Previewing The 2014 Big East Men's Soccer Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal #1: #3 Georgetown (11-3-4, 6-2-1 Big East) vs #6 Marquette (8-5-4, 2-3-4 Big East)

When: Tuesday, November 11, 2014, at 1pm Central
Where: Shaw Field in Washington, D.C.
Audio/Visual: Big East Digital Network, plus live stats
Previous Meeting: A 0-0 draw at Georgetown

Normally, no one likes a scoreless draw.  They go on for what seems like forever, and in the end, no one is particularly pleased with anything.  That wasn't the case earlier this season when Marquette and Georgetown played to a 0-0 finale.  Maybe Georgetown fans feel differently, but I was pleased with how Marquette comported themselves in that match.  It's possible that my good feelings about it have more to do with Charlie Lyon picking up what was at the time his seventh consecutive shutout, so I was a little more forgiving about the MU offense not uncovering a goal.

Georgetown's Brandon Allen is a leading contender for Offensive Player of the Year this season, as he leads the Big East in goals with 10.  The Golden Eagles were led with seven coming off the foot of junior striker C. Nortey, who got that seventh goal to put the icing on MU's 4-0 win over DePaul that clinched a spot in this game.

In case you were wondering: Georgetown inexplicably doesn't have lights at their soccer facility.  That's why this one gets the early afternoon start.

Quarterfinal #2: #4 Providence (10-4-2, 5-2-2 Big East) vs #5 Villanova (8-7-3, 3-4-2 Big East)

When: Tuesday, November 11, 2014, at 6pm Central
Where: Ray Searcy Track & Field Complex in Providence, RI
Audio/Visual: Big East Digital Network, plus live stats
Previous Meeting: Providence won at home, 2-1

The Friars were 90 minutes away from a Big East regular season title last Friday night.  Unfortunately for them, they ran into the buzzsaw that is Creighton keeper Connor Sparrow, and with the loss, Providence stumbled down to fourth place.  Now they try to begin a path to a second straight Big East title match by hosting the Wildcats.

In their first encounter this season, Providence took a lead in the 7th minute, but couldn't hold it until halftime.  With the score knotted at one, it looked like that match was going to overtime, but PC's Fabio Machado connected on a Markus Naglestad cross in the 88th minute, and PC escaped with three points.  Had Nova found the late winner, or a golden goal in overtime, it's possible that this game would have been in Pennsylvania, as the two teams finished six points apart in the standings.

Sophomore forward Mac Steeves led Providence this season with eight goals, while seniors Aaron Dennis and Hayden Harr each had six to guide the Villanova offense.  Between the goaltenders, VU's Will Steiner gets the advantage over PC's Keasel Broome.  Steiner has a goals-against average just below a goal a game, while Broome's is a shade higher than 1.00.  Steiner came away from the regular season with the best save percentage in the conference at .847.  Steiner was tested repeatedly, though, as he also led the Big East in saves with 83.