#BEfutbol Midweek Non-Conference Roundup– 9.22
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST men’s soccer teams put up a 2-2-1 record Tuesday and Wednesday, giving themselves a non-conference tune up before league play begins again on Saturday. No. 10 Butler defeated Evansville 3-1 and DePaul edged crosstown rival Northwestern 2-1. No. 12 Creighton played No. 8 Denver to a scoreless draw on Wednesday night, following Villanova’s 0-0 tie against Saint Joseph’s on Tuesday. St. John’s suffered their first loss since a double-overtime loss at then-No.6 Syracuse on Sept. 4.
No. 12 Creighton 0, No. 8 Denver 0 (2OT)
The No. 12 Creighton played No. 8 Denver to a 0-0 draw at Morrison Stadium on Wednesday night. The Bluejays are now 4-1-2, while the Pioneers are 7-0-2. Alex Kapp tied a Morrison Stadium single-match record for the most saves by a Creighton individual with nine saves. Alex Bolowich also made nine saves against No. 14 Old Dominion on Sept. 14, 2012. Kapp's nine stops also matched his career-high. An evenly played first half saw Denver launch seven shots, while Creighton had six. The Bluejays are now 29-5-3 at Morrison Stadium against Top-25 opponents. Wednesday's 0-0 draw marked the first regular-season 0-0 tie for Creighton since the Bluejays played No. 12 Georgetown to a scoreless draw on Sept. 28, 2013 in Creighton's first BIG EAST road match in program history. The Bluejays also played UMBC to a 0-0 tie in the 2014 NCAA tournament before UMBC advanced on penalty kicks, 4-3. Both Denver and Creighton have been two of the top 10 teams in scoring over the past four years.
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DePaul 2, Northwestern 1
Behind goals from Simon Megally and Zach El-Shafei, DePaul knocked off Northwestern 2-1 in nonconference action. The Blue Demons are now 5-2-2 on the season have five wins and a tie in their last seven matches. Megally opened the scoring in the 36th minute with a shot into the top corner off a cross from Hans Wustling. That was his fifth goal of the season. In the 77th minute, El-Shafei culminated a counterattack taking a pass from Megally and finishing into the left corner from two yards outside the box. Northwestern (1-6-1) narrowed the gap in the 78th minute on Nathan Dearth’s rebound shot from point-blank range. The last time DePaul had four wins this early in the season was 2007, and that Blue Demon side finished 12-8-0.
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No. 10 Butler 3, Evansville 1
Butler remained undefeated on the 2016 campaign, downing Evansville, 3-1, Tuesday night at the Butler Bowl. The Bulldogs dominated offensively in the match, outshooting the Purple Aces 18-7. With the win, Butler improves to 6-0-1, while Evansville falls to 4-3-1. Back-to-back BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week David Goldsmith continued his strong play, recording a goal and an assist. The senior forward now has seven goals and three assists in his last four matches. Goldsmith scored in the 10th minute to give Butler the early lead. In the second half, Isaac Galliford netted one in the 47th minute. Butler’s Lewis Suddick made it 3-0 Butler in the 62 minute. Evansville scored their lone goal in the 81st minute.
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Villanova 0, Saint Joseph’s 0 (2OT)
The Villanova Wildcats and Saint Joseph’s Hawks battled to the final whistle Tuesday night but neither was able to break through with a goal in what concluded as a 0-0 draw. Players from both squads fell to the turf once the horn sounded after 110 minutes of competition on a muggy evening at Sweeney Field. The Wildcats are now 3-3-1 overall while the Hawks stand at 2-4-1. This was the first Philly Soccer Six match for both teams in 2016. The Hawks ended the night with a 17-13 edge in shots but the Wildcats forced Saint Joseph’s goalkeeper Greg O’Connell to make six saves. Villanova held possession for key periods but the Hawks were able to create some opportunities at times, as well, especially as the game moved on. Junior Will Steiner made a pair of saves in goal for Villanova in posting his first shutout of 2016.
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Quinnipiac 1, St. John’s 0
Quinnipiac’s William Pustari scored on a header off a free kick in the 78th minute, breaking a scoreless tie and lifting Quinnipiac (4-4-0) to a 1-0 win over St. John's on Tuesday night at Belson Stadium. The loss marked the first against an unranked opponent this season for St. John's (3-2-2), as the Johnnies only other defeat came in overtime at the hands of Syracuse, who is now ranked No. 2/1 in the nation. The falter also marked the first of the campaign for St. John's at Belson Stadium, where the Red Storm had previously been 2-0-1. Andrew Withers, who ranked third in the nation in both goals against average and save percentage heading into the contest, suffered his first loss of the season, falling to 2-1-2. The Wellington, New Zealand, native made three stops and, despite surrendering his first goal since Sept. 4, still has a goals against average of 0.38 on the season.
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#BEfutbol Saturday Schedule
Xavier at Georgetown at 1 p.m. (BEDN)
No. 12 Creighton at DePaul at 2 p.m.
Providence at No. 10 Butler at 7 p.m. (BEDN)
Seton Hall at St. John’s at 7 p.m. (BEDN)
Villanova at Marquette at 8 p.m.