Xavier, Butler And Villanova Headline First #BEfúbol Weekly Awards In League Play
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Brandon Guhl, Butler, So., F (Houston, Texas)
Butler sophomore forward Brandon Guhl took a lead in the Bulldogs' come-back heroics on Saturday against Creighton in the BIG EAST opener. Guhl erased Butler's 2-0 deficit, tying the match with two goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation. Earlier in the week, in Butler's win over Evansville, Guhl assisted on Joel Harvey's game-winner in the 1-0 victory. Guhl and Freshman of the Week Theo Quartey tied for the league's weekly high of points with five each. Guhl, a transfer, has scored six goals in the Butler's seven matches this season.
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Cameron Taylor, Xavier, RS-Jr., D (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Musketeer Cameron Taylor played 190 minutes in a 2-0 week for Xavier. In XU's 1-0 shutout overtime victory over No. 9 Georgetown in the BIG EAST opener, Taylor anchored a defense that limited the Hoyas to just three shots on frame and two corner kicks. Going into Saturday, Georgetown was 11th in the country in shots on goal. Earlier in the week, Taylor and the Xavier defense limited non-conference opponent Cleveland State to just five shots total. Taylor added to the Musketeers' success for the week as he scored the game-winning goal in the 44th minute in the 2-1 victory over Cleveland State.
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week
Zachary Nelson, Xavier, RS-Fr., GK (West Linn, Ore.)
Xavier redshirt freshman keeper Zachary Nelson registered his third shutout of the season in a 1-0 overtime win over No. 9 Georgetown in the league opener on Saturday. He made three saves in the Hoya victory, all coming in the second half, including a hand save in the last 10 seconds that pushed a Georgetown shot over the crossbar, extending the game into the overtime period. For the week, Nelson went 2-0-0, allowed one goal with a 0.47 goals against average in 190 minutes of action. He made five saves.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Theo Quartey, Villanova, Fr., M (Accra, Ghana)
Wildcat freshman Theo Quartey provided two goals in Saturday's 3-1 win over Marquette in the 2017 BIG EAST opener. Quartey tied four most points in a game this week with four. The freshman's first goal, off a rebound, tied the match a 1-1 in the 33rd minute after Marquette grabbed a 1-0 lead earlier in the period. He then added Villanova's third goal off an assist from junior Zach Zandi. Earlier this week, Quartey also added an assist in VU's 2-0 win at Rider. He leads Villanova in scoring this season with three goals and two assists.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Alex Lehtinen, Butler, So., D (Espoo, Uusimaa, Finland)
Lehtinen headed in his first collegiate goal, the game-winner in the 93rd minute against Creighton. Defensively, Lehtinen helped Butler to a 1-0 shutout in non-league action against Evansville.
Ricky Lopez-Espin, Creighton, Sr., F (Miami, Florida)
Lopez-Espin notched his second career multi-goal match against Butler, scoring in the fifth and 65th minutes, giving Creighton a two-goal lead before the BU rally.
Andrew Withers, St. John's, RS-Jr., GK (Wellington, New Zealand)
Withers marked another 2-0 week for St. John's, allowing just one goal and adding another shutout to his tally (4). Marked seven saves for the week, four in a 1-0 win at Seton Hall.
Will Steiner, Villanova, Sr., GK (Point Lookout, N.Y.)
Steiner, 2-0-0 this week, made four saves in posting a clean sheet in a 2-0 win at Rider; then made three saves in Saturday's 3-1 victory over Marquette.
Samson Sergi, Xavier, RS-So., F (Ashburn, Va.)
Sergi scored the golden goal for XU in the 92nd minute, finishing off a header from a corner kick, for the victory over No. 9 Georgetown.