Men's Soccer Sinks Seton Hall, 3-1

Saturday, October 11

South Orange, N.J.

1:00 PM

Xavier University

8-3-1, 2-0-1

Seton Hall

3-6-2, 0-3-0

Xavier

Seton Hall

Will Walker put the Musketeers up for good in the 32nd minute, burying a penalty kick for his 20th career goal.

10.11.14 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Oct. 11, 2014

Box Score | Box Score 

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Xavier men's soccer extended its season-long unbeaten streak to six, moving into a tie for first-place in the BIG EAST Conference with a 3-1 win over Seton Hall on Saturday at Owen T. Carroll Field.

The Musketeers (8-3-1, 2-0-1 BIG EAST) got scores from Cory Brown (17') and Will Walker (32') before the half and put the match away late when Matt Vasquenza buried his team-leading fourth goal in the 81st minute.

"I look at today through two sets of lenses," said head coach Andy Fleming. "First off, we got a road win and scored three goals in doing so as our key offensive guys made some big plays. We also learned some lessons and responded well after allowing a disappointing goal. We rode 12 hours on a bus and acclimated to the trip well. "However, this is the second game we've allowed a soft goal and also the second straight game where we could have kept command of the game only to let the other team back in. I think our young group is still learning the price tag associated with keeping their hands on the game and how important each moment is."

"Having said that, to win and learn lessons is every coaches wish and I like this group and their ability to be pushed, to be coached and to grow," said Fleming. "Wednesdays DePaul game promises to be a dogfight and is an opponent we have a lot of respect for as we welcome head coach and XU alum Craig Blazer back to Cincinnati." 

Seton Hall dropped to 3-6-2 and 0-3 in the conference with the loss. The Musketeers are now tied with Georgetown (seven points) in the conference standings and hold a one-point lead over Creighton, which will host Butler in league play later tonight.

Xavier began the match with a flurry of offense, getting a pair of shots in the first 10 minutes by Alex Ridsdale and Walker, but both sailed high.

In the 12th minute, Vasquenza had a shot blocked at the 11:44 mark before Walker Andriot sent it back on frame only to see it saved by SHU keeper Julian Spindler.

In the 17th minute, Alex Ridsdale teed up a corner and found the head of Garrett Halfhill, who re-directed the ball to the middle of the box. Cory Brown was there to finish it off for his second goal of the season.

Ridsdale, who is from the same hometown as Brown in Nelson, New Zealand, has assisted on both of Brown's goals this season.

After getting outshot 5-0 in the first 20 minutes, Seton Hall took advantage of its first opportunity. The Pirates were able to equalize off a corner kick in the 22nd as Bolu Akinyode finished a deflection to make it 1-1.

Xavier would go ahead for good in the 32nd minute when Brown was taken down in the box, earning XU its first penalty kick of the season. Walker answered the bell and beat Spindler for his third goal of the season.

Seton Hall was aggressive late in the stanza, getting three more shots off before the break, but did not get any attempts on target as XU outshot the Pirates 7-4 and held a 4-3 edge in corners during the opening half.

Vasquenza put the match away in the 81st minute, finishing from six yards out off a ball from Owen Steinwall to make it 3-1.

For the match, Xavier held an 11-9 edge in shots and 7-3 advantage in corner kicks. Senior keeper Eric Osswald made three saves, extending his personal record unbeaten streak to nine consecutive starts.

Xavier returns to action at home on Wednesday, facing DePaul at 4:00 p.m. ET at XU Soccer Complex.

Notes: XU leads the all-time series against Seton Hall 2-0... Xavier's six-match unbeaten streak is its longest since winning six straight from Oct. 9 to Nov. 2, 2013... Xavier (seven points) moved past Creighton (six points) and into a tie for first-place in the BIG EAST with the win... Xavier is 8-1-1 since Sept. 4... Vasquenza's goal gave him the team lead with four... Brown's goal was his second of the season and first since his golden goal vs. Cornell on Sept. 7... Halfhill's assist was his first of the year and fourth of his career... Ridsdale's assist was his third of the season and his second on a goal by Brown... both Brown and Ridsdale hail from the same hometown in Nelson, New Zealand... Walker's penalty kick was the first attempted or converted by Xavier since Luke Spencer converted on Oct. 21, 2012 at St. Bonaventure... the goal was his third of the season and 20th of his career... Osswald's win was the 19th of his Xavier career, tying him for second in program history... Osswald is unbeaten in his last nine starts... Steinwall's assist was the first point of his career... Steinwall is the 10th player on the roster to contribute a point in 2014...