Saturday In The BIG EAST
All 10 BIG EAST men’s soccer teams took the pitch on Saturday for league matches and all five were decided in shutout fashion. No. 9 Creighton remained alone atop the BIG EAST standings with its third win and ninth points of the season, while St. John’s and Providence moved into second and third, respectively, with their victories. Four teams entered Saturday in a tie for fourth place, but by the end of the night that group would trim to three, including Georgetown and Marquette who played to a 110-mintue scoreless draw. Following four midweek non-conference matches, league play continues next Friday and Saturday, including a battle between the top two teams in the standings: Creighton at St. John's on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
St. John’s 2, Butler 0
St. John’s remained unscathed in BIG EAST play with its second win in league action, stretching its overall unbeaten streak to four matches. Mauricio Rivas picked up a pair of assists, beginning with Brandon Duarte’s game winner in the 13
th minute before Skage Simonsen notched the insurance score in the 21
st. Shots finished even at 12-12, with Eric Conerty leading Butler with three strikes. Lenny Wilson had four saves in the shutout, including three over the final 45 minutes to preserve the win.
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Villanova 1, DePaul 0
Kian Zapata notched the game winner in the 76
th minute to lead the Wildcats to their first win of the BIG EAST season. Andres Camacho and Yusuf Cueceolgu were credited with assists. Carson Williams picked up his third shutout of the season with five saves. Zach El-Shafei had three shots for DePaul as the Blue Demons outshot Villanova 12-9 and held a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.
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Providence 2, #22 Xavier, 0
The Friars picked up their second win in BIG EAST play thanks to a pair of late second-half goals at Anderson Stadium. PC held the nationally ranked Musketeers scoreless as Colin Miller picked up the clean sheet with two saves, despite shots being even between the two squads, 10-10. Joao Serrano scored the go-ahead goal in the 68
th before Danny Griffin added an insurance score in the 89
th. Samson Sergi had a game-high five shots to lead Xavier, while Zachary Nelson made three saves.
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#9 Creighton 1, Seton Hall 0
The first-place Bluejays kept the pressure on the Pirates all night at Morrison Stadium, outshooting The Hall 22-4, but Andreas Nota kept Creighton off the board until the 84
th minute. Sven Koenig scored his sixth of the season for the game winner off a cross by Younes Boudadi. Koenig finished with a game-high seven shots. The win was Creighton’s sixth in a row while the Bluejays remained unbeaten in Omaha (5-0-1).
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RV Georgetown 0, Marquette 0 (2OT)
The Hoyas and Golden Eagles picked up their fourth points of the BIG EAST season with Saturday night’s scoreless draw at Valley Fields. MU played a man down for the final 58 minutes but Luis Barraza made four saves to keep Georgetown off the board. Giannis Nikopolidis made three stops for Georgetown’s third clean sheet of the year. The Hoyas finished with a 12-11 advantage in shots, including 3-2 in extra time, while also posting an 8-3 lead in corner kicks.
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