand said there are some minor injuries that could play a factor.

Purdue is the No. 7 seed and the lowest seed in the tournament to beat its first round opponent in the regular season.

On Oct. 8, Wisconsin came into West Lafayette, Ind., having just suffered a last second defeat to Penn State. The Boilermakers poured salt in the wound when freshman Jennie Moppert scored the game's only goal with just seven seconds showing on the clock to hand the Badgers their second straight loss in the last 10 seconds of a game.

Purdue women's soccer coach Robert Klatte said facing tournament No. 2 and No. 24 Wisconsin could be dangerous because the Badgers turned their game up a notch after his squad beat them. The Badgers closed out the season with six straight wins after the contest with Purdue.

"I guess the confidence comes from playing a tough schedule both home and away," Klatte said.

The Boilermakers come in riding a string of three wins including an upset of then-No. 14 Southern Methodist.

"I believe we're capable of competing in the Big Ten Tournament," Klatte said. "A win is a definite goal of ours. I think we need a win to get into the NCAAs."

However, the bad news for Klatte and the Boilermakers has been injuries.

"We've got four torn ACLs (anterior cruciate ligaments) and a couple of other nagging injuries," Klatte said.

He said the team was lucky that it only had one match last weekend and came through it healthy. However, he has lost four players that are out for the rest of the season, no matter how long the Boilermakers can extend it.

The No. 6 seed Iowa enters the tournament having lost two straight, but also having won its last three Big Ten contests, including an impressive 7-1 victory against Purdue and a 5-1 thrashing of Illinois.

"You've got to go not only one game at a time, more like one half at a time," Iowa women's soccer coach Wendy Logan said of the tournament. "Other than Penn State, there's more parity this year, I don't think seeds really matter. I think it makes it extremely exciting."

And, although the Hawkeyes lost to their first round opponent, Michigan, it wasn't by much. The Hawkeyes came back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game at two and force overtime. The Wolverines scored nearly three minutes into the second overtime period to defeat the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes do have the benefit of a balanced attack, with three players having 27 points or more, which they will need in order to be able to beat the Big Ten's best.

"That's a comforting aspect of our game," Logan said.

With all the parity in the Big Ten this year, Logan expressed her hopes for the tournament.

"Every game should be really exciting."