2016 Big East Women’s Soccer Championship Game

#1 Marquette vs #3 Georgetown

When: Sunday, October 5, 2016, at noon CT
Where: Shaw Field in Washington, D.C.
TV: FS1
Streaming: Fox Sports Go
Live Stats: Of course.
Twitter Updates: @MUWomensSoccer
Last Meeting: Georgetown won in Milwaukee, 2-0
All Time Series: Marquette has a 3-3-1 record against Georgetown, and are winless in the last three contests.

Marquette and Georgetown both reached the championship game after thrilling semifinal matches. Both games went to overtime, and both matches featured the championship game participants having to rally to get there. Please notice I did not say “winners,” because Georgetown did not win their semifinal against DePaul. They went to a 1-1 draw through two overtime sessions and eventually advanced on penalty kicks when DePaul missed their fifth and final attempt for the only missed kick out of the 10 attempts between the two teams.

Meanwhile, Marquette advanced when Carrie Madden scored her second goal of the game for the golden goal in maybe the craziest fashion I’ve ever seen in a MU soccer match.

Lost in Georgetown’s #3 seed in the Big East tournament is the fact that the Hoyas are currently ranked #7 in the country in the NSCAA’s top 25 that was released on November 1st. They hold wins over #1 West Virginia (the only loss of the year for the Mountaineers) and #14 Virginia. The Hoyas are 14-1-3 in their last 18 matches, with the only loss coming against DePaul, the team they just drew with in the semifinals. They also got completely bombed out of the building in that one, 4-1.

Marquette comes in with a 8-1-0 record in their last 9 games. It will not surprise you in the slightest to find out that the only loss in there is the 2-0 defeat at the feet of Georgetown. The Hoyas got two goals from freshman Amanda Carolan to get the win, scoring midway through the first half and then just a few minutes into the second half. MU did make the Hoya defense work, outshooting Georgetown 11-9 in the match and forcing keeper Arielle Schechtman to make seven second half saves to preserve her clean sheet.

Georgetown is the most productive offense in the Big East this season as the only team in the league averaging more than 2.5 goals per game. They’re also leading the league in assists per game with two apiece, so they’re not afraid to make a pass or two in order to get the best possible shot. As you might expect with those kinds of numbers, GU has four of the eight best individual point totals in the league this season, led by midfielder Rachel Corboz tied for the league lead with 30 on nine goals and 12 assists. Those assists are the highest total in the league, and Corboz is the only player in the Big East with double digit assists this season.

Georgetown’s defense is mighty as well, posting the second lowest overall goals-against average in the Big East this season and the fewest goals allowed in the nine match league slate. Think about this: Georgetown allowed five goals in nine Big East matches..... and four of them came in the first half against DePaul. SHEESH.

Marquette will have to combat Georgetown’s high powered and varied offense with the mishmash of attackers that they’ve used to win a share of the regular season title this season. Thanks to her two strikes in the semifinals, Carrie Madden has taken over the goals lead, jumping up to six on the season, one more than Morgan Proffitt. It probably tells you everything you need to know about Marquette’s season when the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year led the team in goals at the end of the regular season.

Proffitt will anchor a defense that posted their only four shutouts of the season during Big East play. The Golden Eagles have only allowed six goals in their last eight matches as freshman Maddy Henry has come into her own as MU’s keeper. She has a goals-against average of 1.20 on the season, but it’s down to just 0.97 against the 10 matches against Big East foes.