Three BIG EAST men’s soccer teams opened 2011 NCAA Championship play on Thursday, with Providence, West Virginia and Rutgers all winning to advance to the second round. All three teams hosted their first-round games.
Providence defeated Dartmouth 1-0 to advance to the NCAA Tournament second round for the third time and the second consecutive season. Senior John Raley scored his second goal of the season in the 11th minute to account for the lone goal of the match. The Friars (11-7-1) will travel to play UC Santa Barbara at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 20.
West Virginia (11-7-1) defeated Xavier 2-1 in overtime and will advance to play No. 5 seed Maryland on Sunday at 5 p.m. in the second round. Sophomore forward Jay Williams opened scoring for the Mountaineers and junior defender Eric Schoenle scored the golden goal in the 99th minute for WVU advance.
Rutgers (10-6-3) rolled by Colgate 4-2 in Piscataway, N.J. with goals from Bryant Knibbs, Nate Bourdeau, Juan Pablo Correa. RU will play at No. 4 seed Boston College on Sunday at 1 p.m., advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003.
Providence, West Virginia and Rutgers join four BIG EAST teams waiting for the second round to start to host their first NCAA game of the 2011 postseason.
No. 3 seed Connecticut will host Monmouth at 1 p.m. on Nov. 20 and No. 7 seed USF will host UCF at 6 p.m.
No. 9 seed St. John’s will host Brown and seed No. 12 Louisville will play Bradley, with both matches kicking off at 7 p.m.
