NEW YORK – Nine games highlight opening Friday as the 2018 men’s soccer season gets underway. Seven of the 10 BIG EAST teams will begin their 2018 campaigns on the road, while Xavier, Creighton and Marquette will play hosts.
Seven games will be played on Sunday, with an additional three on Monday. Of those 19 contests, five will be played against top 25 competition, seven total against 2017 NCAA tournament qualifiers.
The official start to the BIG EAST’s 2018 schedule is at 7 p.m. ET, with Butler, Seton Hall, Georgetown and Villanova in action.
Facing Top Competition
Two of the BIG EAST teams begin the season ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25 with Butler as No. 9 and Georgetown as No. 13. Creighton is also receiving votes in the preseason rankings. Both Butler and Georgetown will start the season against fellow ranked opponents. Butler will play at No. 4 Akron for a top 10 clash in Ohio. Akron advanced to the College Cup last season, but lost to eventual national champion Stanford. After a trip to Conway, S.C. on Friday with an opening tilt with South Carolina on Friday, No. 13 Georgetown will travel to No. 18 Coastal Carolina for a 7 p.m. ET tilt on Sunday.
Also in action against top competition is Creighton, who will host No. 11 Clemson on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET. Providence will travel to No. 8 Southern Methodist for Friday night lights at 8:30 p.m. On Monday, DePaul hosts No. 14 Western Michigan.
Top 25 Matches Scheduled:
No. 9 Butler at No. 4 Akron (Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. ET)
No. 11 Clemson at rv Creighton (Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. ET)
Providence at No. 8 Southern Methodist (Aug. 24 at 8:30 p.m.)
No. 13 Georgetown at No. 18 Coastal Carolina (Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.)
No. 14 Western Michigan at DePaul (Aug. 27 at 4 p.m.)
After playing ranked Southern Methodist, who knocked Georgetown out of the NCAA Tournament field last season, the Providence Friars will play NCAA squad Illinois-Chicago on Sunday morning in Dallas. On Monday, Villanova will host William & Mary on Monday afternoon. William & Mary fell in the first round of the tournament last year to Columbia.
DePaul, with new head coach Mark Plotkin, will open at Kentucky on Friday night. The Wildcats are receiving votes in the preseason rankings.
Around the League
Seton Hall new head coach Andreas Lindberg will test his Pirate squad on the road at Army West Point on Friday, then play at Central Connecticut State on Sunday night. Villanova will open at Delaware, while St. John’s traveled to the west coast to open at U.C. Santa Barbara. At home on Friday night, Xavier will host Cincinnati Christian.
The Musketeers travel to Northwestern for a Sunday afternoon contest. St. John’s continues its west coast road trip with a game against Loyola Marymount. Hosting on Sunday will be Marquette, which will play its first match of 2018 against Valparaiso, and Creighton, which hosts U.C. Davis. Butler finishes Monday with a night match against Drake.
Preseason Summary
Champions of the 2017 men’s soccer tournament title, the Georgetown Hoyas were picked by the men’s soccer coaches as the preseason favorite in the coaches’ poll. Butler junior forward Brandon Guhl was voted Preseason Offensive Player of the Year; Georgetown senior defender Brendan McDonough was named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and Providence redshirt senior Colin Miller was the unanimous vote for Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. The Hoyas received seven first-place votes and a total of 79 points. Butler, the 2017 regular-season champions earned the remaining three first-place votes and a total of 73 points. Xavier, the 2017 Men’s Soccer Championship Runner-Up, was picked to finished third in the league with 60 points. For the full preseason poll and all-conference release click
here.
#BEfútbol Weekend Schedule
Friday, Aug. 24
No. 9 BUTLER at No. 4 Akron, 7 p.m.
SETON HALL at Army West Point, 7 p.m.
No. 13 GEORGETOWN at South Carolina, 7 p.m.
VILLANOVA at Delaware, 7 p.m.
Cincinnati Christian at XAVIER, 7 p.m.
DEPAUL at [RV] Kentucky, 7:30 p.m.
No. 11 Clemson at [RV] CREIGHTON, 8 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at No. 8 Southern Methodist, 8:30 p.m.
ST. JOHN’S at U.C. Santa Barbara, 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 26
Illinois-Chicago vs. PROVIDENCE, 11 a.m. (Dallas, Texas)
XAVIER at Northwestern, 2 p.m.
Valparaiso at MARQUETTE, 5:05 p.m.
ST. JOHN’S at Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m.
No. 13 GEORGETOWN at No. 18 Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m.
SETON HALL at Central Connecticut State, 7 p.m.
U.C. Davis at [RV] CREIGHTON, 8 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 27
[RV] William & Mary at VILLANOVA, 4 p.m.
No. 14 Western Michigan at DEPAUL, 4 p.m.
Drake at No. 9 BUTLER, 8:05 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern.
BIG EAST teams are noted in ALL CAPS.