But Linden is confident in his team’s ability.

“We feel we will be the more talented team,” Linden said. “It’s just a matter of taking control of the game early on, and then it comes down to putting the ball in the goal.”

The Crimson will rely on junior co-captain Scott Prozeller to control the pace of the game in the midfield and ignite the offense with his great passing ability.

“[Prozeller] is really the engine of our team, the brain of our team, right in the middle of the field directing a lot of things,” Linden said. “He has not gotten that many opportunities on goal, but when they come for him I’m sure he’ll capitalize.”

This weekend has the potential to be a historic one for senior goalkeeper Austin Harms, as Harms is currently two shutouts away from tying the school record of 19 career shutouts. Linden, a defender, has nothing but high praise for his goalkeeper.

“He’s been back there for four years,” Linden said. “Not only is he a great goalie as far as making saves [and] blocking shots, he’s also very specific with his talk. The big advantage of having a good, experienced goalie is communication and the organization of the defense.”

Despite last weekend’s disappointing losses, Linden says his team is ready to take their game to the next level.

“We had a few hiccups this weekend,” he said, “But I think that’s stuff that we have identified already and corrected, so we should not have any problems going forward.”