Men's Soccer Opens 2017 Season Against No. 21/22 Loyola Chicago

Friday, August 25

XU Soccer Complex

7:30 PM

Xavier University

Loyola Chicago

Men's Soccer Opens 2017 Season Against No. 21/22 Loyola Chicago

08.24.17 | Men's Soccer

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Musketeers return to home field for first time since 2016 season opener against Evansville

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier men's soccer officially kicks off the 2017 season at home on Friday, August 25 hosting No. 21/22 Loyola Chicago at XU Soccer Complex.

First touch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will follow a home match for the XU women's soccer team at 4:30 p.m.

The Musketeers are coming off an 8-8-3 campaign a year ago and are returning to their home facility for the first time in nearly a year after flooding rendered the XU Soccer Complex unplayable for most of last season.

XU brings back seven starters and 19 letterwinners overall after reaching the BIG EAST Quarterfinals and earning results against three ranked teams in 2016.

THE OPPONENT

2017 Home Opener
vs. LOYOLA CHICAGO RAMBLERS
Match Info: Friday, Aug. 25 – 7:30p.m. – XU Soccer Complex
2016 Record: 14-4-1, 6-1-1 Missouri Valley Conference
Postseason: MVC Seminfinals, NCAA Tournament Second Round

Notable:
The Ramblers are ranked No. 22 in the College Soccer News preseason poll and No. 21 in the Top Drawer Soccer preseason rankings.
• The Ramblers are coming off their first regular season championship in the Missouri Valley Conference. It was the first league title for Loyola since 2007.
• The squad won Loyola's first-ever NCAA game last season, defeating UIC 2-0 in the first round.
• Loyola Chicago leads the all-time series 5-3-3, but the two programs have not met since the 2006 season. XU's last win against the Ramblers came in a 3-2 decision on the road on Sept. 26, 1993.

PROMOTIONS

FRIDAY NIGHT DOUBLEHEADER: One ticket provides admission to both the men's and women's soccer games on Friday. The women's soccer team kicks off the doubleheader with a 4:30 first kick at XU Soccer Complex.
POSTER GIVEAWAY: The first 250 fans in attendance will receive the 2017 Men's Soccer poster.
STUDENT GIVEAWAY: The first 500 students in attendance will receive a vuvuzela!

XU IN SEASON OPENERS

• Xavier begins its 44th season of men's soccer in 2017.
• The Musketeers have put together a 3-2-2 record in their last seven season openers, including results against Evansville (3-1 win in 2016), Eastern Illinois (8-0 win in 2015), Marshall (1-0 win in 2011) and No. 20 Northwestern (1-1 tie in 2012).
• The Musketeers are 13-22-8 all-time in season openers.

CORY COLLECTS ACCOLADES

Senior defender Cory Brown, a native of Nelson, New Zealand, has collected an impressive list of awards during the preseason:

BROWN'S 2017 PRESEASON HONORS
• MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
• Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year (second straight season)
• Unanimous selection to Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
• Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Second Team
• College Soccer News Preseason All-America Second Team
• No. 13 on Top Drawer Soccer list of best players in college soccer

PRESEASON WRAP-UP

• Xavier ended the 2017 preseason with a 1-1-1 record, including a 3-0 win over Marian (Ind.) and a 1-1 draw against ACC foe Duke.
• In the result against Duke, XU outshot the Blue Devils 15-6 and had a 12-5 edge in corners.
• Matt Vasquenza scored goals in all three preseason games after scoring in each of the Musketeers' spring matches as well, giving him a goal in nine straight exhibitions.

WHAT'S BACK

• Xavier returns 19 letterwinners and seven starters from last season's team, including its leading scorer in Matt Vasquenza and top defender in Cory Brown.
• The roster consists of eight freshmen, 10 sophomores, seven juniors and four seniors. 10 of those players are newcomers to the roster, including transfers Sean Wilson (UNC) and Simen Hestnes (LIU Brooklyn).
• XU's leading scorer in 2016, Matt Vasquenza brings back 17 career goals and should reach the top-10 in program history with another productive season.
• XU's typically-balanced offense saw 11 players record an assist or score a goal last season. Seven players who contributed points last season return to this year's roster, although senior Matt Nance (3g, 4a) will miss the season with an injury.
• The senior class of Cory Brown, Matt Vasquenza, Matt Nance and Josh Grant have led the team to a 35-20-6 (.623) record since 2014.
• The Musketeers bring back 59.3 percent (16-of-27) of their scoring and 59.8 percent (52-of-87) of their points.

HOLES TO FILL

• Midfielders Jalen Brown and Majed Osman departed after combining for 107 shots and eight goals last season. Both offensive weapons made 19 starts and leave big shoes to fill in the Musketeer midfield.
• Another midfielder, Walker Andriot, transferred to Louisville for his final season of eligibility after contributing a goal and three assists in 19 starts last season.
• Longtime stalwart Todd Pratzner graduated after making 70 career starts at center back for XU.
• In addition to player turnover, XU has an entirely new look on the sidelines with David Costa, Kevin Reiman and Jamie Starr all new additions to the coaching staff. Starr returns to XU as goalkeepers coach after spending over a year with the USL club FC Cincinnati.

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

1. Providence (9) – 81 pts.
2. Creighton (1) – 70
3. Butler – 68
4. Villanova – 52
5. Georgetown – 46
6. Xavier – 45
7. Marquette – 30
8. St. John's – 27
9. DePaul – 21
10. Seton Hall – 10

First place votes in ( )

BIG EAST PRESEASON HONORS

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Mac Steeves, Providence, RS-Sr., F *

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Cory Brown, Xavier, Sr., D *

Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
JT Marcinkowski, Georgetown, Jr. *

2017 Men's Soccer Preseason All-BIG EAST #
Ricky Lopez-Espin, Creighton, Sr., F
Mac Steeves, Providence, RS-Sr., F
Harry Cooksley, St. John's, So., F ^
Lewis Suddick, Butler, So., M
Jared Timmer, Butler, Jr., M
Christopher Lema, Georgetown, Sr., M
Luka Prpa, Marquette, So., M
Andreas Bartosinksi, Villanova, Sr., M
Lucas Stauffer, Creighton, Jr., D
Mark Jecewiz, Providence, RS-Jr., D
Cory Brown, Xavier, Sr., D ^
JT Marcinkowski, Georgetown, Jr., GK

AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE

• Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the last seven seasons.
• The Musketeers have won 10 or more matches in six of the last seven seasons.
• Xavier is the only program in the nation with five consecutive major conference awards, including 2016 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Cory Brown.
• XU has qualified for four consecutive BIG EAST Championships, including a trip to the title game in 2014.
• XU has been ranked in the nation's top-10 three times in the last five years. by the NSCAA.
• In 2015, XU knocked off the national No. 1 (Creighton) and No. 2 (Notre Dame) on the road last season. The Musketeers are widely believed to be the first program to ever knock off both a No. 1 and a No. 2 on the road in the same season.
• Three XU players have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last six years, including 2017 second rounder Jalen Brown (38th overall).