Men's Soccer Advances Past No. 1 Seed Butler to Reach BIG EAST Championship Match

Wednesday, November 8

Indianapolis, Ind.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

11-5-3

No. 1 Butler

12-4-2

OT 4

OT 5

OT 6

Xavier

BUTLER

Men's Soccer Advances Past No. 1 Seed Butler to Reach BIG EAST Championship Match

11.08.17 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)Photos

Musketeers will make second title game appearance since 2014 after advancing on penalty kicks

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – A scoreless match broke open late as four goals were scored in an 11 minute span in the second half, and an exciting BIG EAST Championships Semifinal later went to penalty kicks as No. 4 seed Xavier advanced past No. 1 seed Butler after a 2-2 draw on Wednesday at the Sellick Bowl.

The Musketeers converted all four of their opportunities after double overtime to move on, 4-1, to its second BIG EAST Championship final since joining the league for the 2013 season.

NEXT UP

• Xavier will travel to face No. 2 seed Georgetown for the BIG EAST Championship on Sunday at Noon. The match will be broadcast by FS2. Stay tuned to GoXavier.com and follow @XavierMSOC on Twitter for the latest updates.

NOTABLE

• Xavier had a 21-10 edge in shots, including an 11-4 edge in shots on goal. Xavier also had a 13-3 lead in corner kick opportunities and has now out-cornered its opponents 143-67 this season.
• XU improved to 4-4 all-time in the BIG EAST Championships and 8-5-3 in conference tournaments under head coach Andy Fleming.
• The Musketeers will be gunning for their first-ever BIG EAST Championship match on Sunday in Washington, D.C. XU last reached the final in 2014, falling 2-1 against Providence before rebounding to reach the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
• Since 2013, the No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Championships has now reached the tournament's final round four times in five tries.
• Cory Brown's second half goal was the first of his season and the senior also nailed the deciding penalty kick following double overtime.
• Matt Vasquenza scored his eighth goal of the season, second on the team, to give him a career-high-tying 20 points for the season.
• Sean Wilson picked up his first XU assist on Vasquenza's score, giving the Musketeers 13 players with a point scored this season.
• Derrick Otim assisted on Brown's goal for his first of the season. XU now has 12 different players with an assist this season.

HOW THEY SCORED

73' | Xavier 1-0 | Cory Brown got XU on the board with his first goal of the season, cleaning up an attempt by Derrick Otim near the top of the box and beating the BU keeper to the near post.
77' | Xavier 2-0 | Matt Vasquenza make a long run up the left flank, receiving a pass from Sean Wilson and beating his defender one-on-one to score far post.
79' | Xavier 2-1 | Butler's Kieran Geldenhuys finished a header off a cross from Isaac Galliford to get Butler on the scoreboard.
84' | Tied 2-2 | Joe Moulden equalized for Butler, connecting for a header goal off a high arcing pass from Michael Peay just outside the right edge of the box.

PENALTY KICKS (XU 4-1)
Matt Vasquenza -- MADE
Lewis Suddick -- MISSED HIGH
Samson Sergi -- MADE
Brandon Guhl -- MISSED (SAVE BY HANLEY)
Simen Hestnes -- MADE
Isaac Galliford -- MADE
CORY BROWN -- MADE

PHOTOS

Xavier Men's Soccer Advances to BIG EAST Championship by Xavier Musketeers on Exposure

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