NEW YORK – The 2021 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship presented by JEEP continued on Thursday with the Semifinals. Fourth-seeded St. John’s upset top-seeded Xavier, 1-0, in the day’s first match, followed by No. 2 seed Georgetown holding on to defeat No. 3 seed Butler, 2-1. The Red Storm and Hoyas advance to Sunday’s title match, slated for 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The winner of the BIG EAST Championship receives the Conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
No. 4 seed St. John’s 1, No. 1 seed Xavier 0
Box Score
Postgame Interview with Naya Lipkens
Highlights
St. John’s is headed to the BIG EAST Championship title game for the first time since 1994, pulling off the first semifinal upset of the No. 1 seed since 2015. Zsani Kajan, the nation’s No. 2 scorer, supplied the game’s lone goal, beating BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Olivia Jenkins in the 61^st minute. It marked the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year’s 17^th goal of the season and got her to the 100-career point mark, just the second Red Storm player to do so along with Rachel Daly.
 
Xavier controlled play early, holding St. John’s without a shot on goal in the opening 45 minute, while outshooting the Red Storm on the night by a 15-4 margin. Naya Lipkens was stellar facing the onslaught, however, tallying five saves to keep the regular-season champions off the scoreboard. It marked Lipkens’ ninth solo clean sheet of the year. Xavier also held a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks. Jenkins finished with one save.
 
With a 16-2-1 overall record and No. 7 RPI as of Nov. 4, Xavier will await an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
 
No. 2 seed Georgetown 2, No. 3 seed Butler 1
Box Score
Postgame Interview with Eliza Turner
Highlights
The Hoyas scored two second-half goals to punch their ticket to the BIG EAST title game for the sixth straight year and eighth time overall. Eliza Turner and Kaitlyn Parcell scored their first goals in a Georgetown uniform, coming in the 60^th and 66^th minutes, respectively. Butler’s Katie Soderstrom cut GU’s lead in half, 2-1, in the 82^nd minute. It marked Soderstrom’s 12^th goal of the season. The Bulldogs pressed the rest of the way but couldn’t score the equalizer. Georgetown outshot Butler 14-7 and held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks. Emma Martin had three saves for the Bulldogs while Allie Augur earned the win for Georgetown.
 
The Hoyas improved to 5-0-0 against Butler in the BIG EAST Championship. The semifinal loss for the Bulldogs was their first, after entering the night 4-0-0 in the conference semis. Georgetown improved to 5-3-4 in the semifinal round and 10-1-2 all-time against Butler.
 
Butler moves to 15-4-1 on the year and entered the day with the third-highest RPI in the BIG EAST at No. 30.
 
For more on the BIG EAST Championship, visit Championship Central here.
 
BIG EAST Women's Soccer Championship 
Presented by Jeep
First Round - Oct. 31 (home sites)
No. 3 seed Butler 1, No. 6 seed UConn 0 (2OT) BOX SCORE
No. 4 seed St. John’s 2, No. 5 seed Providence 1 (OT) BOX SCORE
Semifinals - Nov. 4 - Cincinnati, Ohio
No. 4 seed St. John’s 1, No. 1 seed Xavier 0 BOX SCORE
No. 2 seed Georgetown 2, No. 3 seed Butler 1 BOX SCORE
Final - Nov. 7 - Cincinnati, Ohio
No. 4 seed St. John’s vs. No. 2 seed Georgetown, 1:30 p.m. ET^
^FS1