Your 2013 Big East Women's Soccer Tournament Scenarios

There are just five matches left on the Big East women's soccer schedule, and all will take place on this coming Saturday. Six of the ten teams in the league will qualify for the Big East tournament, and there's still some doubt as to how things will be seeded for the quarterfinals on November 5th and the semifinals on November 8th. We'll go team by team according to the current standings and see where they can still end up.

1) Marquette (8-0-0, 24 points) - The Golden Eagles have clinched the regular season championship and a bye in the quarterfinals. They proceed directly to one of the two semifinal matches which, coincidentally, are being held at Valley Fields.

2) Georgetown (6-1-1, 19 points) - According to their own website, the Hoyas have not locked up the second seed in the tournament yet. If they get either a win or a draw at home against Seton Hall on Saturday OR a loss to Seton Hall combined with a DePaul loss or draw at St. John's, they get the second of the two quarterfinal byes.

3) DePaul (5-2-1, 16 points) - In comparison to Georgetown's site, DePaul's site says that they've clinched the third seed and a slot hosting a quarterfinal match. The Blue Demons definitely can't finish lower than third. But, a win on the road against St. John's and a Georgetown loss to Seton Hall will tie the Hoyas and Blue Demons at 19 points. I don't know what the tiebreakers for the Big East are, but I do know that Georgetown and DePaul played to a 1-1 draw earlier this year in Washington, D.C. I also know that Georgetown has a league goal differential of +16 and DePaul has a league goal differential of +4.

4) Butler (4-3-0, 12 points) - This is where things get confusing. Including the Bulldogs, the next four teams aren't guaranteed a spot in the tournament. A win by Butler against Marquette on Saturday puts them into the tournament and hosting a quarterfinal match. A draw or a loss against the Golden Eagles throws everything up in the air. Losses by St. John's, Villanova, and Seton Hall would still clinch that quarterfinal home match, but wins by any of them push Butler out onto the road and wins by all three paired with a Butler loss would tie Butler with Seton Hall for sixth place. That tie would likely send Butler home for the season, as the Pirates earned a 3-1 win over the Bulldogs earlier this year.

5) St. John's (3-3-2, 11 points) - Win and you're in is the most important thing for St. John's in their home contest against DePaul. With the win, St. John's can look at the result of Butler-Marquette for their seed. A Butler win would send the Red Storm on the road for the quarterfinals, while a draw or loss by the Bulldogs would give St. John's a road slot for the quarterfinals. A draw or loss by SJU puts them at risk for missing the tournament all together. A draw could put them into a tie at 12 points with a Butler loss and a Seton Hall win. Combine that with a Villanova win moving the Wildcats to 13 points and then only two of the three teams at 12 points would make it in. A loss by the Red Storm means they would need either a Villanova loss OR a Seton Hall loss or draw to stay in the six team field.

6) Villanova (3-4-1, 10 points) - The Wildcats currently hold the last playoff spot. If they beat Providence, they guarantee a spot in the tournament. Add on losses or draws by both Butler and St. John's, and VU could jump up to hosting a quarterfinal match on Tuesday, as they hold a head to head win over Butler this season. If Villanova draws with Providence, they would need a Seton Hall loss or a lot of luck to go with a St. John's loss. Villanova and St. John's drew earlier this year, so it would come down to a different tiebreaker. A loss to Providence means that the only thing that would keep Villanova in the tournament would be a loss by Seton Hall. The Pirates beat Villanova 5-0 already this season, so VU can't afford to end up in a tie with SHU.

7) Seton Hall (3-5-0, 9 points) - Item #1 on the list: Beat Georgetown, who has only lost to Marquette this season. I don't mean in league play, I mean at all. If they accomplish that monumental feat, then they still need a loss by St. John's OR a loss or draw by Villanova, OR a loss by Butler. If Seton Hall draws with Georgetown, then they would still need a loss by Villanova and rely on their head to head win over the Wildcats to propel them through a tiebreaker and into the field.

Creighton has 7 points and a head to head loss to Villanova, which eliminates them. Providence (6 points) and Xavier (3 points) have also been eliminated.

Here's the schedule for everybody's matches for Saturday, complete to links to their live stats (all times Central):

11am: Providence at Villanova
12pm: Seton Hall at Georgetown
12pm: Xavier at Creighton
5:30pm: Butler at Marquette
7pm: DePaul at St. John's

UPDATE! Georgetown and Providence won the day's early matches, so here's where things sit heading to the night games:

1) Marquette, Georgetown, and DePaul are the 1, 2, and 3 seeds in the Big East tournament. Marquette and Georgetown earn byes to the semifinals.

2) Villanova has clinched the 6 seed because Seton Hall lost. They will play at DePaul in the Big East quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon, because there are no lights at Wish Field.

3) Butler (12 points) and St. John's (11 points) will be the 4 and 5 seeds. Tonight's results will determine which one plays host to the other in the Big East quarterfinals on Tuesday.