NEW YORK – In the opening round of the 2024 BIG EAST Championship presented by JEEP on Saturday, each of the top four seeds earned victories. Akron, Georgetown, Providence and St. John’s will each travel to Boyds, Md., on Thursday, Nov. 14 for semifinal action. No. 2 seed Providence will face No. 3 seed St. John’s at 5 p.m. ET, before No. 1 seed Akron goes against No. 4 seed Georgetown at 7:30 p.m. at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Both games will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports Presented by Invesco QQQ. Semifinal winners advance to the title game on Sunday, Nov. 17, which is slated for a 12 p.m. start and will air on FS2. The winner of the BIG EAST Championship receives the Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
Akron 3, DePaul 1
No. 13-ranked Akron struck first at the 26^th minute mark and never looked back to earn a 3-1 win over No. 8 seed DePaul. Victor Gaulmin received a pass at the top of the box and drilled home a shot to the left corner of the net for the first goal of the match. Moments later, the nation’s leading scorer Emil Jaaskelainen tallied his 21^st goal of the season off a redirection header, assisted by Beto Ydrach. The Zips extended the lead to 3-0 just 1:25 into the second half, when Jasskelainen once again got his head on a ball for his second goal of the night. The ball was served into the box by Henry for his second assist. The win marked the first BIG EAST Tournament win for Akron that’s in its second season with the conference. Full Recap

Providence 2, UConn 0
No. 25 Providence and UConn settled for a 0-0 opening half, before the Friars pulled away to advance to the semifinals. Israel Neto delivered a strike to the left side of the box and beat the keeper on the near post to give the Friars a 1-0 lead in the 53^rd minute. Bruno Rosa doubled the Providence lead in the 81^st minute with a penalty kick, as the Friars improved to 11-4-3. Both PC’s Lukas Burns and UConn’s Max Kerkvliet corralled five saves in the game, with Burns collecting his seventh clean sheet of the season. With the win, the Friars improved to 6-0 in BIG EAST Quarterfinal games on Chapey Field. Full Recap
 
St. John’s 2, Seton Hall 0
For the first time since 2019, St. John's secured a spot in the BIG EAST semifinal after topping Seton Hall, 2-0, at Belson Stadium. The Red Storm took the early lead in the 25^th minute after a cross from Justin Kopay pinballed around the 18-yard box. After the initial shot was blocked, he sent a one-touch pass to Julian Jakopovic, who buried it into the back of the net for a 1-0 advantage. SJU defender Thomas Lamaille put the game away in the 84^th minute with his first career goal with the Red Storm. In net, Alec McLachlan made two saves in the shutout. Full Recap

Georgetown 1, Creighton 0
No. 24 Georgetown used a last-second first half goal to defeat No. 5 seed Creighton, 1-0 at Shaw Field on Saturday afternoon. In a highly competitive match, Georgetown tallied 11 shots and five on goal, while Creighton registered 10 shots and three on goal. The difference came in the final seconds of the first half as GU’s Cole Parete made a long run down the right side and found Matthew Van Horn at the top of the box. Van Horn sent it to Jack Heaps who crossed it across the box to a charging Mateo Ponce Ocampo. The sophomore connected on his first-career goal as time expired to put GU on top. Full Recap

2024 BIG EAST Championship Schedule
First Round – Nov. 9 – Campus Sites ^
No. 4 Georgetown 1, No. 5 Creighton 0
No. 3 St. John’s 2, No. 6 Seton Hall 0
No. 1 Akron 3, No. 8 DePaul 1
No. 2 Providence 2, No. 7 UConn 0

Semifinal – Nov. 14 – Maryland SoccerPlex ^
No. 3 seed St. John's vs. No. 2 seed Providence, 5 p.m.
No. 4 Georgetown vs. No. 1 seed Akron, 7:30 p.m.

Championship – Nov. 17 – Maryland SoccerPlex *
Semifinal Winners
 
^BEDN on FloSports Presented by Invesco QQQ
*FS2
All Times Eastern