Field hockey resumes BIG EAST action this weekend, starting with No. 5 Connecticut traveling to Georgetown and No. 16 Louisville hosting Rutgers on Friday. Conference play continues Saturday when No. 19 Providence hosts Villanova. Non-conference action features top-20 matchups when No. 9 Massachusetts travels to No. 6 Syracuse on Saturday. Top-20 games continue Sunday with the fifth-ranked Huskies at No. 7 Princeton, No. 8 Michigan State faces off at the 16th-ranked Cardinals and No. 20 Albany squares off against the Orange.
Also in action on Saturday: Rutgers vs. No. 8 Michigan State (in Louisville, Ky.) and Georgetown at Richmond.
The BIG EAST football schedule is highlighted by the start of conference play for four teams, including a Friday-night matchup on ESPN2 between Pittsburgh and Louisville at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The Cardinals have won five of the last six in the series, though the Panthers were 41-7 winners last year in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals have won the last three meetings in Louisville.
Saturday’s games have unbeaten USF visiting Syracuse for the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week, while No. 10/11 Cincinnati looks to remain perfect in 2009 as the Bearcats battle Miami (Ohio) for the Victory Bell in Oxford, Ohio (ESPN360.com).
BIG EAST volleyball opens its second weekend of conference play today with 10 teams in action. Rutgers travels to Syracuse, Seton Hall at Marquette, St. John’s at Georgetown, Connecticut at USF and DePaul hosts Villanova. Play continues on Saturday when West Virginia is at Louisville and Pittsburgh heads to Cincinnati. The weekend’s slate wraps up on Sunday with Pittsburgh at Louisville, Villanova at Notre Dame, Connecticut at Georgetown, Rutgers at Marquette, West Virginia at Cincinnati, St. John’s at USF and Seton Hall at Syracuse.
A full slate of eight BIG EAST women’s soccer games are on the schedule Friday, including a nationally televised matchup featuring No. 10/8 Notre Dame at West Virginia on ESPNU at 6 p.m. ET. It is the first meeting between the teams since the epic title game matchup in the 2007 BIG EAST Championship, held in Morgantown, W.Va.
The Mountaineers tied Notre Dame 1-1 in double-overtime, but won the tournament title on penalty kicks 5-3. Notre Dame carries an unbeaten streak against BIG EAST opponents of 55 consecutive matches (53-0-2), tying the NCAA record first set by North Carolina during Atlantic Coast Conference play from 1994-2000.
Other action on the day includes Georgetown at Providence, Cincinnati at Syracuse, DePaul at Pittsburgh, Villanova at No. RV/16 Connecticut, Louisville at No. 17/12 St. John’s, Seton Hall at USF and No. 13/13 Rutgers at Marquette. Sunday’s action includes DePaul at West Virginia, Louisville at Syracuse, No. 13/13 Rutgers at USF, Cincinnati at No. 17/12 St. John’s, Villanova at Providence, No. 10/8 Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, Georgetown at No. RV/16 Connecticut and Seton Hall at Marquette.
Men’s soccer begins BIG EAST divisional play with eight games over the weekend. The only top-25 matchup of the weekend will feature No. RV/13 Georgetown at No. RV/22 Connecticut on Saturday night. The Huskies are 12-8-2 against Georgetown dating back to Oct. 14, 1990. UConn has not lost to the Hoyas since 2001, holding a 6-0-1 record in the last seven years.
Seton Hall plays at Notre Dame and Syracuse plays at Rutgers on Friday night. Saturday’s games include St. John’s at Villanova, Providence at Pittsburgh, No. 17/20 Louisville at DePaul, No. RV/13 Georgetown at No. RV/22 Connecticut, Cincinnati at No. 6/7 USF and West Virginia at Marquette.
Courtesy: BIG EAST Conference
