Men's Soccer Meets Unbeaten, Top-Ranked Creighton on Road Wednesday

Wednesday, October 28

Omaha, Neb.

8 P.M.

Xavier University

Creighton

Men's Soccer Meets Unbeaten, Top-Ranked Creighton on Road Wednesday

10.26.15 | Men's Soccer

Musketeers return to site of last season's Sweet 16 matchup looking to knock off nation's top-ranked team

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier men's soccer returns to the site of last year's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 showdown on Wednesday night, visiting unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Creighton at Morrison Stadium. First touch is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.

The match will be broadcast live on BEDN and fans can also follow along with live stats and Twitter updates.

SCOUTING CREIGHTON

• For an eighth straight week, the Bluejays (15-0-0, 6-0-0 BIG EAST) are the nation's No. 1-ranked team and hold the top spot according to the NSCAA, College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer.
• Creighton is the last remaining unbeaten and untied team in the nation.
• The Bluejays knocked off Villanova 5-1 on Saturday, firing off a Morrison Stadium record 39 shots on Senior Day. The Bluejays fell behind 1-0 in the 12th minute, but answered a minute later and continued to pour it on in a convincing win.
• The Bluejays have allowed just seven goals in 15 matches this season, ranking fourth in the NCAA in goals against average (0.47) and shutout percentage (60%).
• Equally as potent on offense, the Bluejays lead the nation in shots per match (20.53), shots on goal per match (8.8) and total goals (37).
• Eight starters and 13 lettermen are back from last year's BIG EAST regular season champion team, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals and finished the season ranked seventh in the nation.
• The 15-0-0 start is CU's best since 1993 when the Bluejays began the season 19-0-0.
• A tough out at home, Creighton is 112-19-15 all-time at Morrison Stadium. The Bluejays are riding a 16-match unbeaten streak (15-0-1) at home and are 12-1-0 all-time when playing at home as the nation's top-ranked side.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

• Xavier's goalkeeper, Dallas Jaye, is ranked third in the nation in GAA (0.32) and save percentage (.906). The Musketeers are 7-1-1 with just three goals allowed when he starts. Without Jaye in net, XU is 2-3 overall with eight goals allowed in five matches (1.60 GAA).
• Sophomore forward Matt Vasquenza, XU's second-leading scorer, broke out of a five-match scoring drought with the game-winner in the 95th minute on Saturday against Marquette. Since 2014, Vasquenza is XU's leading scorer with 29 points (11 goals, 7 assists). He scored the go-ahead goal against Creighton in Cincinnati last season before the Bluejays came back to tie the match in the 82nd minute on a Fabian Herbers free kick.
• Creighton junior forward Fabian Herbers is a frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors and leads the nation in points with 33 (12 goals, 9 assists). He was a First Team All-American and the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year in 2014.
• Senior Timo Pitter is CU's second-leading scorer with 17 points (7 goals, 3 assists) and was a Second Team All-American in 2014 in addition to being named the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year.
• Both Pitter and Herbers were on the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
• Senior GK Connor Sparrow (0.47 GAA, eight shutouts) mans the net for Creighton and has played all but 15 minutes this season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Wednesday's match will be the fourth meeting between Xavier and Creighton. CU leads 2-0-1 in the series. The last meeting between the two programs came in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Third Round.
• In the last matchup, XU fell to 12th-seeded Creighton, 2-1, in Omaha, Neb. on Nov. 30, 2014. The loss capped the deepest postseason run in program history. The Bluejays went up 2-0 in the match, getting goals from Fabian Herbers (43') and Fernando Castellanos (62'), before a 70th minute free kick goal by Cory Brown got Xavier on the board. The Musketeers had a couple more chances in the final minutes, but were unable to put another shot on frame.
• The two sides also battled to a 1-1 draw in Cincinnati on Oct. 18, 2014. Matt Vasquenza gave XU the lead in the 57th minute, but CU equalized in the 82nd on a free kick by Fabian Herbers. The result was the highest against an NSCAA-ranked opponent in program history until Xavier's win over No. 5 Indiana in the second round. This season, XU beat No. 2 Notre Dame 1-0 on the road to eclipse that record.
• All four meetings between the two schools have come since the two programs joined the BIG EAST for the 2013 season.

NEXT UP

• The Musketeers return home for Senior Night on Saturday, Oct. 31 against Seton Hall. First touch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.
• Xavier will honor its seven-member graduating class of Dallas Jaye, Vince Shaw, Alex Ridsdale, Calum Latham, Kyle Martin, Rhodes Moore and Chris Moore.
• Coming into Wednesday's match, this year's seniors have led XU to a 48-20-10 (.680) mark and three NCAA Tournament wins since 2012. The 2014 Musketeer senior class holds the program record with 51 wins and a .677 winning percentage.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier got a big win at home on Saturday, knocking off Marquette 1-0 on a 95th minute golden goal by Matt Vasquenza.
• The Musketeers narrowly missed the go-ahead tally in the 38th when Ian Vicars hit the crossbar off a counter and managed well defensively until the breakthrough goal in overtime. Dallas Jaye tied a career-high with six saves.
• With the win, Xavier improved to 3-2-1 in the BIG EAST and kept its grip on fourth-place.

NOTABLE

• Xavier is 9-4-1 overall (3-2-1 BIG EAST) and is unbeaten in its last three matches.
• The Musketeers have been at their best away from home this year, putting up a 5-1-1 road record. That includes a win over then-No. 2 Notre Dame on Sept. 15 and victories against Wisconsin, Cincinnati, DePaul and Villanova.
• 16 of Xavier's 22 goals have come after halftime this fall. The Musketeers have outscored opponents 14-5 in the second half.
• 11 different players have scored a goal this season for the Musketeers. Nine have registered an assist.

XAVIER AGAINST THE BEST

• Under Andy Fleming, the Musketeers are 7-4-2 vs. ranked opponents and a remarkable 5-2-1 against the top-10, including a win at No. 2 Notre Dame this fall and last season's victories against No. 5 Indiana and No. 8 Georgetown.
• In true road games, XU is 1-2 against top-10 opposition.
• This will be the first time the Musketeers have faced an NSCAA No. 1-ranked team under Andy Fleming.
• Xavier picked up the highest-ranked win in program history this fall, beating No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. on Sept. 15.

FLEMING ERA RESULTS VS. TOP 10

vs. No. 8 Charlotte in St. Louis, Mo. on Nov. 10, 2011 (W, 2-1 in OT)
vs. No. 9 Georgetown in Cincinnati, Ohio on Oct. 12, 2013 (W, 2-1)
at No. 4 Creighton in Omaha, Neb. on Oct. 5, 2013 (L, 2-0)
vs. No. 6 Creighton in Cincinnati, Ohio on Oct. 18, 2014 (T, 1-1 in 2OT)
vs. No. 8 Georgetown in Philadelphia, Pa. on Nov. 14, 2014 (W, 1-0)
vs. No. 5 Indiana in Bloomington, Ind. on Nov. 23, 2014 (W, 2-1)
at No. 9 Creighton in Omaha, Neb. on Nov. 30, 2014 (L, 2-1)
at No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. on Sept. 15, 2015 (W, 1-0)
at No. 1 Creighton in Omaha, Neb. on Oct. 28, 2015

DOING IT WITH OFFENSE

• XU is fifth in the BIG EAST Conference in points (59), fifth in goals (22) and goals per game (1.57).
• The Musketeers' 22 goals through 14 matches are also tied for 73rd in the NCAA.
• Senior Alex Ridsdale leads XU in scoring (5g, 1a). His bicycle kick score against IPFW on Tuesday, Sept. 22 was the No. 6 play on ESPN SportsCenter that night.
• The Musketeers have outshot opponents 160-124 overall and 72-50 in shots on goal. Xavier averages 11.4 shots per match and has held opponents to just 8.9 attempts per match.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE

• Xavier has allowed 11 goals in 14 matches, ranking third in the BIG EAST in GAA (0.76). The Musketeers' team GAA is also 23rd in the NCAA.
• Xavier's blanking of Marquette on Saturday was its eighth of the season. In 2014, XU set a program record with 11 clean sheets.
• XU has kept shutouts in six of its last nine matches and ranks seventh in the nation in shutout percentage (57%).
• GK Dallas Jaye is third in the nation with both a 0.32 GAA and .906 save percentage.

WEEKLY HONORS

• Dallas Jaye and Matt Vasquenza were named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for their parts in XU's overtime win against Marquette.

RACE TO THE FINISH

• Xavier's win against Marquette kept the team in control of fourth-place in the BIG EAST standings with three matches to play. The top-six of the league earn bids into the BIG EAST Championship, which will be held at campus sites this season.
• At 3-2-1, the Musketeers trail only unbeaten Creighton and Georgetown (6-0) and Butler (4-2).
• XU will get a chance at two of the league's top three, playing both Creighton (Oct. 28) and Butler (Nov. 5) in its final two road matches.
• Behind Xavier, DePaul and Villanova are tied for fifth at 2-3-1 in league play and would round out the tournament field if the season ended today.

JAYE MAKING BIG IMPACT

• Graduate student Dallas Jaye is 7-1-1 in net for Xavier and is ranked third in the nation in both GAA (0.32) and save percentage (.906).
• Making just his second start of the season at No. 2 Notre Dame, Jaye recorded a career-high six saves and shut out the Irish on Tuesday, Sept. 15. He tied that mark with six saves in Saturday's win against Marquette.
• Jaye was an offseason transfer from USF and missed the first couple weeks of the season playing for Guam in 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Qualifiers. Jaye also missed Xavier's Oct. 10 match against Providence due to national team obligations.

XU IN THE NSCAA POLL

• Xavier has been ranked in the NSCAA Poll in four of nine weeks and has climbed as high as No. 10, but the Musketeers dropped from the poll after back-to-back losses to then-No. 16 Georgetown and Providence earlier in October.
• After beginning the season nationally-ranked for the first time in program history (No. 19), Xavier moved up nine spots to No. 10 on Tuesday, Sept. 1 after its 2-0 start to the season. The top-10 ranking was the third all-time for XU and the second-highest mark in program history.
• The highest NSCAA ranking ever for men's soccer came last October 28 when the squad was rated ninth in the poll – a mark that stands as the highest non-basketball ranking by any current Xavier program in school history.

XU PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH

• The Musketeers were selected to finish fourth in what has arguably become college soccer's premier conference, coming in just behind three preseason top-10 teams in Creighton, Georgetown and Providence. The fourth-place prediction is the highest for XU since entering the league in 2013.
• As a team, Xavier was picked to finish seventh in 2014 and fifth in 2013.

PLENTY LOST, PLENTY BACK

• Despite losing the winningest senior class in Xavier history, the Musketeers returned a seven-man senior group and three of their top-four scorers from 2014 – sophomore Matt Vasquenza (7g, 6a), senior Alex Ridsdale (5g, 4a) and junior Jalen Brown (4g, 2a).

BROWN'S HARDWARE

Sophomore defender Cory Brown, a native of Nelson, New Zealand, picked up a laundry list of preseason honors, including:
• MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
• Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
• College Soccer News Preseason All-America Third Team
• Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Second Team
• Top Drawer Soccer National Top 100 (No. 22)
As a group, Xavier's 11 shutouts and 0.84 GAA were both program records in 2014 and Brown's steady presence in the backline was a big reason. The then-freshman stepped into the starting lineup immediately and did not miss a match. Brown's 23 starts tied a program record and his 2,119 minutes played led XU. On top of his defensive role, Brown added three goals and three assists from the back row and was the team's fifth-leading scorer.

A LOOK BACK ON 2014

In 2014, XU wrapped up the year with a 15-6-2 overall record and went 6-1-2 in the BIG EAST Conference en route to the program's first-ever BIG EAST Championship match and NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances. Setting program records for wins (15), shutouts (11) and team GAA (0.84), the Musketeers also boasted a No. 9 national ranking from the NSCAA on Oct. 28. That mark was the highest non-basketball ranking by any current Xavier athletic program in school history.

AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE

• XU is one of just 15 teams nationally with five straight seasons of at least 10 wins.
• XU is one of just 19 teams nationally to appear in four of last five NCAA Tournaments.
• XU is one of just four BIG EAST teams to make four of the past five NCAA Tournaments.
• XU is one of just 26 programs with multiple NCAA wins in the last three years.
• XU has collected six straight NSCAA Team Academic Awards, while the 2012 team boasted the nation's top GPA among Division I private institutions.
• Since 2012, XU has posted two top-10 national rankings, a top-10 MLS pick, led the nation in fewest yellow cards and carried a top-10 GPA.