Women's Soccer Heads to No. 25 St. John's on Thursday

Thursday, October 22

Jamaica, N.Y.

7 P.M.

Xavier University

St. John's

Women's Soccer Heads to No. 25 St. John's on Thursday

10.21.15 | Women's Soccer

Match with Red Storm to be streamed on ESPN3.com

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - The Xavier women's soccer team faces one of the toughest challenges the BIG EAST has to offer on Thursday when the Musketeers head to New York to face No. 25 St. John's. The Musketeers and the Red Storm are set for a 7:00 p.m. first kick in a match that will be available on ESPN3.com. Links to live stats are available at GoXavier.com.

SERIES HISTORY

Wednesday's match will be the third in the series between St. John's 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, 2-0, in New York. Last season, the Red Storm topped Xavier, 2-0, after SJU's Shea Connors scored the game winner just out of the halftime break. Allie Moar added the insurance goal in the 70^th minute.

SCOUTING ST. JOHN'S

The Red Storm bring a stellar 12-2-1 record into the match against Xavier, including a 4-1-1 conference mark to earn a top-25 ranking from. SJU is coming off a 1-1 double overtime draw with BIG EAST leaders DePaul in Chicago last Sunday. After DePaul took the lead in the 26^th minute, Rachel Daly, who was the second-leading scorer in the country going into the match with the Blue Demons, scored the equalizer 61^st minute.
The goal against DePaul brought Daly's team-high total for the season to 16, with four assists. Christina Bellero has added four for the Red Storm. Shea Connors, who scored the game winner against the Musketeers last season, has a team-best five assists on the season.

LAST TIME OUT

Goals from Maggie Hare and Samantha Dewey led the Musketeers as Xavier picked up the 2-0 road win at Villanova on Saturday, its second BIG EAST win of the season. Early in the first half, Hare finished a cross from Emily Calvani from outside the box, placing the game winner in the far corner of the net.

The Musketeers added an insurance goal in the 79th minute after Dewey scored from just outside the six yard box off a pass from Skylar Groth to set the final score at 2-0 in favor of the Musketeers.

HARE ENTERS SCORING COLUMN

Hare's goal against Villanova marks the first the season for the junior. She knocked in the only goal the Musketeers would need at the 12 minute mark after Addie Englehart brought the ball up field on the near side. Englehart played the ball ahead to Emily Calvani who crossed to Hare just outside the box. Hare's strike from 18 yards out found the far corner of the net to put the Musketeers up 1-0.

After starting her Xavier career out strong, the West Chester, Ohio native has been dealing with injury for much of the past two seasons. Hare started each of the eight games she played in as a freshman, scoring three goals, including a pair of game winners, during her rookie season.

DEWEY CONTINUES STRONG START

Freshman Samantha Dewey added another tally to her total goals on Saturday, now matching Kenadie Carlson for team high with six. The rookie scored the insurance goal in the second half against Villanova when, shortly after checking back into the match, she received the ball in the box from Skylar Groth. Dewey finished from six yards out to the far corner to put the Musketeers up 2-0.
In addition to matching Carlson for team high in goals (6), Dewey also holds the team high in assists (6) and points (18).

XAVIER MORE THAN DOUBLE WINS

The Musketeers earned their seventh win of the season on Saturday after topping Seton Hall, 2-0, after winning only three games in all of 2014. Xavier stands in a tie for seventh place in the BIG EAST standings, with six points on two conference wins, just a point out of sixth place with three games remaining. The top six teams advance to the BIG EAST Tournament after the regular season.

BALANCED OFFENSIVE ATTACK

Through 15 games, 15 different Musketeers have scored points after only nine did so for all of 2014. Xavier has more than doubled its offensive output for last season (10 goals), posting 24 goals so far in 2015. Ten Musketeers have knocked in a goal, while 11 Musketeers have collected assists.

The Musketeers' scoring effort is led by six goals each from freshman Samantha Dewey and sophomore Kenadie Carlson through 15 games. Dewey's six goals and team-high six assists give her a team-leading 18 points.

DEFENSE REMAINS STRONG

Saturday's 2-0 win over Villanova marks the seventh shutout of the season for the Musketeers, matching the 2011 team's total for fifth most in school history. Two shutout BIG EAST wins, over Seton Hall and Villanova, mark the most for the Musketeers in the three seasons they've been competing in the conference.

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 (26) and assists per game (1.73). Freshman Samantha Dewey leads the Musketeers with six assists, a total tied for fifth most among all BIG EAST players. Dewey's 0.40 assist per game also stands as fifth most in the conference.

Dewey, as well as teammate Kenadie Carlson, rates in the top 10 among individuals in the conference for goals scored with six, a number that stands at sixth most in the conference, as does the pair's average of 0.40 goals per game. Dewey and Carlson also rank in the top 10 in the conference for points per game, with Dewey averaging the fifth most at 1.20 ppg and Carlson's 1.0 ppg coming in as eighth highest. Dewey's 18 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 .836 of shots on-goal taken against her. Piccus' total saves stands at 97 through 15 games, the most in the BIG EAST. Piccus' average of 6.47 saves per game also rates as the most in the conference.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Xavier returns home to host Creighton for the final home match of the season on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1:05 p.m. in a match that will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network. The Musketeers will close out the season on the road at Butler on Friday, Oct. 30 with a 7:00 p.m. first touch.