Women's Soccer Hosts Creighton for Senior Day, Annual Pink Game

Sunday, October 25

Cincinnati, Ohio

1 P.M.

Xavier University

Creighton

Women's Soccer Hosts Creighton for Senior Day, Annual Pink Game

10.23.15 | Women's Soccer

Musketeers close out home slate on Sunday at 1 PM

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer closes out it's home schedule on Sunday, Oct. 25, when the Musketeers host Creighton for 1:05 p.m. match. Prior to the match. Xavier will celebrate its six senior players who will be playing in the final home game of their careers. A live stream will be available through the BIG EAST Digital Network and live stats are available through GoXavier.com.

SENIOR DAY

Xavier will honor its six senior players prior to the match with Creighton. Congratulations to Catherine Allon (Geneva, Ill.), Megan Dalton (Cincinnati, Ohio), Maria Libertin (Akron, Ohio), Erin McGauley (St. Louis, Mo.), Kassidy Mikula (Washington, Mich.) and Emma Smith (Indianapolis, Ind.) for all they've accomplished as Musketeers!

PROMOTIONS - THINK PINK

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer will be in attendance at the following Xavier home events with informational material and different ways you can offer your support:

Saturday, Oct. 24: Volleyball vs. Butler at 4 p.m. and Men's Soccer vs. Marquette at 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 25: Women's Soccer vs. Creighton at 1 p.m.

At each event, pink Xavier tumblers will be handed out for the first 100 fans and first 100 students, so don't miss out! We encourage you to come out and support Xavier Athletics and anyone who has been affected by breast cancer.

Xavier Women's Soccer is participating in a fundraising campaign and needs your help! For every home and away goal scored during the month of October, fans can choose an allotted amount to donate towards the fight against breast cancer. To make a pledge, please complete the form here.

For more information on Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, please visit www.makingstrideswalk.org.

SERIES HISTORY

Sunday's match marks the sixth in series history between Xavier and Creighton, with the Musketeers leading 3-2-0 all time. The series dates back to a pair of games played in the early 90s, with Xavier taking the 2-0 in 1992, and falling, 4-3, in overtime in 1995. Another edition of the match up was played in 2002, with Xavier topping the Bluejays, 3-1, in Omaha. The series was rekindled with regularity when the Musketeers joined the BIG EAST in 2013. Xavier took the win in its inaugural season, topping the Bluejays 2-0 for the program's first-ever BIG EAST road win. Last season, the Musketeers fell, 1-0 at home after CU's Madelyn Buckner scored in the 50^th minute.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON

Creighton is coming off a 2-1 double overtime loss to Butler on Thursday night. The Bulldogs struck first, taking the 1-0 lead early in the second period. In the 63^rd minute, a corner from CU's Emily Roll resulted in a handball in the box against Butler. On the resulting penalty kick, the Bluejay's Ylenia Sachau scored the equalizer for her sixth goal of the season. The two teams remained in a 1-1 draw through the end of regulation and 17 minute of extra time before Butler chipped in the golden goal to take the win.

Lauren Sullivan leads the Bluejays with 10 goals on the season, and Sachau's six stands as second most on the team. Jill Richgels' seven assists leads Creighton.

MUSKETEERS' LAST TIME OUT

Xavier women's soccer held one of the top teams in the conference scoreless for over 80 minutes, but a strike from one of the best offensive threats in the nation in the closing minutes of play gave No. 25 St. John's the 1-0 win over the Musketeers on Thursday night. The Musketeer defense had locked down SJU's Rachel Daly, the second-leading scorer in the nation coming into the game, until the 83rd minute when Daly found the ball in the 18-yard box with a clean look at the corner of the goal. Daly placed the ball in corner of the net for her 17th goal of the season, putting the Red Storm ahead, 1-0, with seven minutes remaining.

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 against Villanova, 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).

MUSKETEERS 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 16 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 16 games. Dewey's six goals and team-high six assists give her a team-leading 18 points.

DEFENSE REMAINS STRONG

Xavier'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 (1.62). Freshman Samantha Dewey leads the Musketeers with six assists, a total tied for fifth most among all BIG EAST players. Dewey's 0.38 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 eighth most in the conference, as does the pair's average of 0.38 goals per game. Dewey also ranks in the top 10 in the conference for points per game, averaging the fifth most at 1.12 ppg. Dewey's 18 total points also stands in the top 10 in the conference.

Defensively, junior goalkeeper Rachel Piccus leads the conference in save percentage, hauling in .841 of shots on-goal taken against her. Piccus' total saves stands at 106 through 16 games, the most in the BIG EAST. Piccus' average of 6.62 saves per game also rates as the most in the conference.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Musketeers will close out the season on the road at Butler on Friday, Oct. 30 with a 7:00 p.m. first touch on the BIG EAST Digital Network.