#BEfútbol Minute – Saturday Preview
BIG EAST Notes (PDF)
NEW YORK – BIG EAST men’s soccer has entered the turn in the league schedule with five matches complete. Creighton leads the standings with a 4-0-1 record and 13 points. Xavier has jumped up to second with a 3-1-1 record (10 points), leaving Butler and Providence to tie at third with nine points each.
Quick Notes
If the season were to end before Saturday’s matches, the last two teams into the tournament field would be St. John’s and Villanova. Butler would have the No. 3 seed with a head-to-head win over Providence.
Providence goes into Week 6 tied for third with Butler and on a four-game winning streak. Butler needs to win to snap its three-game skid.
Creighton head coach Elmar Bolowich earned win No. 370 last weekend, his 90th win at the helm of the Bluejays program. Providence coach Craig Stewart has 99 career wins and will be on the hunt for No. 100 on Saturday.
Georgetown has the seventh-hardest schedule in the country according to the NCAA, Butler’s is 17th, Villanova tied for 18th with NC State.
Nineteen of the final 20 games will be on BEDN.
Saturday Matchup Notes – This Week on BEDN
No. 10 Creighton at Villanova - 1 p.m.
- Creighton is alone on top of the standings at 4-0-1. The Bluejays have been in first for two weekends, after defeating Butler at home, 1-0. Should the season end before games are played today, Villanova would be the last team in the tournament with seven points. Creighton midfeilder Ricardo Perez scored both goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Marquette. Villanova goalkeeper Will Steiner has been BIG EAST keeper of the week twice this season and leads the league in saves (64), 4.57 per game.
St. John’s at Georgetown - 1 p.m.
- St. John’s earned a key win last Saturday, 2-1, over then-No. 11 Butler at home. With the win, the Red Storm moved up to fifth in the standings, and would be the No. 5 seed in the league tournament. For his efforts last week, Harry Cooksley was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week. Georgetown lost 1-0 to DePaul last weekend. The Hoyas had a midweek tune up against Princeton, which they won 4-3 in overtime. Players to watch on the Hoyas are Brett Campbell and Jon Azzinnari who lead the team in goals (3) and points (6) and Arun Basuljevic with five points (2G, 1A).
Seton Hall at No. 19 Butler - 7 p.m.
- Butler will be looking to get back on track after losing their last three games, two of the three were top 10 NSCA contests and the third, was a BIG EAST road loss at St. John’s. All three games were determined by one goal. Seton Hall has three points in league play and will be looking to try to make a last ditch effort down the stretch with four matches left to play. Look for freshmen to make an impact, Butler’s Lewis Suddick and Seton Hall’s Jonathan Jimenez. Both freshman are second on their respective teams in point totals. Suddick has 18 points with eight goals and two assists. Also look for Seton Hall’s Andres Arcila to make a difference, he is the Pirates’ point-leader with six goals and four assists. Arcila is 3-for-3 in PK’s.
Xavier at Marquette - 8 p.m.
- Xavier took over second place in the league standings last week, earning a point with a 2-2 draw against Villanova. Marquette is in last place in the league with two ties. It could be a goalkeeper battle as both Colin Hanley (Xavier) and Luis Barraza (Marquette) have faced some tough opponents this year. Hanley has allowed just six goals in 800 minutes played. He has a 5-3-1 record with four shutouts. Barraza had seven saves against St. John’s and Georgetown and had six last Saturday against then-No. 6 Creighton.
Other Match Notes:
Providence at DePaul
- Providence comes into Saturday on a four-game winning streak. DePaul is also on the winning side and has put together a two-match streak. DePaul is 1-1 at home and Providence has the same record on the road.
This Weekend’s #BEfútbol Schedule:
Saturday, Oct. 22
No. 10 Creighton at Villanova at 1 p.m. –
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St. John’s at Georgetown at 1 p.m. –
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Providence at DePaul at 2 p.m.
Seton Hall at No. 19 Butler at 7 p.m. –
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Xavier at Marquette at 8 p.m. –
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