#BEfútbol Finale Thursday – Seeding & Postseason On The Line
BIG EAST Weekly Notes (PDF)
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST men’s soccer regular-season finale will feature all five matches on the BIG EAST Digital Network. The games will start at 12 p.m. ET with Seton Hall at Villanova. At 7 p.m., Providence will play at St. John’s and Xavier will host Butler. The night will finish with two games at 8 p.m., DePaul at Marquette and Georgetown at Creighton.
There are playoff and standing implications in all five contests. Going into Thursday, Providence has clinched a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title and will host one of the semifinal games with a bye in the first round. Butler, Villanova and Xavier have all clinched a playoff spot with seeding yet to be determined. Creighton, DePaul and Georgetown are playing for a chance to be in.
THURSDAY ON BEDN
Seton Hall at Villanova - 12 p.m. (WATCH)
Villanova is already confirmed in the tournament field, but seeding has yet to be determined for the Wildcats. The best Villanova can finish is third in a scenario where Villanova wins and Butler ties, the Bulldogs would have the head-to-head advantage with an overtime 3-2 victory on Sept. 17. Key players in this Seton Hall, Villanova match up will be Pirate sophomore Andres Arcila against Wildcat junior Miguel Polley. Arcila leads the Pirates in points with six goals and four assists. Polley leads the Villanova offense with five goals and seven assists. Polley has 10 points in league action. Villanova is coming off a 3-2 road loss at Georgetown, while Seton Hall defeated Xavier last Saturday 2-1. This match up was originally scheduled for a 3 p.m. start, but moved up to 12 p.m. due to potential weather.
No. 25 Providence at St. John’s - 7 p.m. (WATCH)
A tie or win for Providence over St. John’s will give the Friars sole possession of the 2016 BIG EAST Regular Season title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. It would be the first regular season crown won by Providence in men’s soccer. The Friars, led by Julian Gressel, who has 25 points (10 goals, five assists; five goals, four assists in league play) rode a seven-game winning streak to the top of the standings and did not lose a game in October. St. John’s Harry Cooksley will be an offensive threat for the Red Storm, he leads SJU in points (16) and assists (6) and is second in goals (5).
No. 18 Butler at Xavier - 7 p.m. (WATCH)
These two teams have boasted a similar report card since conference play started. Both teams have qualified for the conference tournament and seeding will be a play for both the Bulldogs and Musketeers. Xavier will be playing their second game at home at the XU Soccer Complex and is coming off a 2-1 loss on the road at Seton Hall last week. The 18th-ranked Bulldogs moved up to No. 2 in the league standings on Saturday after 2-1 victory over Marquette. A win for Butler would tie the Bulldogs with Providence for a share of the conference title with 18 points. Should this occur, Butler would earn the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a 2-0 victory over the Friars on Sept. 24. Look for Butler’s David Goldsmith to make an offensive statement against Xavier’s key keeper Colin Hanley. Goldsmith broke a five game scoreless streak last Saturday with the game winner over Marquette. The senior forward has 25 points (11 goals) on the year. Hanley is third in the conference in saves (34) and has the second-most shutouts in conference play (3).
DePaul at Marquette - 8 p.m. (WATCH)
If the season were to end before Thursday’s games begin, DePaul would be the sixth and final team in the play off bracket. However, DePaul is just one point ahead of Georgetown, whose playoff hopes are also still alive. One possible scenario - should DePaul win and Butler lose, they would tie at 15. The Blue Demons would have the head-to-head advantage with an overtime victory over Butler last week. DePaul would then be seeded ahead of Butler. DePaul’s Simon Megally leads the Blue Demons in points with 19 (7G, 5A). For Marquette, freshman Luka Prpa will make his last appearance as a rookie. Prpa leads Marquette with 24 points, second most in the conference. He has nine goals and six assists on the season and was BIG EAST Freshman of the Week three times. Prpa has nine points in BIG EAST action.
Georgetown at No. 24 Creighton - 8 p.m. (WATCH)
Last year, these two teams met in the regular season finale with the No. 1 seed on the line. This season, these teams are playing for the chance to extend their season into the league’s postseason championship. Creighton has remained in the top 25 all season, and is coming into Thursday night’s game with quite a chip on their shoulders after losing three consecutive matches and their first match at home last Saturday. Georgetown is coming off a come-from-behind 3-2 victory at home over Villanova last weekend. Look for both keepers to have big games Thursday night. Hoya JT Marcinkowski is tied for league best with three shutouts in conference play. The sophomore has four shutouts overall and a 4-8-2 record in the net. Creighton’s Alex Kapp has played every minute for the Bluejays this season, for an 8-5-3 record and 0.71 goals against average with six total shutouts, one in league play.
Providence Claims At Least A Share Of the BIG EAST Regular Season Title
Riding a seven game winning streak going into the final match of the 2016 regular season, Providence has secured at least a share of the BIG EAST regular season title, a first round bye and hosting duties for one of the BIG EAST Semifinals on Nov. 6. Providence needs at least a tie at St. John’s on Thursday to win the title outright. A loss by Providence and a victory by Butler over Xavier would have the Friars share the title with the Bulldogs. Butler would then have the No. 1 seed since Butler has the head-to-head advantage over Providence with a 2-0 victory on Sept. 24.
A Piece of the Playoff Puzzle
Three other teams along with Providence have mathematically secured a spot in the tournament field: Butler, Villanova and Xavier. The seeding for all three is yet to be determined. Creighton, DePaul and Georgetown are all playing for those final two spots.
Head-to-head results is the first tie breaker, then the record versus the team occupying the highest position in the standings. The third tie breaker is each team’s total conference wins. The conference has seven total tie-breaker procedures for head-to-head ties. When more than two teams tie, they form a mini-conference, where the team/teams with the best combined record versus the other teams gains the advantage.
BIG EAST Fourth In Conference RPI Standings
The BIG EAST ranks fourth among conferences with two teams in the top 20. The BIG EAST rates behind the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Pac-12 and America East. Making the biggest jump is Butler, who ended the 2015 season 43rd in the NCAA RPI rankings. The BIG EAST is 1-1 against opponents from the America East.
Three in Top 25; Four In National Eye
In the latest rankings released Tuesday, Nov. 1, streaking Providence entered the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) Top 25 poll at No. 25, joining No. 18 Butler, who remained in the poll for the ninth consecutive week and No. 24 Creighton. For the second straight week, Villanova received votes.
The BIG EAST has had at least two teams ranked the entire season, but three is the most so far at one time in 2016.
The league started the season with two teams ranked in the NSCAA top 10: No. 7 Creighton and No. 10 Georgetown. Both teams represented the BIG EAST in the NCAA tournament field last year.