The 2017 Big East Conference men's soccer season was the fifth season for the newly realigned Big East Conference. Including the history of the original Big East Conference, this was the 22nd season of men's soccer under the "Big East Conference" name.
The regular season began on August 25, 2017 and concluded on November 1, 2017. Butler won the regular season title. The 2017 Big East Conference Men's Soccer Tournament to decide the Big East champion, and the conference's automatic berth to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship began on November 4, 2017 and concluded with the championship match on November 12, 2017. Georgetown defeated Xavier in the championship game, 2–1, on a golden goal by Declan McCabe.
Butler and Georgetown both qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament. Georgetown entered as an automatic berth, while Butler had an at-large berth. Georgetown was eliminated in the first round by SMU, while Butler reached the round of 16 before losing to Wake Forest.
Background Changes from 2016
Head coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Record at school Big East record NCAA Tournaments NCAA College Cups NCAA TitlesButler Paul Snape Michigan (asst.) 7 1 0 0Creighton Elmar Bolowich North Carolina 7 23 6 2DePaul Craig Blazer U.S. national team (coordinator) 17 1 0 0Georgetown Brian Wiese Notre Dame (assistant) 12 4 1 0Marquette Louis Bennett Milwaukee 12 7 0 0Providence Craig Stewart Franklin Pierce 6 overall Seton Hall Gerson Echeverry Seton Hall (asst.) 6 St. John's David Masur Montclair State 27Villanova Tom Carlin Villanova (asst.) 10Xavier Andy Fleming Northwestern 8
Preseason Recruiting + National Rankings Team CSN TDS Total SigneesButler NR TDS TotalCreighton NR TDS TotalDePaul NR TDS TotalGeorgetown 8 TDS TotalMarquette NR TDS TotalProvidence NR TDS TotalSeton Hall NR TDS TotalSt. John's NR TDS TotalVillanova NR TDS TotalXavier NR TDS Total
Preseason poll The preseason poll was released on August 16.
Team ranking First place votes Raw points 1. Providence 9 81 2. Creighton 1 70 3. Butler 0 68 4. Villanova 0 52 5. Georgetown 0 46 6. Xavier 0 45 7. Marquette 0 30 8. St. John's 0 27 9. DePaul 0 21 10. Seton Hall 0 21
Preseason All-Conference Teams All conference teams were announced in conjunction with the preseason poll on August 16, 2017. Award Recipient(s) Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Mac Steeves, Providence Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Cory Brown, Xavier Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year JT Marcinkowski, Georgetown Preseason All-Big East XI Ricky Lopez-Espin, Creighton Mac Steeves, Providence Harry Cooksley, St. John's Lewis Suddick, Butler Jared Timmer, Butler Chris Lema, Georgetown Luka Prpa, Marquette Andreas Bartosinksi, Villanova Lucas Stauffer, Creighton Mark Jecewiz, Providence Cory Brown, Xavier JT Marcinkowski, Georgetown
Regular season Rankings United Soccer Coaches National + Legend Increase in ranking Decrease in ranking Not ranked previous week
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Final Butler C 25 17 21 RV RV 22 15 20 Creighton C 14 23 RV RV NR 25 RV NR DePaul C Georgetown C RV 18 9 16 14 10 9 Marquette C Providence C 12 RV RV NR Seton Hall C St. John's C Villanova C Xavier C RV NR
United Soccer Coaches Great Lakes Regional + Legend Increase in ranking Decrease in ranking Not ranked previous week
Postseason Big East Tournament
NCAA Tournament
Seed Region School 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship 14 Chapel Hill Georgetown L 1–22OT vs. SMU – (Washington, D.C.) Winston-Salem Butler W 2–0 vs. Lipscomb – (Indianapolis) W 3–2 vs. #16 VCU – (Richmond) L 0–2 vs. #1 Wake Forest – (Winston-Salem)
Awards 2017 B1G Men's Soccer Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Offensive Players of the Year Brandon Guhl, So., ButlerRicky Lopez-Espin, Sr., CreightonMidfielder of the Year Harry Cooksley, Sr., St. John'sDefensive Player of the Year David Enstrom, Sr., St. John'sGoalkeeper of the Year Eric Dick, RS-Sr., ButlerCoach of the Year Paul Snape, ButlerFreshman of the Year Derek Dodson, Fr., Georgetown
2017 B1G Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Freshman TeamForwards: Brandon Guhl, So., Butler‡ Ricky Lopez-Espin, Sr., Creighton‡ Mac Steeves, RS-Sr., Providence
Midfielders: Harry Cooksley, Sr., St. John’s Chris Lema, Sr., Georgetown Lewis Suddick, So., Butler
Defenders: Cory Brown, Sr., Xavier David Enstrom, Sr., St. John’s Brendan McDonough, Jr., Georgetown Lucas Stauffer, Sr., Creighton
Goalkeeper: Eric Dick, RS-Sr., ButlerForwards:
Derek Dodson, Fr., Georgetown Declan McCabe, Sr., Georgetown Matt Vasquenza, Sr., Xavier
Midfielders: Andres Arcila, Jr., Seton Hall Noah Franke, Sr., Creighton Simen Hestnes, Jr., Xavier Luka Prpa, So., Marquette
Defenders: Shane Bradley, So., Villanova Joe Moulden, Jr., Butler Cameron Taylor, RS-Jr., Xavier
Goalkeeper: JT Marcinkowski, Jr., GeorgetownForwards: Matt DePerro, Providence Derek Dodson, Georgetown‡ Jack Shearer, St. John’s‡
Midfielders: Jacob Montes, Georgetown‡ Kuba Polat, Creighton‡ Theo Quartey, Villanova Istvan Wilhelms, DePaul
Defenders: Samuel Buzzas, Xavier Manuel Cukaj, Marquette Sean O’Hearn, Georgetown
Goalkeeper: Zach Nelson, Xavier
‡ unanimous selection
Draft picks
Round Pick # MLS team Player Position College Other 1 13 Sporting Kansas City Eric Dick GK Butler 2 26 Vancouver Whitecaps Lucas Stauffer DF Creighton 2 33 Real Salt Lake Ricky Lopez-Espin FW Creighton 2 34 FC Dallas Chris Lema MF Georgetown 2 43 Houston Dynamo Mac Steeves FW Providence 3 62 Vancouver Whitecaps Cory Brown DF Xavier 4 80 FC Dallas Noah Franke DF Creighton
Notable non-draft signees The following are notable players who went pro following the end of the season that were not selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
Player Position College Moving to Acquired Ref. Harry Cooksley MF St. John's Mallorca Free transfer JT Marcinkowski GK Georgetown San Jose Earthquakes Homegrown player
See also 2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season
Notes Mac Steeves won the 2016 Big East Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Award.Cory Brown won the 2016 Big East Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Award.J. T. Marcinkowski won the 2016 Big East Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year Award.There are 12 players selected for the Big East All-Preseason XI due to a tie in voting.Denotes a player that was unanimously selected for the preseason team.
References