Providence, Marquette Advance To #BIGEASTwsoc Championship Semifinals
Higher seeds prevail in first round as No. 3 Providence uses penalty kicks to advance over No. 6 DePaul, while No. 4 Marquette tops No. 5 Xavier, 3-0.
NEW YORK – The 2017 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Jeep kicked off Sunday with a pair of First Round contests as higher seeds stood their ground and advanced to the Semifinals. No. 3 seed Providence advanced past No. 6 seed DePaul in penalty kicks (4-1) after the teams played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw, while No. 4 seed Marquette topped No. 5 seed Xavier, 3-0. The Friars advance to the semifinals to face No. 2 seed Butler, while the Golden Eagles earn a semifinal date with top-seeded and regular-season champion Georgetown. Both games are set for Thursday, Nov. 2, at the site of the higher seed, with Georgetown-Marquette kicking off at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Butler-Providence at 7 p.m. The BIG EAST Digital Network will stream both semifinals.
No. 3 Providence 1, No. 6 DePaul 1 (2OT)
Providence advances on PKs, 4-1
In a match full of drama, Providence advanced on penalty kicks over visiting DePaul, 4-1, after the two teams remained knotted 1-1 after 110 minutes of action. The Blue Demons’ Madeline Frick scored in the 90
th minute to force extra time after Hannah McNulty got the Friars on the board first in the 78
th. Each team had their chances in the extra frames, but no shots landed on target as the teams headed to PKs.
Katie Day drilled the first attempt for the Friars before recently tabbed BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year Shelby Hogan made a diving save to block Franny Cerny’s attempt for DePaul. Kayla Steeves made it 2-0 Providence before Frisk chipped a shot to the upper right corner to narrow the score, 2-1. Christina Rodgers brought the gap back up to two when she beat Lauren Frasca, before Alexa Ben’s strike went wide left. Leading 3-1, McNulty stepped up for Providence. The rookie’s initial shot was denied by Frasca, but the ball rolled off the save and curled into the net for the game-sealing score. Frasca finished with five saves on the afternoon while Hogan was credited with four.
Providence advances to its fourth BIG EAST Semifinal and first since 2015. The Friars will face second-seeded Butler in Indianapolis on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, in a rematch of the 2015 BIG EAST final. The Bulldogs won the regular-season meeting between the two teams, 2-1 in double-overtime in Providence.
No. 4 Marquette 3, No. 5 Xavier 0
A trio of nifty goals punched Marquette’s ticket to the semifinals for the 10
th time as the Golden Eagles eliminated Xavier in its first appearance in the BIG EAST Championship. Carrie Madden and Eli Beard had themselves a day as Beard scored twice and Madden was credited with a pair of assists. Maddy Henry earned the win in net for the Golden Eagles, making a pair of saves in her 10
th shutout of the season.
Madden crossed the ball from over 20 yards out as Kylie Sprecher headed home the game winner in the 11
th minute. Beard would provide the first insurance goal early in the second half, taking a feed from Madden and Caroline Fink in the 51
st minute, before adding another goal in the 71
st to put the game out of reach for Xavier. MU held a 13-12 advantage in shots, while the Musketeers owned corner kicks, 4-3. XU was without its No. 2 scorer Tori Doss, who missed the final two games due to injury.
Marquette will face No. 1 seed Georgetown on Thursday in Washington, D.C., at 2 p.m. ET, in a rematch of last season’s tournament final which saw the Hoyas win their first BIG EAST Championship, 2-0. In their 2017 regular-season meeting, Georgetown won 3-0 at the Hoyas’ Shaw Field.
2017 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship
Presented By Jeep
First Round - Oct. 29 - BEDN
No. 4 seed Marquette 3, No. 5 seed Xavier 0
No. 3 seed Providence 1, No. 6 seed DePaul 1 (2OT) – Providence advances on PKs, 4-1
Semifinals - Nov. 2 - BEDN
No. 4 Marquette at No. 1 seed Georgetown, 2 p.m.
No. 3 Providence at No. 2 seed Butler, 7 p.m.
Final - Nov. 5 - FS1
Semifinal Winners, 1:30 p.m.
All times Eastern - All games played at the higher seed
For more information on the BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship, visit Championship Central by clicking
HERE.