#BEfútbol Minute – Top 10 Battle At Belson Highlights A Full Wednesday Slate
NEW YORK – BIG EAST men’s soccer begins the second half of the season on Wednesday as five games will be featured on the BIG EAST Digital Network Presented by SoFi. Highlighting the midweek match day is a top 10 showdown between No. 4 St. John’s and No. 7 Georgetown at Belson Stadium at 7 p.m. ET. The Battle at Belson is between the two top teams in BIG EAST standings at the midway point. Both teams have yet to be beaten in conference play this season.
Games on BEDN start at 3 p.m. ET and will continue through 8 p.m. All 10 teams will be in action. BEDN action is available on Caffeine TV on the BIG EAST’s own dedicated channels, the BIG EAST Twitter (@BIGEASTChamps) and the BIG EAST YouTube channel.
Standings Summary – At The Turn
St. John’s remains at the top of the BIG EAST men’s soccer standings (5-0-0) with its fifth consecutive shutout victory last Saturday. No. 7 St. John’s defeated Creighton, 2-0, in Omaha amidst a crowd of more than 2,000 Bluejay fans at Morrison Stadium. No. 13 Georgetown also did not allow a goal to score as the Hoyas also remain unbeaten in BIG EAST action at 4-0-1. Georgetown defeated Xavier, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon at Shaw Field. All five of the BIG EAST winners last Saturday shut out their fellow league opponents. Sitting alone in third place with seven points is Butler (2-2-1 BIG EAST). The Bulldogs hung a W on Seton Hall on Saturday, 4-0.
Half of the league teams are tied for fourth with six points: DePaul, Providence, Creighton, Marquette and Seton Hall. Marquette (2-3-0) defeated Villanova, 1-0 and DePaul (1-1-3) earned its first league win with a 2-0 win over Providence. The Friars, Pirates and Bluejays are all 2-3-0. Rounding out the current standings at the midpoint is Villanova (1-3-1) and Xavier (1-4-0). Only four points separate Xavier in 10th place and Butler in third.
BEDN Is LIVE From Belson Stadium
Ahead of Wednesday’s match between No. 7 Georgetown and No. 4 St. John’s in Queens, N.Y. Fall Sports Update will be live from Belson Stadium. At 6:15 p.m. Meghan Caffrey and John Fanta will host a special pregame show to preview a huge week of #BEfutbol. They will be joined by head coaches from both Georgetown and St. John’s and other special guests. The Fall Sports Update will air on @BIGEAST
Twitter and the BIG EAST Channel on
YouTube.
What To Expect In Week 6
BIG EAST teams will play two league games in Week 6 of the conference slate with five games on Wednesday, four on Saturday and one on Sunday.
PROVIDENCE at VILLANOVA (3 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
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Villanova has lost its last two games in league play. The Wildcats’ last win in BIG EAST play was against Xavier on Oct. 4. VU is most recently coming off a 1-0 decision to Marquette on a goal scored in the 88th minute, the first loss at home this season for the Wildcats. Providence sits in a bottle neck in the standings with two wins (Seton Hall and Marquette). The Friars are coming off a 2-0 loss to DePaul on the road. Last season, Providence earned a 1-0 OT victory at home. The Wildcats’ last victory over the Friars came in 2015, 2-1 at Higgins Soccer Complex. PC has won the last three in a row and leads the all-time series 14-9-2. Joao Serrano leads the Friars in scoring with 11 points (4G, 3A). Villanova keeper Carson Williams has been the focal point for the Wildcats this season. He boasts a 0.63 goals against average in 14 games played.
SETON HALL at XAVIER (7 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
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Both Seton Hall and Xavier are coming off losses last Saturday. Seton Hall lost 4-0 to Butler, Xavier lost 1-0 to then-No. 13 Georgetown. The Pirates and Musketeers meet for only the seventh time in history on Wednesday. XU holds the advantage in the series 5-1 all-time against SHU. Last Year, Xavier won 2-1 in overtime in South Orange, N.J., with a goal scored in the 97th minute. Xavier’s lone win in league play was over Creighton. Seton Hall also defeated Creighton, both scores were 1-0. The Pirates also have a 2-1 win over DePaul. Stephen Elias leads the point effort for Seton Hall with 10 (4G, 2A). For Xavier, Samson Sergi leads the team with 13 points (6G, 1A).
No. 7 GEORGETOWN at No. 4 ST. JOHN’S (7 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
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Georgetown-St. John’s is the highly anticipated meeting between the top two teams in the league standings. The Red Storm and Hoyas are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the national RPI rankings. Both teams have no losses in league play this year. The contest will be the first top 10 showdown at Belson Stadium since Sept. 26, 2008, when then-No. 4 St. John’s defeated then-No. 5 Connecticut, 3-1. Both St. John’s and Georgetown have only had one goal scored against them in BIG EAST play so far this season. Both the Red Storm and the Hoyas have allowed just five goals apiece in 13 games. Wednesday’s match will feature five of the league’s top nine point getters. Junior forward Derek Dodson’s 13 points on four goals and five assists are tied for second in the league while junior midfielder Jacob Montes is tied fourth with 12 points on six goals. On the St. John’s side, Oluwaseyi (eight goals, three assists) leads the BIG EAST with 19 points while Einar Lye and Niko Petridis are both tied for fourth in the league with 12 points on four goals and four assists. Similar to the Red Storm, the Hoyas have employed a two-keeper system throughout the season. Sophomore Giannis Nikopolidis started Georgetown’s last match, shutting out Xavier for his third clean sheet of the year. Freshman Tomas Romero has picked up four clean sheets in six starts, including a two-save shutout in the Hoyas’ win at defending national champion Maryland this past week. St. John’s keepers Jan Hoffelner and Luka Gavran have combined for nine shutouts, the NCAA’s second highest shutout percentage (.692). St. John’s and Georgetown will meet for the 36th time in the history of the two programs when they square off on Wednesday night. The Red Storm currently holds a 23-9-3 edge in a series history that dates back to 1985. Last season, St. John’s won 1-0.
DEPAUL at CREIGHTON (8 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
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DePaul and Creighton are tied in the standings with six points. The Bluejays are looking to end their current three-game skid. DePaul earned its first win in league play, 2-0, over Providence. Both head coaches are still earning their stripes in league play as Creighton head coach Johnny Torres is in his first year at the helm of the Bluejays and DePaul head coach Mark Plotkin is in his second year with the Blue Demons. DePaul has yet to win a game in the series with Creighton as the Bluejays own a 9-0-0 series record. Last season, Creighton won 2-1 on the road. In the previous five meetings in Omaha, Creighton has only allowed one DePaul goal to score. The Bluejays have scored 11. Luke Haakenson leads the Bluejays in scoring wiht 10 points (4G, 2A). DePaul’s leaders also have 10 points each as Jake Fuderer and Max de Bruijne have three goals and four assists each.
BUTLER at MARQUETTE (8 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
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Butler and Marquette have split 10 previous meetings with Butler winning four of the last five. However, Marquette won last season, 2-1, in Indianapolis. The Golden Eagles scored two first-half goals. Butler is coming off a 2-0-0 week earning league awards for freshman Wilmer Cabrera Jr., Butler’s current point leader (12 - 5G, 2A) and goalie Gabriel Gjergji (1.02 goals against average). Marquette is coming off 1-0 win over Villanova. Marquette is led by Josh Coan with 12 points (5G, 2A). The Golden Eagles also posted a league win at Xavier on Sept. 27.
Upcoming #BEfútbol Schedule
** ALL FIVE GAMES ON BIG EAST DIGITAL NETWORK PRESENTED BY SOFi **
Wednesday, Oct. 23
PROVIDENCE at VILLANOVA, 3 p.m.
SETON HALL at XAVIER, 7 p.m.
No. 13 GEORGETOWN at No. 7 ST. JOHN’S, 7 p.m.
DEPAUL at CREIGHTON, 8 p.m.
BUTLER at MARQUETTE, 8 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern.