Formidable Foes
A trio of top-25 opponents are on the schedule this week for BIG EAST women’s soccer teams, including a showdown between ranked foes on Thursday. No. 15 Georgetown travels to Charlottesville to face No. 5 Virginia at 7 p.m. ET. The game will air on the ACC Network. The Hoyas earned a scoreless draw at then-No. 10 Duke last Wednesday and improved to 2-1-1 with a convincing win over Bucknell on Sunday. DePaul will look to string a winning streak together with a tough swing in West Lafayette, Ind. The Blue Demons will face both No. 11 Kansas (Thursday, 4 p.m. ET) and No. 7 South Carolina (Sunday, 11 a.m.) at Purdue this week. DePaul picked up its first win of the season, 1-0, at Dayton on Sunday.
Early Leaders
Butler’s Katie Soderstrom and Xavier’s Samantha Dewey are the BIG EAST’s points leaders entering Week 3. Soderstrom has a league-high nine points off two goals and five assists, with the points tally ranking 18
th nationally. Backed by four goals, Dewey has eight points, while her BIG EAST-high goals tally lists 18
th among all Division I players. Dewey was voted the 2019 BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and is the reigning BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year. Only seven players have scored multiple goals in the BIG EAST thus far, with two coming from Xavier and three coming from Butler. Other notables include Georgetown’s Amanda Carolan and St. John’s Zsani Kajan. Defensively, Providence currently leads the pack with a 0.75 goals against average over four games. No team has scored more than a single goal against the Friars, who are sparked by BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year Shelby Hogan. Villanova’s Hensley Hancuff, Hogan and Marquette’s Maddy Henry rank 1-2-3 in goals against average in the BIG EAST this season.
Top 25
Despite a 1-0-1 mark which included a shutout at then-No. 10 Duke, Georgetown fell two spots in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Poll to No. 15. After a one-week absence, Butler received votes for the second time in three weeks.
Last Week At A Glance
BIG EAST teams combined for an 8-9-2 mark last week, with nine matches decided in overtime (3-4-2). Notable results included then-No. 13 Georgetown’s scoreless draw at then-No. 10 Duke on Wednesday and Marquette’s double-overtime 1-0 home win over Michigan on Sunday. Additionally, DePaul (1-0 at Dayton) and St. John’s (2-1 in double-overtime over Yale) picked up their first victories of the season. Butler’s unbeaten streak came to a close after winning its first three matches by a combined 9-2 margin; the Bulldogs were edged in overtime on Sunday at then-No. 15 Wisconsin, 2-1. Xavier also dropped a heartbreaker to end its unscathed stretch – falling in double-OT at RV Missouri, 3-2. Limited to just one match due to weather, Seton Hall won its lone game – topping Lafayette on Thursday, 1-0, for head coach Ciara Crinion’s first victory at the helm. Creighton (1-0, South Dakota State), and Providence (1-0, OT, Hartford) claimed their second wins of the year.
Upcoming Matches
Thursday
Delaware at Villanova, 4 p.m.
UMass Lowell at Providence, 7 p.m.
St. John’s at Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
#15 Georgetown at #5 Virginia, 7 p.m.
Michigan State at RV Butler, 7 p.m.
Marquette at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Friday
DePaul vs. #11 Kansas (at Purdue), 4 p.m.
Iowa State at Creighton, 5:30 p.m.
Long Island at Seton Hall, 6 p.m.
Xavier at Kent State, 7 p.m.
All times Eastern