Georgetown, Providence Advance To #BEfútbol Championship
NEW YORK – Top-seed Georgetown and No. 3 seed Providence advanced in the 2019 BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep on Wednesday. The Hoyas moved on via PK’s after the No. 5 seed Butler Bulldogs tied the game at 2-2 at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C. Georgetown won the PK round 4-3. In the night cap, the third-seeded Friars came from behind to score two second half goals against No. 2 seed St. John’s to win 2-1 at Belson Stadium in Queens. It was the second win over the Red Storm in a week.
The Friars have won their last six games.
Georgetown (14-1-3) and Providence (14-5-0) will meet in the BIG EAST Championship final on Sunday at noon at the Hoyas’ home field, Shaw Field, in Washington, D.C. The final will air on FS2 with John Fanta, Jamie Watson and Meghan Caffrey on the crew. The winner will receive the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament field.
Georgetown has won the championship title in back-to-back years, and three out of the last four years (2015, 2017, 2018). The last title for Providence was 2014.
Georgetown 2, Butler 2 (2OT)
The Hoyas got on the board in just the third minute as Dylan Nealis found Sean Zawadzki at the top of the box. Zawadzki fired a laser through traffic and buried it for the quick 1-0 lead. Just four minutes later, Butler had an answer as a defensive miscue allowed Alex Lehtinen to be open on the left side unmarked and he found the back of the net to tie the game up at one. As the second half began, the Hoyas came out firing. GU’s Achara worked his way into the box through the defense. With the Bulldog defenders scrambling, one had the ball deflect off of his hand resulting in the penalty kick which Achara connected on to give the Blue & Gray the advantage in the 51st minute. Butler equalized in the 70th minute on a counter attack down the right side as Jack Haywood sent a perfect ball to Brandon Guhl who buried it in far corner to tie it up again. The Bulldogs looked to be the stronger side in the final minutes of regulation with a number of chances but the teams stayed knotted at two sending the game into overtime. In both overtimes, Georgetown served as the aggressor but couldn’t find the back of the net as the game ended in a tie, 2-2, with penalty kicks deciding who would advance. In penalty kicks, the Hoyas converted four of five as Butler keeper Gabriel Gjergji stopped one. The Bulldogs made three and missed two as GU advanced to the championship game. Georgetown outshot Butler 21-10 (9-6 SOG) and held an 11-2 advantage in corner kick. Hoya keeper Tomas Romero managed four saves, while Gjergji had seven stops on the afternoon.
Providence 2, St. John’s 1
It was a tale of two halves in the night game. St. John’s dominated the first half, but Providence rebounded in the second. BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Tani Oluwaseyi scored his league-leading 11th goal of the season in the 14th minute. Oluwaseyi had taken the first five shots of the game. BIG EAST Co-Goalkeeper of the Year Jan Hoffelner held the Friars scoreless in the first half. The Red Storm (13-4-1) outshot the Friars in the first half by a 6-3 margin before Providence recorded a 13-4 edge in second-half shots. Trailing 1-0 at the half, Providence leveled the score with a goal from Paulo Lima in the 50th minute. The sophomore midfielder headed a ball inside the far post off a Friars corner kick, finding the back of the net for the sixth time in his last six games. Following a number of chances for both sides down the stretch, Providence broke the deadlock with a goal from Davis Smith in the 87th minute. St. John's fired off a few last-second chances in the closing minute, including a spectacular try from Einar Lye that Friar goalie Austin Aviza managed to turn aside. Aviza earned the win with four saves.
2019 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship
Presented By Jeep
First Round – Nov. 9 - BEDN
No. 3 Providence 3, No. 6 Marquette 0
No. 5 seed Butler 1, No. 4 seed Creighton 0
Semifinals - Nov. 13 - BEDN
No. 1 Georgetown 2, No. 5 Butler 2 (2OT) ^
No. 3 Providence 2, No. 2 seed St. John’s 1
Final - Nov. 17 – FS2
No. 3 Providence at No. 1 Georgetown, Noon
^ Georgetown advanced on PK’s, 4-3
All times Eastern - All games played at the higher seed