#BEfutbol Minute – League Kick Off Saturday With Full BEDN Coverage
BIG EAST Weekly Notes
NEW YORK – The first Saturday of BIG EAST men’s soccer has arrived. The day will feature wall-to-wall coverage with five games from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Quick Notes
Reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week David Goldsmith was named the NSCAA and NCAA National Player of the Week on Tuesday, alongside BIG EAST women’s soccer Rachel Corboz from Georgetown as the BIG EAST swept the national awards. Butler is the second-streak BIG EAST player to earn national weekly awards. Last week’s OPOW and Freshman of the Week, Luka Prpa from Marquette, was the NSCAA National Player of the Week as well.
Non-Conference Round Up
The bulk of non-conference play is over for the BIG EAST with scattered matches to be played over the next two months. The league has boasted a 29-18-10 (.596) record against other conferences.
Last weekend, which included Thursday’s two games, the BIG EAST went unbeaten in non-league play with a 13-0-2 record.
Opening Saturday Matchup Notes – This Week on BEDN
DePaul at Xavier -- 12 p.m. (Gettler Stadium)
- The day kicks off wiht DePaul at Xavier, a rematch of one of last year’s BIG EAST Championship first round games. Xavier got the best of DePaul, 2-1, in Cincinnati and moved on to the semifinals. This game was originally scheduled for a night time kick off, but due to field conditions at Xavier was moved to Cincinnati’s Gettler Stadium. DePaul is second in the standings and is riding a two-game winning streak against Illinois-Chicago and IUPUI last week. Xavier’ last game as a 2-0 loss to Louisville. Xavier has an even 2-2-2 record.
No. 10 Butler at Villanova -- 1 p.m.
- The 1 p.m. match up features No. 10 Butler visiting Villanova. Thes two teams are the hottest in the league right now as Butler is unbeaten so far at 4-0-1 and knocked off then-No. 7 UCSB last weekend, 4-2. Butler jumped from No. 19 to No. 10 in the NSCAA poll this week. Villanova is riding a three-game winning streak bookended by ranked wins over then-No. 11 Boston College and most recently then-No. 22 Delaware.
Georgetown at Providence -- 7 p.m.
- The first night game has Georgetown traveling to Providence. The Hoyas earned their first win, 1-0, over UConn last weekend after suffering four one-goal set backs to high quality opponents. GU is again coming off a 1-0 loss, a midweek road match at William & Mary. Providence like Villanova is on a hot streak, winning four games since Sept. 2 All but last week’s against Georgia State (W, 2-0) were one-goal victories. Georgetown can have a clean slate going into Saturday and will be looking for a win to jump from the bottom to the top of the standings.
There are two games in the 8 p.m. time slot: St. John’s at Marquette and Seton Hall at Creighton.
St. John’s at Marquette -- 8 p.m.
- The Red Storm and Golden Eagles are traditionally successful programs in the BIG EAST, both falling just shy of the tournament bracket last season. This season both teams have turned it on and turned up the offense with Saturday night looking to be a goal explosion from both teams. Marquette leads the league in goals per game with 2.67 and has not lost a game since Aug. 26, although, this week the Golden Eagles had back-to-back draw results. St. John’s is slightly better off in the standings with a 3-1-1 record and a two-game winning streak. Marquette boasts the foot of freshman Luka Prpa who was National POW last week. Prpa leads the league in points per game (1.67).
Seton Hall at No.14 Creighton -- 8 p.m.
- No. 14 Creighton seems to have found their footing lately and is riding a two-game winning streak going into Saturday night against Penn and UMKC. Creighton is trying to find their offensive go-to with the loss of Fabian Herbers and Timo Pitter to graduation. Seton Hall conversely is 2-3-1 on the young season and has found their golden foot in Andres Arcila. Arcila is tied for second in the league in goals (4) and fourth in points per game (1.67).
Goldsmith earns second-straight National Player of the Week honor for league
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week David Goldsmith was named National Player of the Week for the NSCAA, NCAA, College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer. He ranks in four career categories in the NCAA including: Goals, Goals per Game, Points and Points per Game.
More Soccer Please....
So far this season, there have been 15 overtime contests. The BIG EAST is 1-4-10 in extra periods. On the opening night of the 2016 season, five matches went into overtime. Seton Hall’s golden goal win over Lehigh, 4-3, in OT on Sept. 10 was the first win for the league in the extra minutes. Last week four contests went into extra minutes, three ended in ties, two of the ties were for Marquette.
Saturday’s #BEfutbol Schedule:
12 p.m. DePaul at Xavier
UC’s Gettler Stadium
PXP: Mike Schmaltz
1 p.`m. No. 10 Butler at Villanova
Villanova Stadium
PXP: Nick Mantegna
BEDN Correspondent: Cayleigh Griffin
7 p.`m. Georgetown at Providence
Chapy Field
PXP: Chris Fama
8 p.m. Seton Hall at Creighton
Morrison Stadium
PXP: Jon Schriner
8 p.m. St. John’s at Marquette
Valley Fields
PXP: Patrick Reed