NEW YORK – The bracket for the 2022 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship presented by Jeep was solidified on Wednesday, the final play date of the regular season. Entering the day, No. 17 Georgetown had already secured the top-overall seed, while Seton Hall, Xavier and Butler knew they were postseason bound; however, each of the remaining five seeds were left to be accounted for.
After locking up its fourth-straight BIG EAST regular-season title outright on Saturday, Georgetown extended its 10-match unbeaten streak with a 1-0 road triumph over UConn Wednesday night. Overall, the Hoyas cap the regular season 10-4-3 (8-1-1 BIG EAST), with a 9-0-1 mark in their last 10 outings.
Already completing its 10-match conference regular season on Saturday, Seton Hall (7-2-7, 4-1-5 BE) watched the battle between Xavier and Butler very closely hoping to earn a first-round bye. In a back-and-forth game, the Bulldogs stormed back with just 14 seconds remaining in regulation, as Tommy Visser found the equalizer in a 3-3 draw. As a result, the Pirates solidified the No. 2 seed and will await its opponent in the BIG EAST Semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 10.
Concluding shortly after the Xavier-Butler outing wrapped up, Providence (5-4-7, 4-2-5 BE) outdueled Creighton (6-4-6, 3-3-4 BE) in Rhode Island, 4-2. Jumping out to a commanding 2-0 lead in the opening 13 minutes, the Friars never looked back and locked up their spot in the tournament. As a result, Xavier (9-1-7, 3-1-6 BE) and Butler (9-5-3, 4-3-3 BE) were rewarded the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively and both squads will host first round matchups on Thursday at 7 p.m.
In the final match to conclude on Wednesday night, Marquette (4-9-4, 1-5-4 BE) topped St. John’s (4-8-5, 2-4-4 BE), 5-1, allowing Creighton to sneak in as the sixth seed in the BIG EAST Championship despite its setback Wednesday night.
In the afternoon portion of Wednesday’s regular-season finale, DePaul and Villanova tied 3-3.
On Saturday, No. 3 Xavier will host No. 6 Creighton at 7 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports. The winner is set to face No. 2 seed Seton Hall in the Semifinals on Nov. 10 at 4 p.m.
Simultaneously, No. 5 Providence will travel to take on No. 4 Butler on BEDN, with the winner set to face No. 1 seed Georgetown at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md.
Semifinal winners will meet on Nov. 13 to decide the conference champion and earn the league’s automatic bid into the 2022 NCAA Championship. The BIG EAST final will air live on FS1 at 11:30 a.m.
2022 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship
Presented By Jeep
First Round – Nov. 5 - BEDN
No. 6 seed Creighton at No. 3 seed Xavier, 7 p.m.
No. 5 seed Providence at No. 4 seed Butler, 7 p.m.
Semifinals - Nov. 10 - BEDN
No. 3/6 winner vs. No. 2 seed Seton Hall, 4 p.m.
No. 4/5 winner vs. No. 1 seed Georgetown, 6:30 p.m.
Final - Nov. 13 – FS1
Semifinal Winners, 11:30 a.m.