#BEfútbol Minute – Unbeaten Butler, St. John’s Face Off; Two Matches Highlight Saturday BEDN Schedule
Men's Soccer Notes - 9.30.17 (PDF)
NEW YORK – The two unbeaten teams in league play face off against each other in Indianapolis as St. John’s visits No. 22 Butler on Saturday afternoon. Both the Bulldogs and Red Storm are 2-0-0, with Butler defeating Creighton and Providence by one-goal margins. St. John’s defeated then-streaking Xavier last week at home, 3-0, and Seton Hall 1-0 in the BIG EAST opener.
On BEDN this weekend are a pair of matches as Marquette visits Georgetown and Villanova plays at DePaul. Both Marquette and Georgetown earned W’s last weekend. Marquette is coming off a midweek loss at Milwaukee. Villanova and DePaul have not played since last Saturday. DePaul lost to Georgetown, Villanova was shutout by Creighton.
Also in action this weekend, Creighton visits Seton Hall. The Bluejays’ volleyball squad played at Seton Hall on Friday night and took a 3-0 victory from the Pirates.
Providence will play at Xavier in a night cap. The Musketeers are 1-1 in league play, while the Friars are looking for their first BIG EAST win.
In the NCAA’s ranking of toughest schedules, Creighton ranks fourth among all Division I men’s soccer teams. Butler is No. 20 and Villanova is 34th.
Saturday on BEDN:
Marquette at No. 14 Georgetown - 1 p.m. ET
Georgetown leads the all-time series 10-1-2, 9-1-2 in regular season play. Last yeear’s contest was a 1-1 draw in Milwaukee. Georgetown defeated DePaul last week 2-1 as reigning Freshman of the Week Derek Dodson scored the game-tying and game-winning goals. Achara leads Georgetown with 10 points on five goals. The Hoyas have won their last two games. Marquette is coming off a loss to Milwaukee in midweek non-league action, but last Saturday earned their first win of the season, 4-2 over Seton Hall. Daniel Szczepanek scored two of the Golden Eagles goals. Grant Owens leads Marquette in points with six (3 goals).
Villanova at DePaul - 2 p.m. ET
Villanova leads the all-time series between these two teams 8-3-2. Saturday’s match will be a rematch of last year’s BIG EAST Championship first round match, where Villanova advanced in PK’s 3-1 after regulation and overtimes ended in a 0-0 draw. During last year’s regular season, Villanova won 4-2. In regular season play, Villanova leads 8-3-1. Neither team played a midweek contest. Villanova is coming off a 2-0 loss at Creighton, DePaul a 2-1 loss to Georgetown. DePaul is led by Philipp Konigstein with 12 points (5G, 2A). The Villanova offense is led by by Lucas Hodges with 11 points (4G, 3A). Villanova keeper Will Steiner leads all active NCAA Division I goalies in career saves with 294. Steiner has 35 saves this year.
Around the League:
No. 25 Creighton at Seton Hall - 1 p.m. ET
Creighton comes into Saturday’s match on a three-game winning streak, the Bluejays most recent win coming over cross-city rival, No. 24 Nebraska-Omaha. Creighton’s Lucas Stauffer has played in 77 career games for the Bluejays, the most of any active Division I player currently. Stauffer connected with Ricky Lopez-Espin on Tuesday for the game-winning goal. Lopez-Espin leads Creighton in points with12 (5G, 2A). Seton Hall will be trying to shake a four-match losing streak after winning three in a row from Sept. 4-10. Andres Arcila leads the Pirates with 13 points (5G, 3A). Creighton leads the all-time series against Seton Hall 3-1-0. The Pirates won the first meeting.
St. John’s at No. 22 Butler - 7 p.m. ET
Butler was picked to finish third in the preseason BIG EAST Coaches’ Poll, St. John’s was picked eighth. But as of the third weekend of the season, both the Bulldogs and Red Storm are undefeated at 2-0-0 and lead the conference standings. Butler has not played since winning at Providence last Saturday. St. John’s is coming off a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Lehigh in midweek non-league action, a team receiving votes in the national poll. Butler is currently riding a three-match winning streak dating back to Sept. 12. St. John’s leads the all-time series against Butler 3-1-0. The Red Storm won last year’s meeting 2-1. Butler’s Brandon Guhl leads the league in points with 16 and goal with seven. Keeper Eric Dick is coming off his second BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week honor this season. Dick has allowed just seven goals for a 0.98 goals against average. His counterpart for the Red Storm, Andrew Withers has allowed just five goals for a 0.54 goals against average. Withers has five shutouts on the year. St. John’s has had six different goal scorers this year with Alistair Johnson leading the way with four to lead the Red Storm in points with nine (4G, 1A).
Providence at Xavier - 7 p.m. ET
Both teams are coming off a BIG EAST loss last week, most recently the Friars lost to Connecticut in midweek non-league action. Providence leads the all-time series between these two squads 3-1-1. Last year’s match was a 2-1 overtime win for the Friars. Providence’s Mac Steeves leads the point efforts for the Friars with 11 (4G, 3A). PC has not won a match since Sept. 4. Xavier suffered its first loss since Aug. 25 on Saturday at St. John’s, 3-0. It was the first time all season the Musketeers had not scored a goal. Simen Hestnes leads XU’s offensive efforts with 11 points (3G, 5A). Xavier’s goal-leader is Samson Sergi with five goals. Rookie keeper Zachary Nelson has three shutouts for the year.
#BEfútbol Week 2 In Review
After two Saturdays of league play, Butler and St. John’s sit atop of the standings with two wins and no losses/ties. The Bulldogs defeated preseason favorite Providence in Rhode Island, while St. John’s ended Xavier’s seven-game unbeaten streak, scoring three goals and shutting out the Musketeers. Marquette defeated Seton Hall in a high-scoring affair (4-2) and the first win of the season for the Golden Eagles. No. 16 Georgetown earned a one-goal victory over DePaul and Creighton shutout Villanova for head coach Elmar Bolowich’s 100th win as head coach of the Bluejays. No games went into extra time on Saturday.
#BEfútbol Weekend Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 30
No. 25 Creighton at Seton Hall at 1 p.m.
Marquette at No. 14 Georgetown at 1 p.m. (
BEDN WATCH LINK)
Villanova at DePaul at 2 p.m. (
BEDN WATCH LINK)
St. John’s at No. 22 Butler at 7 p.m.
Providence at Xavier at 7 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern.