Xavier defeats No. 18 Creighton 2-1 in double-overtime to tie Creighton and Villanova for second in the league.
Last Night In # BEfútbol – 10.27
NEW YORK – The first team to 10 wins and the No. 1 team in the standings after a five-match Wednesday is Providence. The Friars have won their last six matches as they scaled the rankings all the way to the top with a 2-1 victory over Marquette.
After last Saturday, the first week with no overtime contests, Wednesday night made up for it with three double-overtime matches, one ending in a scoreless draw between Georgetown and Seton Hall. The other two had both the BIG EAST’s top 25 teams fall to league tournament contenders. DePaul defeated No. 15 Butler 1-0 to leap-frog St. John’s into the No. 6 spot in the standings. Xavier handed No. 18 Creighton its second loss in a row to tie the Bluejays at second place in the league.
Villanova defeated St. John’s 2-1 to win its third straight match and join Xavier and Creighton in a three-way tie for second place and a potential first round bye in the league tournament.
With two matches left – no team has been mathematically eliminated
DePaul 1, No. 15 Butler 0 (2OT)
When his opportunity arrived on Wednesday, Zach El-Shafei was ready to turn a cold, rainy, dreary day into a sun-kissed moment. El-Shafei’s golden goal with five seconds left in double overtime gave DePaul a hard-fought 1-0 victory over No. 15 Butler and energized the Blue Demons’ drive to the BIG EAST playoffs. DePaul keeper Quentin Low made a season-high nine saves, three against BIG EAST leading scorer David Goldsmith. Butler outshot DePaul 19-8 and had a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal.
Villanova 2, St. John’s 1
Villanova won its third match in a row with a 2-1 win over the Red Storm in the late afternoon on Wednesday at home. The win was the fifth straight win at home for the Wildcats. Junior Miguel Polley and freshman Jacob Anderson scored the Wildcats goals. Both scores were set up by sophomore Zach Zandi. Junior goalkeeper Will Steiner made five saves in the contest, including a pair of key ones in the final minutes as the Red Storm pressed forward in an effort to gain the equalizer. St. John’s Harry Cooksley scored for the Red Storm, tying the game at 1-1 in the 21st minute. Anderson scored the eventual game-winner for Villanova in the 41st minute. St. John’s keeper Andrew Withers made six saves.
Providence 2, Marquette 1
Providence won their sixth straight match on Wednesday with a 2-1 victory over visiting Marquette on Senior Night. The Friars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from sophomore Brendan Constantine and freshman Danny Griffin. Marquette freshman Luka Prpa scored in the 78th minute to cut the Friar lead to one goal, but time ran out on the Golden Eagles. Providence keeper Colin Miller made six saves for the Friars.
Georgetown 0, Seton Hall 0 (2OT)
Both Seton Hall and Georgetown earned a point in the standings to keep both teams in the hunt for a potential play off berth. Georgetown’s point put them in a tie for seventh place (8 points) currently with St. John’s, one spot out of the tournament field. Seton Hall is in last in the standings with four points. Seton Hall keeper made five saves in the double-overtime draw. Georgetown keeper JT Marcinkowski made two. The Hoyas outshot the Pirates 16-13, 5-2 on goal. Georgetown had eight corners to Seton Hall’s three.
Xavier 2, No. 18 Creighton 1 (2OT)
Xavier celebrated its first league match on the new turf surface with a 2-1 double-overtime win over No. 18 Creighton. Cam Taylor collected his first career golden goal on Wednesday night in the 106th minute. The sophomore defender found a deflection at the back post, coming off a free kick by Matt Nance, and headed it to the left of CU goalkeeper Alex Kapp to seal the win. The win snapped a two-match skid for Xavier. Creighton’s Ricky Lopez-Espin scored the opening goal in the contest in the 53rd minute, giving the Bluejays a 1-0 lead in the second half. With 10 minutes left in regulation, XU’s Matt Vasquenza evened the score heading in a throw in by Taylor. The 2-1 win came nearly a year to the day after XU knocked off then-No. 1 Creighton at home (Oct. 28, 2015).