# 2019 Big East Conference men's soccer season

The 2019 Big East Conference men's soccer season was the seventh season for the realigned Big East Conference. Including the history of the original Big East Conference, this was the 24th season of men's soccer under the "Big East Conference" name. The regular season began on August 30 and concluded on November 2.
Entering the season, Georgetown were the defending conference tournament champions, while Creighton were the defending conference regular season champions. Georgetown successfully defended their Big East Tournament title, and also won the regular season.
Four Big East teams earned berths into the NCAA Tournament, where Georgetown won the NCAA Tournament Championship in penalty kicks against Virginia. This was Georgetown's first national championship in men's soccer, and their first College Cup appearance since 2012. Elsewhere, St. John's and Providence reached the Sweet Sixteen, losing to Virginia and Clemson, respectively, while Butler was eliminated in the first round by West Virginia.

## Coaching changes

Ahead of the 2019 season, Creighton head coach Elmar Bolowich was hired by professional soccer club, Jacksonville Armada FC. Johnny Torres was hired to replace Bolowich.
| School | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Creighton | Elmar Bolowich | Resigned | November 12, 2018 | Preseason | Johnny Torres | December 12, 2018 |

## Head coaches

    As of the 2018 season
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | Big East record | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA College Cups | NCAA Titles |
| Butler | Paul Snape | Michigan (asst.) | 9 | 70–57–24 (.543) | 70–57–24 (.543) | 28–21–2 (.569) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Creighton | Johnny Torres | Creighton (asst.) | 1 | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0–0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DePaul | Mark Plotkin | Colgate (asst.) | 2 | 5–9–3 (.382) | 5–9–3 (.382) | 2–5–2 (.333) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgetown | Brian Wiese | Notre Dame (asst.) | 14 | 145–50–30 (.711) | 145–50–30 (.711) | 70–36–9 (.648) | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Marquette | Louis Bennett | Milwaukee | 14 | 218–181–53 (.541) | 83–117–36 (.428) | 39–66–19 (.391) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Providence | Craig Stewart | Franklin Pierce | 8 | 121–58–24 (.655) | 70–50–18 (.572) | 32–21–9 (.589) | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Seton Hall | Andreas Lindberg | LIU Post | 2 | 145–37–17 (.771) | 6–7–2 (.467) | 2–6–1 (.278) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| St. John's | David Masur | Montclair State | 29 | 408–172–96 (.675) | 355–151–90 (.671) | 157–67–48 (.665) | 20 | 4 | 1 |
| Villanova | Tom Carlin | Villanova (asst.) | 12 | 86–84–20 (.505) | 86–84–20 (.505) | 38–52–12 (.431) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier | Andy Fleming | Northwestern (asst.) | 10 | 98–55–30 (.617) | 98–55–30 (.617) | 28–23–5 (.545) | 4 | 0 | 0 |

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The preseason poll was released on August 21, 2019.
| | Team Ranking | Points | First |
| 1. | Georgetown | 81 | 9 |
| 2. | Creighton | 68 | 0 |
| 3. | Providence | 65 | 0 |
| 4. | Marquette | 59 | 1 |
| 5. | Xavier | 44 | 0 |
| 6. | Butler | 40 | 0 |
| 7. | St. John's | 33 | 0 |
| 8. | Seton Hall | 28 | 0 |
| 9. | DePaul | 21 | 0 |
| 10. | Villanova | 11 | 0 |

### Preseason national polls

The preseason national polls were released in July and August 2019.
| | United Soccer | CSN | Soccer America | Top Drawer Soccer |
| Butler | — | — | — | — |
| Creighton | RV | RV | — | — |
| DePaul | — | — | — | — |
| Georgetown | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 |
| Marquette | — | — | — | — |
| Providence | — | — | — | — |
| Seton Hall | — | — | — | — |
| St. John's | — | — | — | — |
| Villanova | — | — | — | — |
| Xavier | — | — | — | TBD |

### Preseason All-Conference Teams

All conference teams were announced in conjunction with the preseason poll.
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Preseason Offensive Player of the Year | Derek Dodson, Georgetown |
| Preseason Defensive Player of the Year | Dylan Nealis, Georgetown |
| Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year | Paul Kruse, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East | Derek Dodson, Georgetown |
| Preseason All-Big East | Ifunanyachi Achara, Georgetown |
| Preseason All-Big East | C.J. Tibbling, Seton Hall |
| Preseason All-Big East | Samson Sergi, Xavier |
| Preseason All-Big East | Luka Prpa, Marquette |
| Preseason All-Big East | Skage Simonsen, St. John's |
| Preseason All-Big East | Tiago Mendonca, Providence |
| Preseason All-Big East | Jared Timmer, Butler |
| Preseason All-Big East | Dylan Nealis, Georgetown |
| Preseason All-Big East | Patrick Seagrist, Marquette |
| Preseason All-Big East | Max de Bruijne, DePaul |
| Preseason All-Big East | Paul Kruse, Creighton |

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

Early season tournaments will be announced in late Spring and Summer 2019.
| Team | Tournament | Finish |

## Postseason
### Big East Tournament

The 2019 Big East Tournament was held from November 9–17, 2019. Georgetown won the championship against Providence.
| First Round November 9 | First Round November 9 | First Round November 9 | Semifinals November 15 | Semifinals November 15 | Semifinals November 15 | Championship November 17 | Championship November 17 | Championship November 17 |
| | | | 1 | Georgetown | 2(4) | | | |
| 4 | Creighton | 0 | 5 | Butler | 2(3) | | | |
| 5 | Butler | 1 | | | | 1 | Georgetown | 3 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Providence | 1 |
| | | | 2 | St. John's | 1 | | | |
| 3 | Providence | 1 | 3 | Providence | 2 | | | |
| 6 | Marquette | 0 | | | | | | |

### NCAA Tournament

The NCAA Tournament will begin in November 2019 and conclude on December 17, 2019.
| Seed | Region | School | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championship |
| 3 | 3 | Georgetown | BYE | W 5–0 vs. Pitt – (Washington, DC) | W 5–1 vs. Louisville – (Washington, DC) | W 2–1 vs. #4 Washington – (Washington, DC) | W 2–0 vs. #7 Stanford – (Cary, NC) | T 3–3 (7–6 PKs) vs. Virginia – (Cary, NC) |
| 16 | 1 | St. John's | BYE | W 2–0 vs. Syracuse – (New York, NY) | L 0–3 vs. #1 Virginia – (Charlottesville, VA) | | | |
| — | 4 | Providence | W 2–0 vs. NJIT – (Providence, RI) | W 3–2 (OT) vs. #15 Penn State – (State College, PA) | L 1–2 (OT) vs. #2 Clemson – (Clemson, SC) | | | |
| — | 3 | Butler | L 1–5 vs. West Virginia – (Indianapolis, IN) | | | | | |

## Rankings
### National rankings

| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 |
| NV | No votes received |
| | | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Final |
| Butler | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Butler | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Creighton | USC | RV | RV | RV | NV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Creighton | TDS | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| DePaul | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| DePaul | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Georgetown | USC | 13 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | None released | None released | None released | None released | 1 |
| Georgetown | TDS | 11 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Marquette | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Marquette | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Providence | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | RV | 21 | None released | None released | None released | None released | 14 |
| Providence | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | 19 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Seton Hall | USC | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Seton Hall | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| St. John's | USC | NV | RV | 19 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 14 | None released | None released | None released | None released | 12 |
| St. John's | TDS | NV | NV | NV | RV | 16 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Villanova | USC | NV | NV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Villanova | TDS | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Xavier | USC | NV | 14 | 11 | 19 | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | None released | None released | None released | None released | NV |
| Xavier | TDS | NV | RV | 10 | 10 | 11 | 25 | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

### Regional rankings - USC East Region

| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 10 |
| NV | No votes received |
| | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 |
| Butler | 10 | 9 | 8 | NV | NV | NV | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Creighton | NV | 8 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 7 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| DePaul | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Georgetown | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Marquette | NV | NV | 10 | RV | 9 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Providence | NV | NV | NV | 6 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Seton Hall | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| St. John's | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Villanova | 9 | 6 | 6 | 9 | NV | 9 | 10 | 9 | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Xavier | 2 | 2 | 7 | 10 | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

## Awards and honors
### Player of the week honors

| Week | Offensive | Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Defensive | Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper | Freshman | Freshman | Freshman | Ref. |
| Week | Player | Pos. | Team | Player | Pos. | Team | Player | Team | Player | Pos. | Team | Ref. |
| Sep. 2 | Stephen Elias | FW | Seton Hall | Luke Hansen | DF | St. John's | Matthew Rosenberg | Xavier | Jackson Weyman | GK | Marquette | |
| Sep. 9 | Samson Sergi | FW | Xavier | Sean O'Hearn | DF | Georgetown | Carson Williams | Villanova | Dominic Briggs | FW | Creighton | |
| Sep. 16 | Zach Riviere | FW | Georgetown | Matt Chandler | DF | St. John's | Carson Williams | Villanova | Wilmer Cabrera | FW | Butler | |
| Sept. 23 | Niko Petridis | MF | St. John's | Dylan Nealis | DF | Georgetown | Collin Valdivia | Creighton | Luke Mitchell | MF | Creighton | |
| Sep. 30 | Yudai Tashiro | MF | St. John's | Rafael Bustamente | DF | St. John's | Jackson Weyman | Marquette | Christian Marquez | FW | Marquette | |
| Oct. 7 | Tani Oluwaseyi | FW | St. John's | Love Frederiksson | DF | Seton Hall | Carson Williams | Villanova | Brendan Hicks | DF | Butler | |
| Oct. 14 | Ifunanyachi Achara | FW | Georgetown | Brandon Duarte | MF | St. John's | Giannis Nikopolidis | Georgetown | Esben Wolf | MF | Providence | |
| Oct. 21 | Wilmer Cabrera Jr. | FW | Butler | Dylan Nealis | DF | Georgetown | Gabriel Gjergji | Butler | Wilmer Cabrera Jr. | FW | Butler | |
| Oct. 28 | Derek Dodson | FW | Georgetown | Dylan Nealis | DF | Georgetown | Matthew Rosenberg | Xavier | Karsen Henderlong | FW | Xavier | |
| Nov. 4 | Carlton McKenzie | FW | Seton Hall | Ramzi Qawasmy | DF | Providence | Tomas Romero | Georgetown | Jake Ashford | DF | Creighton | |

### Postseason honors

2019 Big East Men's Soccer Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Tani Oluwasey – St. John's |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Dylan Nealis – Georgetown |
| Midfielder of the Year | Jacob Montes – Georgetown |
| Co-Goalkeepers of the Year | Giannis Nikopolidis – Georgetown |
| Co-Goalkeepers of the Year | Jan Hoffelner – St. John's |
| Coach of the Year | Dave Masur – St. John's |
| Freshman of the Year | Wilmer Cabrera Jr. – Butler |
2019 Big East Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams :
| First Team Honorees | Second Team Honorees | Third Team Honorees |
| Derek Dodson, Georgetown Tani Oluwaseyi, St. John's Samson Sergi, Xavier Yudai Tashiro, Creighton Jacob Montes, Georgetown Tiago Mendonca, Providence Max de Bruijne, DePaul Dylan Nealis, Georgetown Patrick Seagrist, Marquette Joao Serrano, Providence Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown | Wilmer Cabrera Jr., Butler Luke Haakenson, Creighton Achara, Georgetown Carlton McKenzie, Seton Hall Sean Zawadzki, Georgetown Luka Prpa, Marquette Paulo Lima, Providence Skage Simonsen, St. John's Younes Boudadi, Creighton Brandon Duarte, St. John's Shane Bradley, Villanova Jan Hoffelner, St. John's | Brandon Guhl, Butler Jack Haywood, Butler Jared Timmer, Butler Kuba Polat, Creighton Connor Alba, Marquette Josh Coan, Marquette Austin Aviza, Providence Danny Griffin, Providence Brandon Knapp, St. John's Einar Lye, St. John's Derrick Otim, Xavier Matthew Rosenberg, Xavier |

### All-Americans

* Consensus All-Americans
* Dylan Nealis – Georgetown
To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors based on a point system computed from the four different all-America teams. The point system consists of three points for first team, two points for second team and one point for third team. No honorable mention or fourth team or lower are used in the computation. The top five totals plus ties are first team and the next five plus ties are second team.
| College Soccer News | Soccer America | Top Drawer Soccer | United Soccer Coaches |
| First Team ||||
| Dylan Nealis – Georgetown | Dylan Nealis – Georgetown | Dylan Nealis – Georgetown Jacob Montes – Georgetown | Dylan Nealis – Georgetown |
| Second Team ||||
| Jacob Montes – Georgetown | None | None | Jacob Montes – Georgetown Derek Dodson – Georgetown |
| Third Team ||||
| None | Jacob Montes – Georgetown Derek Dodson – Georgetown | Sean Zawadzki – Georgetown | Jacob Montes – Georgetown Derek Dodson – Georgetown |

## 2020 MLS Draft

The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was held on January 9, 2020.
| Rnd. | Pick | Player | Pos. | Team | School |
| 1 | 3 | Dylan Nealis | MF | Inter Miami | Georgetown (Sr.) |
| 1 | 10 | Patrick Seagrist | DF | New York Red Bulls | Marquette (Sr.) |
| 1 | 25 | Ifunanyachi Achara | FW | Toronto FC | Georgetown (Sr.) |
| 2 | 34 | Luka Prpa | FW | Houston Dynamo | Marquette (Sr.) |
| 2 | 44 | Austin Aviza | FW | Orlando City | Providence (RS-Sr.) |
| 2 | 49 | Danny Griffin | MF | Columbus Crew | Providence (Sr.) |
| 4 | 80 | Luke Haakenson | MF | Nashville SC | Creighton (Sr.) |
| 4 | 93 | Niko Petridis | MF | New York Red Bulls | St. John's (Sr.) |
| 4 | 102 | Younes Boudadi | DF | Los Angeles FC | Creighton (Sr.) |

## Homegrown players

The Homegrown Player Rule is a Major League Soccer program that allows MLS teams to sign local players from their own development academies directly to MLS first team rosters. Before the creation of the rule in 2008, every player entering Major League Soccer had to be assigned through one of the existing MLS player allocation processes, such as the MLS SuperDraft.
To place a player on its homegrown player list, making him eligible to sign as a homegrown player, players must have resided in that club's home territory and participated in the club's youth development system for at least one year. Players can play college soccer and still be eligible to sign a homegrown contract.
No players in the Big East Conference signed homegrown contracts.