#BEfútbol Minute – Two Playoff Spots Left For Four Hopeful Teams
BIG EAST Men's Soccer Update - 11.6.19 (PDF)
NEW YORK – On the last day of the 2019 BIG EAST men’s soccer regular season there are three pieces set in the six piece puzzle that makes up the BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep. Georgetown has locked in the No. 1 seed with an unbeaten BIG EAST record at 7-0-1 and 22 points. St. John’s is the No. 2 seed with 6-1-1 record and 19 points. The Hoyas have at least a share of the BIG EAST regular season title. The Red Storm can be co-champions with a win at Providence and a Georgetown loss at home to Creighton. Georgetown will host a semifinal on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. ET. St. John’s will host at 6 p.m.
Providence is the No. 3 seed in the championship and will host a first round game on Saturday, Nov. 9 at noon. The Friars clinched a tournament berth with a 2-1 win at Xavier on Saturday. The Friars go into the final Wednesday with a 5-3-0 league record and 15 points.
Creighton will appear somewhere in the tournament, having clinched a playoff berth with a 3-2 double overtime win over Butler on Saturday at home. The Bluejays can finish as high as the No. 4 seed, but can also be seeded fifth or sixth.
Vying for those final two spots are Butler, Seton Hall, Xavier and Marquette.
Wednesday’s games start at 2 p.m. with Creighton at No. 3 Georgetown and Xavier at Butler. At 3 p.m., DePaul will host Marquette. The night games begin at 6 p.m. with Seton Hall hosting Villanova and Providence hosting No. 8 St. John’s. All five games will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi, watchable on Caffeine TV, Twitter and YouTube.
XAVIER at BUTLER (2 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
WATCH: Caffeine | YouTube
Butler needs a win to qualify for the championship. A Bulldog win, coupled with a Creighton loss to Georgetown would guarantee Butler a No. 4 seed, hosting a first round game. Butler can also get in with a loss, and be the No. 6 seed, should Seton Hall and Marquette also lose. A Xavier win, tied in with a Creighton loss and Marquette win would result in the Musketeers grabbing the No. 4 seed. Xavier can also be in with a win and a Seton Hall tie or loss. Xavier would be out of the tournament field with a win should Marquette and Seton Hall win and a Creighton win or tie. Butler owns a 13-6-1 record in the all-time series between the two programs. Xavier took the win last year 5-3. XU scored three goals in the second half for a come-from-behind victory.
CREIGHTON at GEORGETOWN (2 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
WATCH: Caffeine | YouTube
Georgetown, ranked third nationally, has already guaranteed itself as one of the semifinal hosts and a share of the 2019 regular season title. Providence was the last opponent to score on Georgetown, the Hoyas won 2-1 on Sept 28. GU has not lost a game since Sept. 24. A win over Creighton would give the Hoyas the regular season crown outright. Creighton is in the field of six for the upcoming tournament but is playing for seeding. A win by the Bluejays guarantees them as a first round host as the No. 4 seed. The Bluejays also have a chance to host with a draw and help. If Creighton draws, the Bluejays need a Seton Hall draw or loss against Villanova or a Butler victory against Xavier to clinch the No. 4 seed. Creighton will also seal the fourth seed and host with a loss, a draw between Butler and Xavier and a Seton Hall draw or loss. Georgetown leads the all-time series against Creighton, 5-3-1. The Hoyas have won five out of the past six meetings, including three victories in Washington, D.C. Last year, Georgetown won 2-1 in overtime.
MARQUETTE at DEPAUL (3 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
WATCH: Caffeine | YouTube
Marquette currently sits in seventh place in the league standings with Xavier with nine points. The Golden Eagles need to win and have either Butler (fifth place) or Seton Hall (sixth place) lose to qualify. DePaul, mathematically eliminated from tournament contention, could play spoiler with a victory or a tie. Wednesday’s meeting will be the 34th all-time between the Marquette and DePaul men’s soccer teams. MU leads the series 26-6-1. Last season, the Golden Eagles came away with a 2-0 victory at Valley Fields. In its past seven meetings, MU has won four of them against the Blue Demons. They’ve played every year since 2012, alternating sites each season. Marquette has not won at DePaul since Nov. 6, 2002
VILLANOVA at SETON HALL (6 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
WATCH: Caffeine | YouTube
A win for Seton Hall would give the Pirates their first BIG EAST playoff berth since 2012. Coming off a 2-1 victory at Marquette on Saturday, the Pirates find themselves in control of their own destiny. Seton Hall could be the No. 4 seed and host one of the first round contests with a win paired with a Creighton loss or tie and a Butler loss. Since their first meeting in 1984, Seton Hall owns a 20-13-1 record over Villanova. Last season the Wildcats took the match 1-0 in Philadelphia, while The Hall’s most recent victory over the Wildcats occurred the year prior, a 2-0 Pirate win at Owen T. Carroll Field.
ST. JOHN’S at PROVIDENCE (7 p.m., Wednesday - BEDN)
WATCH: Caffeine | YouTube
Eighth ranked St. John’s secured a No. 2 seed and a semifinal bye in the BIG EAST Championship with a 4-2 win over DePaul last Saturday. With a 2-1 win over Xavier, Providence locked in the third seed and will be hosting the first round on Nov. 9. The Red Storm can still grab at least a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title with a victory over the Friars should Creighton prevail over Georgetown earlier in the day. St. John’s was picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches poll. The Friars finished right where they were picked in the preseason, third. Since starting BIG EAST play 1-2 with losses to Georgetown and Butler in back-to-back games, Providence has won five of its last six contests. St. John’s only has two losses on the season, to current ranked foes No. 3 Georgetown and No. 4 Maryland. 2019 marks the fifth straight year that St. John’s and Providence have closed out the regular season against one another. St. John’s and Providence will meet for the 33rd time in the history of the two programs on Wednesday night, a series history that favors the Red Storm by a margin of 20-8-4. Since 2013, Providence is 6-0-1 against St. John’s.
Upcoming #BEfútbol Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 6
ALL GAMES WILL BE ON BEDN
CREIGHTON at GEORGETOWN, 2 p.m.
XAVIER at BUTLER, 2 p.m.
MARQUETTE at DEPAUL, 3 p.m.
VILLANOVA at SETON HALL, 6 p.m.
ST. JOHN’S at PROVIDENCE, 7 p.m.
All times are Eastern.