WSOC Notes - 10.22
NEW YORK – Week 7 of BIG EAST women’s soccer play is slated for Thursday, as all 10 teams take the pitch. All five matches will stream live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi. Postseason berths are on the line as No. 14 Georgetown can be the first to clinch a spot in the BIG EAST Championship field with a win at DePaul. A four-way tie for fourth place between the Blue Demons, Providence, Marquette and Villanova makes every point crucial in the final three matches on BIG EAST play.
RPI Update
For the fifth consecutive week, seven BIG EAST teams are in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI. Georgetown leads all BIG EAST teams for the fourth straight week, coming in at No. 24. Providence enjoyed the largest rise of the week among conference squads, jumping 18 spots to No. 52 for the Friars’ best positioning of the season. Following PC, Villanova landed at No. 73, Xavier at No. 74, Creighton at No. 75, Butler at No. 82 and DePaul at No. 83. Only six Division I conferences have 70-percent or more of their teams in the top 100 of the RPI, with the BIG EAST joining the ACC, Big 12, Ivy League, Pac 12 and SEC.
Why We’re Watching …
St. John’s at Villanova, 3 p.m.: The pressure is on for both squads – the Red Storm cannot lose another contest in order to keep hopes alive to qualify for the BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep. The Wildcats find themselves in a four-team jam in fourth place, meaning if the season ended today, one of those four don’t make the postseason cut. VU is averaging 1.83 goals per BIG EAST contest, scoring 10 in the last four outings alone. The goals are coming from a variety of sources too, as eight different Wildcats have scored in BIG EAST play. The Red Storm will need to spark some offense to take some pressure off of goalkeeper Meredith Reinhardt. The redshirt-junior ranks third in the BIG EAST with 5.17 saves per game.
#14 Georgetown at DePaul, 4 p.m.: A win for the Hoyas would clinch a BIG EAST Championship berth for the three-time tourney winners. Despite an unbeaten record in league play (4-0-2), Georgetown has been challenged of late – resulting in two consecutive draws. Since realignment, the Georgetown-DePaul regular-season series has been among the most competitive, with the Hoyas holding a narrow 2-1-3 advantage, which includes consecutive victories in 2017 and 2018. The Blue Demons will look to create some separation among that four-way tie for fourth place, and a win over the first-place Hoyas would be a great place to start.
Creighton at Seton Hall, 6 p.m.: The Hall will look to play spoiler the rest of the way and the Bluejays are a squad that cannot afford to be spoiled if they want to qualify for the postseason. Creighton is currently on the outside looking in, five points behind the four-way fourth-place tie to sit in eighth. The Bluejays are hosting the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals and Final, and are aiming to qualify for the first time. Skylar Heinrich scored her 10
th goal of the season for Creighton on Saturday, as she currently ranks second in the BIG EAST in goals and is No. 6 among all Division I freshmen in the category.
Butler at Providence, 7 p.m.: Following a draw with No. 11 Georgetown, the Bulldogs own a one-point lead in the standings over that four-way tie for fourth place, which includes the Friars. The draw with GU could prove to be a tiebreaker trump card, should Butler end the season in a multi-team tie. With teams fighting for a spot in Omaha, we’d be remiss not to mention the last time the conference championship was hosted by Creighton – 2015 when No. 4 seed Butler defeated No. 6 seed Providence, 1-0, for the Bulldogs’ first BIG EAST title in school history. That marked PC’s first trip to the title game since 1993, when the Friars won the inaugural championship.
Xavier at Marquette, 8 p.m.: The Golden Eagles are coming on strong as winners of three straight and are unbeaten over their last four. Alyssa Bombacino is the story of the moment, notching back-to-back hat tricks to lead Marquette on a scoring barrage. MU has outscored its opponents 12-4 over the last four outings. Xavier has won four of its last five to sit alone in second place in the standings. Only one squad has managed to score more than one goal against the Musketeers in the last 12 outings, so Bombacino and the Golden Eagles will be tested. Xavier has allowed just 12 goals all season, fewest in the BIG EAST.
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday
St. John’s at Villanova, 3 p.m.*^
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#11 Georgetown at DePaul, 4 p.m.*^
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Creighton at Seton Hall, 6 p.m.*^
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Butler at Providence, 7 p.m.*^
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Xavier at Marquette, 8 p.m.*^
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Sunday
Marquette at Butler, 1 p.m.*^
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Seton Hall at #11 Georgetown, 1 p.m.*^
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Creighton at St. John’s, 1 p.m.*^
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DePaul at Xavier, 1 p.m.*^
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Villanova at Providence, 1 p.m.*^
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All times Eastern
*BIG EAST contest
^BEDN