Creighton and Butler Advance; Will Play In #BEfútbol Championship Final On Sunday
NEW YORK – After two exciting semifinal matches on Thursday night, the BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship presented by Jeep final will feature No. 4 seed Creighton at No. 2 seed Butler at the Butler Bowl Sunday on FS2.
No. 4 seed Creighton defeated top-seeded Providence 2-1 in Rhode Island, moving on to their second consecutive championship appearance. In Indianapolis, the second-seeded Bulldogs scored a golden goal in the second overtime to advance past No. 3 seed Villanova, 1-0.
Butler, ranked 15th nationally, will host Creighton, also ranked in the NSCAA top 25 at No. 24, at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13. Butler earns the home field advantage as the higher seed in the pairing.
Sunday’s contest is a rematch of an Oct. 7 battle in Omaha that the host Bluejays won, 1-0. Butler and Creighton both entered that match ranked in the Top 10 nationally. Sunday’s matchup will feature two Top 25 programs with the BIG EAST title at stake.
Neither team has won a BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship title.
No. 4 [24] Creighton 2, No. 1 [22] Providence 1
Creighton advanced past Providence during the semifinal round of the BIG EAST Championship Presented by Jeep on Thursday night at Chapey Field. Creighton improved to 11-5-3, while the Friars fell to 12-6-0. Providence took an early 1-0 lead during the seventh minute with a goal from Danny Griffin. In the 31st minute, Ricky Lopez-Espin scored his fourth goal in three matches to even the score 1-1. About 10 minutes later, Myles Englis gave Creighton a 2-1 lead with a header into the left corner of the net. Bluejay senior goalkeeper Alex Kapp preserved the lead with four first-half saves. During the second half, Providence held a 7-3 advantage in shots, but Kapp added to his save total with five following the break to match his career-high with nine during 90 minutes. Kapp’s nine saves were the most in the BIG EAST men’s soccer championship in the new configuration of 10 teams from 2013. The next highest save count was eight, by Marquette’s Charlie Lyon in the 2013 semifinals against Butler in a 97 minute overtime contest.
Box Score
No. 2 [15] Butler 1, No. 3 Villanova 0 (2OT)
BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year David Goldsmith scored the golden goal in the 107th minute for the second-seeded Bulldogs to advance to their first BIG EAST men’s soccer championship final. His game-winner was a header to the right post from 20 yards out on a pass from standout freshman Lewis Suddick. Villanova’s goalkeeper Will Steiner had made three saves in the double-overtime match; while Butler’s keeper Eric Dick made five. Goldsmith’s goal was No. 12 for the senior on the year. It was the fourth game-winner for Goldsmith.
Box Score