Women's Soccer Heads to D.C. for Wednesday Afternoon Match with Hoyas

Wednesday, October 14

Washington, D.C.

12 P.M.

Xavier University

Georgetown

Women's Soccer Heads to D.C. for Wednesday Afternoon Match with Hoyas

10.13.15 | Women's Soccer

Match with Georgetown originally scheduled to be played Oct. 4

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - The Xavier women's soccer team heads out on the road to begin a three-game road swing, staring with a trip to Washington, D.C. to face the Georgetown Hoyas. The match, which was originally scheduled for Oct. 4 but was postponed due to weather concerns, is set for Wednesday Oct. 14 with a noon kick. A live stream of the game will be available on the BIG EAST Digital Network and live stats will be available through GUHoyas.com

SERIES HISTORY

Wednesday's match will be the third in the series between Georgetown and Xavier, with the Musketeers trailing 0-2-0 all-time. The first matchup between the two schools came in 2013, during Xavier's inaugural BIG EAST season when the Musketeers fell, 7-1, in Washington, D.C. Last season, Xavier hosted the then-ranked No. 17 Hoyas, holding GU scoreless for over 80 minutes before Rachel Corboz scored to give Georgetown the 1-0 win.

XAVIER'S LAST TIME OUT

Xavier scored its first goal, and first win, of BIG EAST play for the 2015 season, topping Seton Hall, 1-0, on Sunday. Midway through the first period, freshman Samantha Dewey fed the ball from midfield to Maddie Tierney on the right side. Tierney centered the ball for Carlson who played the ball ahead into the box and finished to left side of the net.

Playing down a player in the second half, Seton Hall increased its offensive attack by more than doubling its shots taken the second period, but the goalkeeper Rachel Piccus collected eight saves to preserve the Musketeers' 1-0 advantage.

SCOUTING THE HOYAS

Georgetown (8-5-0, 3-1-0 BIG EAST) Is coming off its first BIG EAST loss of the season, dropping a 1-0 match at Butler on Oct. 11.Butler took the lead in the first 10 minutes of the match off a shot that deflected off the cross bar. The Hoyas ended with a 12-9 advantage in shots, including outshooting the Bulldogs 9-5 in the second half, but Georgetown was unable to score the equalizer, ending a four game winning streak.

Grace Damaska leads the Hoyas with six goals on the season. Rachel Corboz, who scored the game winner in last year's matchup with the Musketeers, lead Georgetown in points with 16, scored on five goals and six assists. Five Hoyas have scored four or more goals this season.

ALFANO PICKS UP BIG EAST HONOR

After playing all 181 minutes on the Xavier backline the last week, sophomore defender Carly Alfano earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Alfano helped the Musketeer defense hold Marquette and Seton Hall scoreless through regulation last week as Xavier went 1-1 with an overtime loss at Marquette (1-0) and a shutout win over Seton Hall on Sunday.

Alfano has played every minute of the Musketeers' last five matches, going back to the double overtime draw with Cincinnati on Sept. 20. The Belle River, Ontario, Canada native has played in each of the Musketeers 13 matches, starting in 12, to log nearly 1030 minutes in the 2015 season. As a freshman, Alfano started in eight of 17 matches she appeared in for the Musketeers.

MUSKETEERS DOUBLE 2014 WINS

The Musketeers earned their sixth win of the season on Sunday after topping Seton Hall, 1-0. The win not only marks the Musketeers' first win in BIG EAST play for the season, it also doubles Xavier's win total from last year with five matches left to play in the regular season.

CARLSON TRIPLES 2014 GOALS

Sophomore Kenadie Carlson knocked in her sixth goal of the season to give the Musketeers the 1-0 win over Seton Hall on Sunday, Oct. 11. The goal was Carlson's second game winner of the season and the Musketeers' first goal in BIG EAST play. Carlson's total goals-scored leads the Musketeers and triples her offensive output from her rookie season (2). Carlson's 15 points (6 g, 3 a) is the second highest on the team behind Samantha Dewey's 16.

BIG EAST LEADERS

The Musketeers rank in the top half of the BIG EAST in creating opportunities for their teammates, standing at fourth in both total assists (24) and assists per game (1.85). Freshman Samantha Dewey leads the Musketeers with six assists, a total tied for third most among all BIG EAST players. Dewey's .46 assist per game also stands as third most in the conference.

Dewey also rates in the top 10 among individuals in the conference for goals scored with five, a number that matches two other players for seventh most in the conference. Her teammate Kenadie Carlson stands in a tie for fifth with Georgetown leading scorer Grace Damaska with six goals scored.

Dewey and Carlson also rank in the top five in the conference for points per game, with Dewey averaging the third most at 1.23 ppg and Carlson's 1.15 ppg coming in as fifth highest. Dewey's 16 total points and Carlson's 15 total points also stand in the top 10.

Defensively, junior goalkeeper Rachel Piccus leads the conference in save percentage, hauling in .838 of shots on-goal taken against her. Piccus' total saves stands at 83 through 13 games, the second most in the BIG EAST. Piccus' average of 6.38 saves per game also rates as the most in the conference.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Xavier remains on the road for its next two games, starting with Villanova on Saturday, Oct. 17 at noon. The match will be available on the BIG EAST Digital Network. The Musketeers then head to St. John's on Oct. 22 for a 7:00 p.m. kick before hosting Creighton for the final home match of the season on Oct. 25 at 1:00 p.m.