WSOU

Game Preview: Seton Hall battles Xavier for tournament spot (10/27/18)

Date: October 27, 2018

By Alex Melillo

With Seton Hall’s (6-5-2) Big East season hanging in the balance, the Pirates return home to host the Xavier Musketeers (4-7-5) on Senior Night at Owen T. Carroll Field.

After a crucial win at Butler on Wednesday, a 2-1 victory in which striking partners Carlton McKenzie and CJ Tibbling each tallied a goal, the Pirates return to friendly territory for the final time in the 2018 campaign. Both teams come into the game at 2-4-1 in the Big East this season, with both squads having a chance to jump as high as joint fifth in the table if fixtures break their way.

Seton Hall will look to see continued production from freshman star forward, Tibbling. The first-year striker owns five goals in his first year in the white and blue. Tibbling scored an early second half goal to tie up the game for Coach Lindberg’s squad. The Pirates are on a good run the past couple of games, winning two of their three with one of the wins coming in a non-conference game against NJIT.

Xavier comes to the Garden State in a rut, losers of their last five games, three of which coming against conference opponents. During their five game losing streak, the Musketeers have given up nine goals while scoring only three.

The man to watch out for in the Xavier squad is Simen Hestnes. The midfielder from Oslo, Norway has been a constant producer for his side leading Xavier in both goals and assists with seven and five respectively. Xavier is a middle of the road offensive team in the Big East, scoring 1.31 goals per contest, compared to an even 1.00 by The Hall.

Both teams sit in seventh in the conference standings, just one point out of the crucial sixth spot needed for Big East tournament qualification. The game will kick off at 6 pm from Owen T. Carroll Field.

Alex Mellilo can be reached at alexjmel@hotmail.com

Posted in: Game Previews, Sports, WSOU

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