Luis Barazza of Marquette had a six-save shutout in Thursday night action.
#BEfútbol Minute: BIG EAST Teams Ready For Busy Labor Day Weekend Schedule
BIG EAST Men's Soccer Update (8.31.18)
NEW YORK – Weekend two of BIG EAST men’s soccer continues after a successful 2-0 Thursday night where No. 11 Butler shutout No. 16 Western Michigan and Marquette blanked Central Arkansas. A busy holiday weekend schedule continues with seven games Friday, one match Saturday, one match Sunday and five on Monday. The weekend extends until Tuesday night which features two teams in action.
Last Night In #BEfútbol
Butler earned its first win of the season, taking down a ranked Western Michigan team 2-0 on the road. Reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Brandon Guhl scored both goals in the win. The first tally broke the scoreless tie in the 64th minute, the insurance goal in the 69th. The Butler defense held Western Michigan to no shots on goal (
Full Recap). DePaul had shut out Western Michigan earlier in the week.
Marquette advanced its winning record to 2-0-0 with a 4-0 win over Central Arkansas. It is the best start to the season since 2012. Connor Alba scored twice, with the eventual game winner in the fourth minute and the third goal in the 62nd. Lukas Sunesson and Patrick Seagrist also scored. Keeper Luis Barraza tallied six saves in the shutout (
Full Recap).
Facing Top Competition
With Butler’s win over Western Michigan, the BIG EAST advances to 4-1-0 (.750) over ranked opponents. Overall, the league is 11-5-3 (.658) against its non-conference competition after a full week of play.
What’s Next
Villanova, Georgetown, DePaul, Providence and St. John’s are all at home on Friday night. The Wildcats will host Loyola Maryland, the Hoyas host Radford, the Blue Demons welcome Oakland, the Friars have Boston College and the Red Storm hosts Fairfield. On the road to start the weekend is Xavier at Oregon State and No. 20 Creighton at Grand Canyon.
Seton Hall is the lone team in action on Saturday, playing at Delaware. Villanova defeated the Blue Hens 1-0 to start the season.
On Sunday, DePaul is back in action hosting Loyola Marymount. LMU is another like opponent for the BIG EAST as St. John’s defeated the Lions 4-1 in the season opener.
Labor Day Monday features a big matchup in Washington, D.C. as Georgetown hosts reigning National Champion Stanford at 1 p.m. Stanford is currently ranked 10th in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Butler hosts Columbia, while Creighton travels to South Florida. Providence travels to Harvard will play at Clemson. Creighton blanked the then-No. 11 Tigers, 2-0, knocking then out of the top 25 in the first week. Villanova is currently unbeaten at 2-0 and earned a key non-league victory over William & Mary on Tuesday, 3-2 in overtime.
On Tuesday, St. John’s hosts Lehigh on ESPN3 and Marquette travels to Saint Louis
#BEfútbol Weekend Schedule
Friday, Aug. 31
Loyola Maryland at VILLANOVA, 4 p.m.
Radford at [rv] GEORGETOWN, 4 p.m.
Oakland at DEPAUL, 5 p.m.
Boston College at PROVIDENCE, 7 p.m.
Fairfield at ST. JOHN’S, 8 p.m. (ESPN3)
[rv] XAVIER at Oregon State, 9 p.m.
[20] CREIGHTON at [rv] Grand Canyon, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 1
SETON HALL at Delaware, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 2
Loyola Marymount at DEPAUL, 3 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 3
[10] Stanford at [rv] GEORGETOWN, 1 p.m.
Columbia at [11] BUTLER, 2 p.m.
[20]CREIGHTON at South Florida, 6 p.m.
PROVIDENCE at Harvard, 7 p.m.
VILLANOVA at [rv] Clemson, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 4
Lehigh at ST. JOHN’S, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
[rv] MARQUETTE at Saint Louis, 8 p.m.
#BEfútbol Recent Results
Thursday, Aug. 30
[11] Butler 2, [16] Western Michigan 0
[rv] MARQUETTE 4, Central Arkansas 0
All times listed are Eastern.
BIG EAST teams are noted in ALL CAPS.