Bluejays Are First In
Picking up its 16th point of the season, No. 8 Creighton clinched a berth in the 2018 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship presented by Jeep. The Bluejays, who played to a scoreless draw with second-place Providence on Saturday night, cannot finish lower than sixth in the standings, guaranteeing their spot in the league tournament. Creighton can clinch hosting duties, either semifinal or first round, with a win over Marquette on Wednesday. The top six teams at season’s end earn invites to the conference postseason, with the top two claiming first-round byes directly into the semifinals. All games are played at the higher seed.
Providence 0, #8 Creighton 0 (2OT)
The defensive battle in Omaha saw the top two teams in the standings play to a scoreless draw, with the Bluejays earning a slight 12-10 advantage in shots. Each goalkeeper was credited with four saves – Paul Kruse for Creighton, Colin Miller for the Friars. Providence outshot Creighton 12-10 in overtime but couldn’t beat the Bluejays, who clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Championship field.
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Butler 2, Villanova 1
Logan Lee scored with nine seconds left in regulation to lift the Bulldogs to their second BIG EAST win of the season and climb to seventh in the standings. Zach Zandi gave the Wildcats the early lead, scoring in the eighth minute while Carson Williams made one save in the first half to keep Butler off the board. The Bulldogs turned it up in the second half, with Michael Peay knotting the game in the 65
th before Lee’s game winner in the 90
th. Gabriel Gjergji had six saves in the win while Williams finished with three stops.
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DePaul 2, St. John's 2 (2OT)
After more than 61 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Blue Demons and Red Storm buried four goals in the span of 19 minutes, including two just 21 seconds apart. Matt Forster started the scoring in the 62
nd minute for St. John’s before another 16-minute scoreless patch. The goals then came furiously with Zach El-Shafei knotting the game in the 78
th. Istvan Wilhelms gave DePaul a brief lead, scoring with 80:24 on the clock before Skage Simonsen scored just 21 seconds later. St. John’s outshot DePaul 4-1 in overtime, but neither team could get one by the keeper.
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RV Georgetown 4, Seton Hall 0
The Hoyas picked up a big three points to jump into a second-place tie with Providence, which GU will face on Wednesday night in Friartown. Achara scored two goals, including the seventh-minute game winner, while Derek Dodson finished with a goal and assist. Shots were even at 14 apiece, but Ethan Koehler made five saves to keep The Hall off the board.
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Marquette 2, Xavier 1
The Golden Eagles picked up a crucial three points on Saturday night at Valley Fields, breaking free of a three-way tie to claim the solo spot in fourth place in the standings. Luka Prpa scored back-to-back goals to erase a one-goal deficit after Simen Hestnes broke into the scoring column just 6:19 into the contest. Prpa evened the game in the 68
th before scoring the go-ahead goal in the 77
th. Marquette outshot Xavier 15-7, as the Musketeers fall to sixth in the standings.
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