#BEfútbol Minute: Creighton Visits No. 1 Stanford Friday Night
NEW YORK – The top men’s soccer game of the weekend will be played late night on Friday as No. 23 Creighton visits the defending national champions and current top-ranked team Stanford in Palo Alto, California. The Bluejays-Cardinal match is just one of 13 games played by BIG EAST teams over the next three days.
Top 25 Matches Scheduled:
No. 23 Creighton at No. 1 Stanford (Sept. 1 at 10 p.m.)
Other notable matchups for the weekend include South Florida at No. 17 Butler (Sept. 1); UIC at Marquette (Sept. 1), Fordham at St. John’s (Sept. 1), Xavier at Boston College (Sept. 4) and New Mexico at Marquette (Sept. 4). All four of those opponents were part of the 2016 NCAA Tournament field
A Glance Around the League:
The Hoyas will open weekend play with a 4 p.m. match against first-time opponent Cal Poly at home on Shaw Field. Georgetown is 2-0-0 and defeated then-No. 19 Coastal Carolina at home on Monday, 3-0. Georgetown has added a new video component to their home matches. All Georgetown home games not on BEDN will be featured on HoyasLive on the FOX Sports Go app.
Xavier (1-1-0) heads to the Boston area for two Northeast road matches. The Musketeers play Harvard on Friday afternoon, then Boston College on Monday, spending Labor Day weekend in head coach Andy Fleming’s hometown. Harvard is a first time opponent for Xavier. Boston College advanced to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
DePaul has a two-match homestand this weekend welcoming La Salle (Friday) and Valparaiso (Sunday) to Wish Field as part of the Chicago Classic. The Blue Demons (0-2-0) lost two games in overtime last weekend and enter the tournament as last year’s winners. Friday against La Salle is the regular-season home opener for the Blue Demons and is a Discover Student Weekend event for DePaul students.
No. 17 Butler (1-1-0) lost a close one Monday night at No. 9 Louisville, 1-0. The Bulldogs return to action with two games at home this weekend as well, with South Florida on Friday night and San Francisco on Sunday. South Florida will be the third consecutive opponent for the Bulldogs to open the season that also appeared in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Seton Hall (0-1-1) visits Stony Brook (1-1-0) on Friday night in New York before hosting Sacred Heart (0-2-0) on Monday night. The Hall is coming off a pair of tight home contests to open the 2017 campaign, drawing Saint Peter's before falling 2-1 to Rider. The meeting with Stony Brook, picked third in the America East preseason poll, is set to be the sixth in program history (3-2-0, Stony Brook), while the SHU vs. SHU match-up with Sacred Heart is the first all-time. Sacred Heart was shutout in each its first two contests.
Marquette (0-1-0) hosts two NCAA tournament qualifiers from last season in UIC and New Mexico. Marquette will be looking for a win after losing in overtime at Kentucky last weekend despite the Golden Eagles outshooting Kentucky, 11-9. UIC has already faced two BIG EAST opponents prior to Marquette: Butler defeated UIC last weekend, 1-0 in OT, while DePaul lost in double overtime, 3-2.
St. John’s hosts local-NYC foe Fordham to Belson Stadium, kicking off a four-game homestand. SJU is 1-1-0 after two road contests. The Red Storm’s starting lineup features four newcomers. Fordham was the preseason A-10 favorite after winning the league last season.
Villanova is trying to find their footing after a tough 0-2 start to the season. The Wildcats played at Virginia to open the season as VU’s lineup also features newcomers in the mix with freshman Yusuf Cueceoglu assisting on transfer sophomore Luca Mellor’s goal against Virginia to send the contest to overtime, where VU eventually lost 3-2. The Wildcats host UMBC at Higgins Soccer Complex on Saturday.
Providence will play at in-state rival Rhode Island on Saturday, trying to rebound from a tough 0-2 opening weekend. The Friars faced tough top 10 competition in Wake Forest and North Carolina, which are ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively in Monday’s United Soccer Coaches poll.
After Creighton’s match up with the No. 1 team in the country on Friday night, the Bluejays will play at Cal on Sunday afternoon.
Early Season Roster Report:
Butler midfielder and junior captain Jared Timmer, reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, was taken off the field in the 36th minute at Louisville on Monday with a lower leg injury. He will miss the remainder of the season. The Bulldogs are also without midfielder Marco Charalambous, who injured his knee over the summer and will miss the 2017 season.
#BEfutbol Weekend Schedule
Friday, Sept. 1
Cal Poly at GEORGETOWN at 4 p.m.
XAVIER at Harvard at 4:30 p.m.
La Salle at DEPAUL at 5 p.m.
South Florida at No. 17 BUTLER at 5 p.m.
SETON HALL at Stony Brook at 7 p.m.
Illinois-Chicago at MARQUETTE at 7:05 p.m.
Fordham at ST. JOHN’S at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
No. 23 CREIGHTON at No. 1 Stanford at 10 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 2
UMBC at VILLANOVA at 1 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at Rhode Island at 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 3
Valparaiso at DEPAUL at 2 p.m.
No. 23 CREIGHTON at California at 3 p.m.
San Francisco at No. 17 BUTLER at 5 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern.