If all the talk of Creighton’s new conference has you feeling a little overwhelmed, you’re not alone. Hoping to better educate ourselves, we talked to some national soccer writers for their opinions about the new Big East and got their opinions and predictions for the coming season.
Stevie Neumann and the Georgetown Hoyas are early favorites to win the Big East crown this fall.
We’re happy to have gotten such great answers from our esteemed colleagues, but it’s important to note that so much can change between now and the start of regular season play. One injury in the spring season or one late-summer transfer can really change the whole landscape in college soccer. We know, for example, that Creighton head coach Elmar Bolowich relies heavily on recruiting transfers and international players. That can make it difficult to get a look at the team before everyone reports back to campus in the fall. In short, what you are about to read is very preliminary and is almost certain to change in the next six months.
We’d also like to hear from you. Be sure to add your voice to the discussion in the comments below, or join the fray over on The Bluejay Underground.
WBR: When all of this conference realignment is finished, who do you see as being the strongest soccer conferences in the U.S.? Where do you see the (new) Big East ranking in its first few seasons?
J.R. Eskilson, Top Drawer Soccer: I think arguments can be made for the Big East, Big Ten, and ACC for the strongest conference – all three conferences have top teams that look likely to contend for National Championships for years to come. Big Ten will be interesting with the addition of Maryland, but can [head coach Sasho] Cirovski keep his program going without the allure of ACC play for recruits? And does the ACC mean as much now with all of this shuffle? These are the types of questions that I think will be figured out quickly when the recruiting classes for 2014 and 2015 start to materialize. The Big East is interesting to me in that there are a few good programs (Xavier, Marquette, etc.) that haven’t made the jump to top level program yet, but look close to reaching the plateau. It could create a conference where they all beat up on each other though. If one of those three reaches the level of St. John’s, Creighton, and Georgetown, it’ll be difficult to argue against Big East as the strongest conference moving forward.
Travis Clark, Top Drawer Soccer: I think that the Big Ten, ACC and new Big East will be the top three. Sorting that order will be difficult — I could see a Big Ten led by Maryland, Indiana and Michigan being tops, although the ACC could still have some power, led by Wake Forest, Virginia and Duke, while the new Big East featuring Georgetown, Marquette, Creighton and a rising Xavier might contest for that. If I had to project how they would rate, I would go Big East, Big Ten, then ACC.
Bob Bradner, College Soccer News: The competition that Creighton will face in the new conference will be much tougher from top to bottom than the competition that the Bluejays faced in the Missouri Valley Conference. All the programs have the potential to be very competitive. But when all the changes have been made and the dust has settled I still see the ACC as the dominant conference — I am not sure yet how I would rank the other conferences.
WBR: Who is your very-very-early prediction for Big East regular season champion in 2013? Where do you see Creighton finishing, if not in first place?
JRE: Georgetown. I think Brandon Allen and Stevie Neumann will make one of the most dynamic attacks in college soccer. I expect Alex Muyl and Josh Yaro to step into the lineup immediately as freshman. I could see Creighton finishing anywhere from first to sixth. I’ll guess the Jays end up somewhere around third — saying Marquette finishes above them.
TC: Georgetown will win first, Marquette second, and Creighton in third.
BB: Creighton, Georgetown, St. John’s, Marquette and Xavier look to be the frontrunners in 2013. We thought the 2012 season was going to be a rebuilding year at Creighton but the Bluejays proved otherwise with a great run to the Final Four. Creighton always has to be in the discussion when it comes to programs that are consistently successful. There are again some key holes to plug, but with Sean Kim and Timo Pitter returning up-top and Eric Miller in the midfield, the Jays will clearly be among the favorites to win the 2013 Big East title. The additional travel time and the fact that the Jays will be playing in a lot of new venues are challenges that must be overcome. However, Creighton has always traveled well so that should not be a problem.
Who are some exciting young players in the Big East for whom we should keep an eye out in the years to come?
JRE: Muyl and Yaro will be freshmen to watch in 2013. However, C. Nortey may be the player who decides this conference. Nortey, a Marquette redshirt sophomore in 2013, was unbelievable during his freshman in Wisconsin. He lost 2012 to injury, but if he returns to that 2011 level in 2013, he will be the player to watch. Axel Sjoberg is another stud for Marquette too.
TC: Georgetown has a very good recruiting class, with Joshua Yaro likely to make the biggest splash as a freshman in the fall.
BB: Georgetown under Brian Wiese, Marquette under Louis Bennett, and Xavier under Andy Fleming have a ton of momentum, which bodes well for their continued success. The Hoyas will return a very talented and hungry team led by senior Steve Neumann and sophomore Brandon Allen up top. Neumann and Allen have to be among the most dangerous and exciting forward duos heading into the 2013 season. Georgetown will also welcome incoming freshmen forwards Brett Campbell and Alex Muyl who are very highly regarded recruits. Forward C. Nortey is also scheduled to return for Marquette after missing the 2012 season due to a knee injury. Xavier returns twin-brother midfielders Matt and Will Walker. [Ed.: The Walker brothers teamed up last year for 27 goals and 19 assists.]
Philadelphia’s PPL Park will host the Big East Men’s Soccer championship in 2013.
Which Big East team are you most excited to watch in the new conference this season?
JRE: Most of the teams. In terms of style of play, the Big East has some of my favorite teams in the country. Marquette will be good once again with Bryan Cieslulka pulling the strings. And Elmar’s teams are always interesting to watch play — from a tactics standpoint.
TC: I am interested to see how Creighton fares in the new league. A perennial soccer power gets to step up to a higher level of competition.
BB: I’m old school in the sense that I liked it when conferences were aligned around geographical areas of the county because I believe that helped to create natural rivalries and made it easier for fans to literally follow their schools. As someone who grew up in the heart of Atlantic Coast Conference territory it’s hard to see Maryland in the Big Ten rather than the Atlantic Coast Conference. … Having said that, we’re not naive about what is driving realignment and understand that schools have to look for what is the best fit for them. The level of competition should benefit Creighton from an RPI standpoint and it might even be a plus on the recruiting trail.