Big East Conference

#BEfútbol Minute - League Play Kicks Off Friday On BEDN

9/20/2019 7:04:34 AM

MSOC Weekly Notes - 9.19.19

NEW YORK –  The BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi will have full coverage with all five games opening the 2019 conference men’s soccer slate. Two teams come into Friday’s five-game slate undefeated - St. John’s, which is off to the best start in program history at 6-0-0, and Georgetown, ranked third in the country at 5-0-0. The No. 9 Red Storm will get tested by a 3-1-1 No. 19 Xavier squad who is coming off a tough 3-2 double-overtime loss to Memphis. Georgetown and St. John’s are two of the 10 undefeated teams in Division I.
 
All five games on BEDN can be viewed on Caffeine TV, Twitter via the @BIGEASTChamps handle and the BIG EAST YouTube channels. Direct Links can be found below.
   
First touch of a five-game Friday starts at 3 p.m. ET with Villanova at DePaul. The Wildcats come into the game at Wish Field with a 4-2-0 record, having endured back to back 1-0 shutout defeats at Penn State and then-No. 24 Maryland. Prior to those most recent losses, Villanova goalie Carson Williams had not let in a goal since last year’s regular season finale against Seton Hall. DePaul enters the match 3-3-0 after absorbing a 4-1 loss at Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday. The Wildcats won last season’s meeting 1-0 at Higgins Soccer Complex. In 2017, DePaul won 1-0 at Wish Field.
 
Three games kick off at 7 p.m. Georgetown at Butler, Xavier at St. John’s and Seton Hall at Providence.
 
The Hoyas, ranked No. 3 by the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll, have started the season 5-0-0, while Butler sits a 3-2-0 for the early season.  All three wins have occurred at the Sellick Bowl. Georgetown has outscored their last two opponents, 9-1, and boasts the reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week, Zach Riviere. On the Bulldog bench is reigning Freshman of the Week Wilmer Cabrera, Jr.  The Hoyas are 5-1-0 all-time against Butler, 2-1 at the Sellick Bowl. Last season, GU won 2-0. Georgetown was picked to win the league by the other nine head coaches. Friday’s match for Butler is the first of three straight matches at home all against Top 10 opponents in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Poll.
 
No. 9 St. John’s is ranked inside the Top 10 for the first time in six years. Over the past week, the Red Storm has scored nine goals while allowing three in a 3-0-0 slate against Iona, Penn and Columbia. No. 19 Xavier (3-1-1) comes to Belson Stadium a week away from suffering its first loss of the season, 3-2 in double overtime at home to Memphis. The Musketeers have a key win over then-No. 3 Akron, 3-0, in the season-opener and tied then-No. 17 Kentucky 2-2 on the road. Xavier leads the all-time series with St. John’s, 3-2-2. Last season, SJU and XU played to a 1-1 tie. In 2017, St. John’s won 3-0.
 
Seton Hall continues to play away from its home pitch while Owen T. Carroll Field undergoes renovations to the soccer and baseball fields. The Pirates are 1-3-0 coming into Friday having lost one goal games at Florida Gulf Coast, FIU and Lehigh. Providence boasts a 4-2-0 record, 3-1-0 at home on Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium. The Friars have shutout their last two opponents, 4-0 vs. Sacred Heart and 1-0 vs. Harvard. Providence leads the all-time series 16-12-6. The Friars have won the last six matches in the series, most recently with a goal in the 102nd minute of the double-overtime period in 2018.
 
Friday night lights finishes with first kick between Creighton and Marquette at 8:35 p.m. The all-time series between the Bluejays and Golden Eagles is tied at 7-7-1. The game will be played as part of a doubleheader with the Marquette women on Valley Fields. Marquette (2-2-1) is coming off a 2-1 loss in the Milwaukee Cup on Tuesday at Milwaukee. Creighton (3-2-1) picked to finish second in the conference, is coming off a 2-1 victory over Nebraska-Omaha on Monday. Bluejay head coach Johnny Torres will get his first taste of BIG EAST play as the skipper. Creighton opened the season with three consecutive matches against teams ranked inside the United Soccer Coaches Top 25. Creighton finished 1-1-1 in the stretch, including a 2-1 victory over No. 21 Akron. The Bluejays went 4-0-0 in league road matches last season. Marquette was runner-up in the chase for the 2018 BIG EAST tournament crown. The last time these two teams met was in the Semifinals of the 2018 tournament. Marquette advanced to the title game on penalty kicks. Creighton won the regular season meeting in Omaha. In 2017, Marquette won in Milwaukee, 4-3.
 
BIG EAST Outscores Opponents 102-52 In Non-Conference Play
Since the season started Aug. 30, the BIG EAST has posted a 34-17-3 (.657) record against non-conference opponents. The BIG EAST’s most played against conference is the Mid-American. The league posts a 6-1-0 record against opponents from the MAC. The BIG EAST’s next most played against conference is the American Athletic Conference. BE teams are 4-2-0 against the American. The BIG EAST is 4-0-0 against the Ivy league. BIG EAST teams have outscored opponents 102-52 so far through the early part of the season. Georgetown (fifth), St. John’s (12th) and Xavier (17th) rank in the Top 20 statistically in scoring offense to lead the conference.
 
 
Upcoming #BEfútbol Schedule
Friday, Sept. 20 (All Games on BEDN)
RV VILLANOVA at DEPAUL, 3 p.m. (Caffeine | YouTube)
No. 19 XAVIER at No. 9 ST. JOHN’S, 7 p.m. (Caffeine | YouTube)
No. 3 GEORGETOWN at BUTLER, 7 p.m. (Caffeine | YouTube)
SETON HALL at PROVIDENCE, 7 p.m. (Caffeine | YouTube)
CREIGHTON at MARQUETTE, 8:35 p.m. (Caffeine | YouTube)
 
Monday, Sept. 23
No. 9 ST. JOHN’s at No. 25 Maryland, 7 p.m.
 
Tuesday, Sept. 24
George Washington at VILLANOVA, 4 p.m.
XAVIER at I.U.P.U.I, 7 p.m.
SETON HALL at N.J.I.T, 7 p.m.
Indiana at BUTLER, 7 p.m.
GEORGETOWN at Louisville, 7:30 p.m.
DEPAUL at Oakland, 8 p.m.
Tulsa at CREIGHTON, 8 p.m.
MARQUETTE at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
 
All times listed are Eastern.
 
Recent Results
Tuesday, Sept. 17
Milwaukee 2, MARQUETTE 1
Illinois Chicago 4, DEPAUL 1
S.I.U.E. 2, BUTLER 1 (2OT)
Monday, Sept. 16
No. 24 Maryland 1, RV VILLANOVA 0
No. 19 ST. JOHN’S 5, Columbia 1
PROVIDENCE 1, Harvard 0
RV CREIGHTON 2, Nebraska-Omaha 1