Georgetown, Butler To Meet In #BIGEASTwsoc Final For Second Straight Year
Top-seeded Hoyas bounced fourth-seeded Xavier, 3-1, while second-seeded Bulldogs knock out No. 6 seed Providence, 3-2, in Thursday’s semifinals.
NEW YORK – Higher seeds prevailed in the Semifinals of the 2018 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Jeep on Thursday as No. 1 seed Georgetown and No. 2 seed Butler are set to meet in the final for the second straight year. The Hoyas defeated No. 4 seed Xavier, 3-1, in the day’s first match, before the Bulldogs held on to defeat sixth-seeded Providence, 3-2. Both matches were played at the higher seed. The tournament’s top two seeds will meet at Georgetown’s Shaw Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET to decide a conference champion. The match will air live on FS1, with the winner receiving the BIG EAST’s automatic berth into the 2018 NCAA Championship.
No. 1 seed Georgetown 3, No. 4 seed Xavier 1
The Musketeers dealt the Hoyas their only draw of conference play just a week ago and Georgetown exacted revenge on its home turf on Thursday to eliminate Xavier from the BIG EAST Championship. After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the goals came furiously in the second frame, with Carson Nizialek scoring the first of three consecutive goals for Georgetown. Nizialek buried a penalty kick in the 43
rd minute before recently crowned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Caitlin Farrell scored what would be the game winner in the 52
nd. Farrell has now scored at least one goal against all nine BIG EAST opponents this season. Amanda Carolan added the insurance score just 36 seconds later. Andie Kennard got Xavier on the board in the 84
th, but it was too little too late.
Georgetown outshot Xavier 22-4, forcing XU goalkeeper Toni Bizzarro to make seven saves on the afternoon. BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Arielle Schechtman made two saves to earn the win. Farrell and Carolan each finished with a goal and assist, while BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year Samantha Dewey was credited with a helper on XU’s score. The Hoyas advance to their third consecutive BIG EAST final and look to become the first team since 2002 to three-peat.
No. 2 seed Butler 3, No. 6 seed Providence 2
Butler used two first-half goals to set the tone early against the visiting Friars, with Halle Stelbasky scoring her first of two goals on the night in the 19
th minute. Annika Schmidt made it 2-0 in the 35
th. Camille Murphy cut Butler’s lead in half in the 59
th minute, but Stelbasky struck again to bump the lead back up to two in the 80
th. Amber Birchwell once again got PC within one, scoring in the 88
th, but time ran out on the Friars. Shelby Hogan had four saves for Providence, which was outshot 14-10 on the night. Hannah Luedtke and Leonie Doege combined for four saves for Butler.
Butler advances to its second consecutive BIG EAST title game and third final in four years. The Bulldogs fell to Georgetown in last season’s championship match, but defeated Providence in 2015 to win their first BIG EAST crown. Georgetown scored a 2-0 win when the two met during the regular season on Oct. 21 in Indianapolis.
2018 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship
Presented By Jeep
First Round – Sunday, Oct. 28 - BEDN
No. 6 seed Providence 1, No. 3 seed St. John’s 0
No. 4 seed Xavier 1, No. 5 seed DePaul 1 (2OT)
XU advances on PKs, 4-2
Semifinals – Thursday, Nov. 1 - BEDN
No. 1 seed Georgetown 3, No. 4 seed Xavier 1
No. 2 seed Butler 3, No. 6 seed Providence 2
Final – Sunday, Nov. 4 - FS1
No. 2 seed Butler at No. 1 seed Georgetown, 1 p.m.
All times Eastern - All games played at the higher seed