WSOC Notes - 10.22
NEW YORK – Three of the six spots in the 2021 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship presented by JEEP were clinched last night as No. 17 Xavier, No. 20 Georgetown and Butler punched their postseason tickets. The Musketeers defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 and the Hoyas won at Marquette 2-0 in two of the five matches on Thursday night. Additional results included St. John’s topping Seton Hall 1-0, DePaul defeating Creighton 2-0 and UConn-Providence playing to a 1-1 double-overtime draw.
 
Setting up Sunday’s five matches, Xavier (15-1-1, 8-1-0 BIG EAST) will clinch the regular-season title with a win at UConn (8-6-1, 4-3-1). Even with a loss to the Huskies, XU would earn at least a share of the title with a Georgetown draw at Seton Hall (6-10-0, 1-7-0), or claim it outright with a Hoya loss to the Pirates. The Musketeers won their first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019 before winning their first postseason championship as well. A Xavier win or Georgetown loss would also secure the No. 1 seed and BIG EAST Championship Semifinal and Final hosting duties for the Musketeers.
 
Should the Huskies play spoiler by upsetting the 17^th-ranked Musketeers or scoring a draw, it opens up the door for Georgetown (10-0-6, 6-0-2) to take over the top, which still has two conference matches remaining and is trailing Xavier by four points in the standings. Sunday’s tilt at UConn, which is set for a 1 p.m. ET start time, is the regular-season finale for Xavier. Should Georgetown and Xavier tie in the standings, the Hoyas own the head-to-head tiebreaker as GU dealt the Musketeers their lone loss of the season.
 
All five of Sunday’s matches will stream live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi, available on FloSports. Additional contests include the Hoyas at Seton Hall (1 p.m.), Butler at Villanova (1 p.m.), Providence at DePaul (2 p.m.) and St. John’s at Creighton (2 p.m.).
 
Three spots remain up for grabs in the BIG EAST Championship field and will come down to UConn, DePaul (7-9-0, 4-4-0), Marquette (8-8-0, 4-5-0), Providence (8-5-3, 3-3-2) and St. John’s (8-5-2, 4-3-1). The Red Storm and Huskies are currently tied in fourth place at 13 points apiece, followed by the Blue Demons and Golden Eagles at 12 apiece. Providence is currently in eighth with 11 points. The top six teams in the standings qualify for the conference postseason. Xavier has secured a top-two seed, meaning it has earned a bye directly into the semifinals. The Hoyas have clinched a top-three seed and can guarantee a top-two finish with a win on Sunday. The Nos. 3 and 4 seeds host their respective first round games, before the first-round winners join the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the semis.
 
This Week In The BIG EAST
Thursday
#20 Georgetown 2, Marquette 0 (recap)*^ 
#17 Xavier 2, Butler 1 (recap)*^ 
UConn 1, Providence 1 (2OT) (recap)*^   
St. John’s 1, Seton Hall 0 (recap)*^ 
DePaul 2, Creighton 0 (recap)*^   
Sunday
#20 Georgetown at Seton Hall, 1 p.m. (WATCH)*^
Butler at Villanova, 1 p.m. (WATCH)*^
#17 Xavier at UConn, 1 p.m. (WATCH)*^
Providence at DePaul, 2 p.m. (WATCH)*^
St. John’s at Creighton, 2 p.m. (WATCH)*^
All Times Eastern
*BIG EAST
^FloSports