BOYDS, Md. - No. 2 seed Xavier defeated No. 1 seed Georgetown in a penalty kick shootout Sunday afternoon in the BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship Final at Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md. With the win, the Musketeers earn the BIG EAST’s automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Championship. The NCAA Championship Selection Show is slated for Monday at 1 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.

In a defensive battle, the third-ranked Hoyas (13-2-3, 6-1-1 BIG EAST) attempted to strike first in the 10th minute with a shot by Marlon Tabora blocked in front of the net. The Hoyas continued to apply the pressure over the next 12 minutes, but as he had been all tournament long, Xavier redshirt freshman goalkeeper Jonny Mennell was up for the challenge.

The redshirt freshman made three consecutive saves in the 17th, 19th and 22nd minute to keep the game scoreless halfway through the first 45 minutes.

The Musketeers (9-3-6, 4-1-3 BE) fired off a shot on goal in the 24th minute, however on the other side of the field senior goalkeeper Ryan Schewe of Georgetown made the diving save to keep the shutout in check.

At the half Mennell had four saves, while Schewe had one.

In the second half, the Musketeers placed three shots on goal compared to the Hoyas one, but Schewe acted as a brick wall once again with four saves in regulation, while Mennell had five.

After a scoreless pair of overtime periods, the Musketeers and Hoyas entered a penalty kick shootout to decide the result. In the shootout, Mennell had two saves and scored a goal as Xavier secured the first BIG EAST title in program history, 0-0 (5-4 PK Shootout).

Closing out the three-match tournament with 16 saves and three shutouts, Mennell was announced as the BIG EAST Championship's Most Outstanding Defensive Player.

With a goal plus a perfect 5-of-5 shots on goal in the tournament, Xavier junior forward Taylor Rhinehart claimed BIG EAST Most Outstanding Offensive Player.

With the win, Xavier earns the BIG EAST's automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament, while Georgetown, ranked third in the latest RPI, is expected to earn an at-large bid and first-round bye as a top-16 seed.

Most Outstanding Offensive Player
Taylor Rhinehart, Jr., F, Xavier
 
Most Outstanding Defensive Player
Jonny Mennell, R-Fr., GK, Xavier
 
All-Tournament Team
Miguel Candela, Gr., D, Providence
Brendan McSorley, Sr., F, Providence
Eli Conway, So., F, UConn
Scott Testori, Jr., F, UConn
Marlon Tabora, Sr., M, Georgetown
Kieran Sargeant, Jr., D, Georgetown
Kenny Nielsen, Sr., D, Georgetown
Jonny Mennell, R-Fr., GK, Xavier
Taylor Rhinehart, Jr., F, Xavier
Makel Rasheed, Sr., D, Xavier
Dylan Kropp, So., D, Xavier

2023 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship 
Presented By Jeep
First Round – Nov. 4 - BEDN on Flo Sports (Invesco QQQ) - Higher seed hosts
No. 1 Georgetown 2, No. 8 Seton Hall 1
No. 3 Providence 3, No. 6 Creighton 0
No. 5 UConn 2, No. 4 St. John’s 1 (OT)
No. 2 Xavier 1, No. 7 Akron 0

Semifinals - Nov. 9 - BEDN on Flo Sports (Invesco QQQ)                                                                  
No. 2 Xavier 1, No. 3 Providence 0
No. 1 Georgetown 2, No. 5 UConn 0

Final - Nov. 12 – FS1
No. 2 Xavier 0, No. 1 Georgetown 0 (5-4 PKs)