Women's Soccer Closes out Season at Butler

Friday, October 30

Indianapolis, Ind.

7 P.M.

Xavier University

Butler

10.29.15 | Women's Soccer

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - The Xavier women's soccer team travels to Indianapolis on Friday, Oct. 30 to close out the season against Butler. The Musketeers (8-8-1; 3-5-0 BIG EAST) will look to seal a winning season with a victory over the Bulldogs on the BIG EAST Digital Network, with first touch scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

Friday's match-up marks the 19^th game in series history between the Musketeers and the Bulldogs, with Xavier trailing 7-9-2 all-time. The series began in 1991 as part of MCC conference play, with the Musketeers taking wins in the first three match-ups. The series briefly went on hiatus after the Musketeers moved to the A-10, playing once in 1995 as non-conference opponents and resuming in 2001, playing every year since with the exception of 2007. Since Xavier and Butler have joined the BIG EAST, the Musketeers are 0-2 against the Bulldogs.

Last season, Butler came away with a 2-1 win in Cincinnati. The Bulldogs took the first lead just out of halftime on a goal from Christy Chou. Less than five minutes later then-freshman Kenadie Carlson scored the equalizer, her second goal of the season, but the tie was short lived. BU's Elise Kotsakis scored the game winner less than a minute later to set the final score.

SCOUTING BUTLER

The Bulldogs (12-6-1; 5-3-0 BIG EAST) are coming off a 1-0 loss to Marquette last Sunday. MU's Darian Powell scored the game winner in the 32^nd minute to give the Golden Eagles the win.

Butler stands in a tie for fifth place in the conference with Providence. The Bulldogs will finish no worse than sixth in the BIG EAST, guaranteeing BU a spot in the conference championships. Freshman Halle Stelbasky leads the Bulldogs with eight goals on the season and has added three assists through 19 games. Senior Sophia Maccagnone and junior Serina Kashimoto each have a team-high four assists while ranking second and third, respectively, in goals with seven and five.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier closed out its home schedule by sending the 2015 seniors out with the most convincing BIG EAST win in program history, topping Creighton, 3-0. The win moves the Musketeers to 8-8-1 and marks the third win conference play, the most in the three years Xavier has competed in the BIG EAST. Kenadie Carlson scored the game winner in the 20^th minute, and Skylar Groth and Samantha Dewey added insurance goals in the second half to give the Musketeers the 3-0 win, the largest margin of victory the Musketeers have posted in BIG EAST play in the three years Xavier has competed in the conference.

DEWEY ROOKIE OF WEEK...AGAIN

Freshman Samantha Dewey was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for a second time after playing a part in each of the three goals the Musketeers scored on the way to topping Creighton, 3-0, for its third conference win of the season.

Dewey collected her seventh assist of the season on Kenadie Carlson's game winner and added another to her team-high assist total shortly after halftime, playing the ball ahead to Danielle Dixson who crossed to Skylar Groth at the top of the 18-yard box. Groth's shot cleared the goalkeepers head to put the Musketeers up, 2-0.

Dewey capped off the day with a goal of her own after Groth played the ball past the Creighton keeper in the 18-yard box, getting the ball in front of the goal for Dewey to finish.

Sunday's goal marked Dewey's seventh of the season, matching Kenadie Carlson for team high. Dewey's team-high eight assists brings her point total for the season to 22 for the season. This is the third honor the native of Fairland, Ind. has earned in her rookie campaign, taking Freshman of the Week honors earlier this season (8/24) and earning spot on the Weekly Honor Roll (9/7).

PICCUS NAMED TO HONOR ROLL

Xavier goalkeeper Rachel Piccus' defensive performance earned recognition from the conference, as the Cleveland, Ohio native earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Rolls. Piccus totaled 18 saves in two games, recording back-to-back nine-save performances in a 1-0 loss to St. John's and 3-0 win over Creighton.

Piccus went 1-1 on the week, and surrendering just one goal through 180 minutes in the net, including holding St. John's scoreless for over 80 minutes, and helping the Musketeers to an eighth shutout of the season against Creighton.

Piccus has previously been honored as Goalkeeper of the Week (9/14) and as part of the Weekly Honor Roll (9/21).

Dewey and Piccus' honors join a long list of awards for the Musketeers this season, including Carly Alfano (Weekly Honor Roll - 10/12), Tori Doss (Weekly Honor Roll – 8/24) and Kenadie Carlson (Weekly Honor Roll – 8/31).

CARLSON TRIPLES SCORING

Sophomore Kenadie Carlson's seventh goal of the season was the game-winner as the Musketeers topped Creighton, 3-0, on Sunday, Oct. 25. After Samantha Dewey played the ball ahead to Carlson in the 20^th minute, Carlson finished from the center of the 18-yard box for her seventh goal of the season. The goal was Carlson's third game-winner of the season.

Carlson's total goals-scored matches Samantha Dewey for team high (7) and more than triples her offensive output from her rookie season (2). Carlson's 17 points (7 g, 3 a) is the second highest on the team behind Samantha Dewey's 22 points.

GROTH OFFENSIVE OUTBURST

Sophomore Skylar Groth collected three points and her second goal of the season in the 3-0 win over the Creighton Bluejays on Sunday. The goal came shortly after halftime after Samantha Dewey played the ball ahead to Danielle Dixson on the far side of the box. Dixson crossed to Groth at the top of the 18-yard box where she send the ball over the goalkeeper's head, but just under the crossbar for the insurance goal.

Groth returned the favor to Dewey a few minutes later, picking up the assist after sneaking the ball behind the Creighton keeper for Dewey to finish just in front of the open goal.

MUSKETEER RECORDS

In addition to playing for a winning record on Friday, the Musketeers have an opportunity to make an impact on the Xavier record books both as individuals and as a team.

Freshman Samantha Dewey's eight assists stands as the fifth most in a single season in XU records. The Xavier team has posted a total of 30 assists on the season, fourth most in XU history, but just one shy of the second most total of 31, a record shared by the 2005 and 1984 teams.

Defensively the Musketeers have had a record season as well. Rachel Piccus' 115 saves rates as the fifth most for a single-season total in Xavier history. Piccus' six complete shutouts match Katie Markesbery's 2011 record for fourth most in Musketeer history.

Piccus stands with eight wins, which currently matches Katie Markesbery for the most in a single-season in the Xavier record book.

As a team, the Musketeers' eight shutouts match the 2013 team for the fourth most in Xavier history. As it stands now, the team's goals against average of 1.16 would be the fourth-best in XU records.

XU MORE THAN DOUBLES WINS

The Musketeers earned their eighth win of the season on Sunday after topping Seton Hall, 3-0, after winning only three games in all of 2014. The win, Xavier's third in BIG EAST play, marks the most in conference competition since the Musketeers moved to the BIG EAST in 2013. Regardless of Sunday's outcome, Xavier will finish in seventh place in the conference, the best finish for the Musketeers in BIG EAST competition and just one spot out of contention for the BIG EAST Championships.

BIG EAST AND NCAA LEADERS

The Musketeers rank in the top half of the BIG EAST in creating opportunities for their teammates, standing at fourth in total assists (30) and third assists per game (1.76). Freshman Samantha Dewey leads the Musketeers with eight assists, a total tied for most among all BIG EAST players, matching Georgetown's Rachel Corboz and St. John's Morgan Tinari. Dewey's 0.47 assist per game also matches Corboz and Tinari for most in the conference. Dewey's total assists ranks 22^nd among all NCAA players.

Dewey, as well as teammate Kenadie Carlson, rates in the top 10 among individuals in the conference for goals scored with seven, a number that stands at sixth most in the conference, as does the pair's average of 0.41 goals per game. The pair also ranks in the top 10 in the conference for points per game, with Dewey averaging 1.29, the fourth most in the conference, and Carlson's 1.00 ppg tied for sixth most. Dewey's 22 total points also stands as the fourth most in the conference, while Carlson's 17 total points is the eighth most.

Defensively, junior goalkeeper Rachel Piccus leads the conference in save percentage, hauling in .852 of shots on-goal taken against her. Piccus' total saves stands at 115 through 17 games, the most in the BIG EAST and ninth most in the country. Piccus' average of 6.76 saves per game also rates as the most in the conference and 12^th most in the NCAA. As a team, Xavier has posted eight shutouts which matches Butler as third most in the conference.

BALANCED OFFENSIVE ATTACK

Through 17 games, 16 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 27 goals so far in 2015. Ten Musketeers have knocked in a goal, while 12 Musketeers have collected assists.

The Musketeers' scoring effort is led by seven goals each from freshman Samantha Dewey and sophomore Kenadie Carlson through 17 games. Dewey's seven goals and team-high eight assists give her a team-leading 22 points.

DEFENSE REMAINS STRONG

Xavier's 3-0 win over Creighton marks the eighth shutout of the season for the Musketeers, matching the 2013 team's total for fourth most in school history. Three shutout BIG EAST wins, including wins over Seton Hall (1-0) and Villanova (2-0), mark the most for the Musketeers in the three seasons they've been competing in the conference.