WSOC Notes - BIG EAST Championship Semifinals

NEW YORK – The 2022 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship presented by JEEP continues on Thursday with the semifinals at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md. No. 2 seed Xavier will face No. 3 seed St. John’s in the day’s first semifinal contest slated for 4 p.m. ET, followed by No. 1 seed Georgetown playing No. 5 seed Creighton at 6:30 p.m. Both semifinals will stream on the BIG EAST Digital Network, available on FloSports. Semifinal winners advance to the title match on Sunday, Nov. 6, which is slated for a 1:30 p.m. start and will air on FS1. The winner of the BIG EAST Championship receives the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

No. 3 seed St. John’s vs. No. 2 seed Xavier, 4 p.m. ET
BEDN on FloSports (WATCH | Stats)
St. John’s and Xavier are meeting in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals for he second straight season. The Red Storm won last year’s match 1-0 at Xavier’s Corcoran Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. St. John’s claimed its spot in the semifinals by defeating sixth-seeded Connecticut on Sunday in penalty kicks 4-2 after a 1-1 draw. Xavier-St. John’s met this season on Oct. 16 in Queens, N.Y., where the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Recently crowned BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, Molly McLaughlin had three shots in the match for the Musketeers while All-BIG EAST players Jessica Garziano and Brooke Boyd each had one shot, but none of them could find the back of the net. The Red Storm lead the all-time series against the Musketeers 7-2-1. A defensive battle is expected between the two. Both teams rank second and third in the league in shutouts with 11 (Xavier) and seven (St. John’s), respectively. In addition, Xavier (0.63) and St. John’s (0.78) are both in the top-three of the league in goals against average and the top-three in goals allowed this season (Xavier: 12; St. John’s: 14).

St. John’s looks for a second straight trip to the BIG EAST title match, while Xavier looks to get back to the championship for the first time since winning the title in 2019. The Red Storm are 2-4-1 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals, while the Musketeers are 1-2-0.

No. 5 seed Creighton vs. No. 1 seed Georgetown, 6:30 p.m. ET
BEDN on FloSports (WATCH | Stats)
For the second time in history, Creighton and Georgetown are meeting in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals. The Hoyas won the previous meeting in the Spring 2021 tournament 2-1 in overtime. The Bluejays claimed their spot in the semifinals by defeating the No. 4 seed Butler 6-5 in penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw. Georgetown-Creighton met this fall on Sept. 25 in Washington, D.C., with the Hoyas getting a 4-0 win. Recently named All-BIG EAST team members Natalie Means and Gia Vicari each had a goal in that match while the other two goals were scored by Tatum Lenain and Maja Lardner. The Bluejays had opportunities in the match but were still outshot 16-9. Both teams finished the season in the top-five goals scored in the conference with the Hoyas scoring 30 (2^nd) and the Bluejays scoring 26 (4^th). Creighton finished second in the conference in shots per game (15.42) while the Hoyas finished in fourth with 14.22 per game.

Georgetown looks to advance to its seventh straight BIG EAST title match and eighth overall. The Hoyas are 5-3-4 all-time in the conference tournament semifinals. Creighton is 0-1-0 in the BIG EAST Semifinals as this is the Bluejays second appearance in the BIG EAST Championship. Georgetown leads the all-time series with Creighton 7-0-3.

For more on the BIG EAST Championship, visit Championship Central here.

BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship
Presented by Jeep
First Round – Oct. 30 (home sites)
No. 3 seed St. John’s 1, No. 6 seed UConn 1 (SJU advances 4-2 on PKs) BOX SCORE
No.5 seed Creighton 1, No. 4 seed Butler 1 (CU advances 6-5 on PKs) BOX SCORE
Semifinals – Nov. 3 – Boyds, Md.
No. 3 seed St. John’s vs. No. 2 seed Xavier, 4 p.m. ET*
No. 5 seed Creighton vs. No. 1 seed Georgetown, 6:30 p.m. ET*
Final – Nov. 6 – Boyds, Md.
Semifinal Winners, 1:30 p.m. ET^
*BEDN
^FS1