No. 24 Men's Soccer Hosts Providence in Rematch of 2014 BIG EAST Finals

Saturday, October 10

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 P.M.

Xavier University

Providence

No. 24 Men's Soccer Hosts Providence in Rematch of 2014 BIG EAST Finals

10.08.15 | Men's Soccer

Musketeers look for revenge, rebound win at home against last year's BIG EAST Champions

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – No. 24 Xavier men's soccer hosts Providence in a rematch of the 2014 BIG EAST Championship on Saturday, welcoming the Friars to XU Soccer Complex. First touch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.

The match will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network and fans can also follow along with live stats and Twitter updates.

PROMOTIONS

• YOUTH JERSEY NIGHT: kids in grades K-8 wearing their youth team jersey will get into the match FREE.

SCOUTING PROVIDENCE

• The Friars fell to visiting Butler in their last outing, allowing a pair of second half goals to fall to 4-4-1 (0-2-0 BIG EAST).
• Providence, like Xavier, is coming off the most successful season in program history after winning the BIG EAST Championship, advancing to the NCAA College Cup semifinal for the first time in program history and finishing the year at 16-5-2.
• Mac Steeves ranks 17th in the nation in total goals with seven, putting away all but three of PC's tallies this season. He leads the team in points with 14, but hasn't found the net since Sept. 19 at Northeastern.

SERIES HISTORY

• The all-time series is locked at 1-1-1 after the two sides battled to a 0-0 tie in Providence on Oct. 4, 2014 and then met again in the BIG EAST Final on Nov. 16. PC took a 2-1 win in that match after Alex Ridsdale scored in the 23rd minute to give XU a 1-0 lead. Markus Naglestad (26') and Daniel Neustadter (81') scored the equalizer and game-winner, respectively, as the Friars came from behind to win their first BIG EAST title.
• The first meeting in the series came on Senior Day on Oct. 26, 2013 in Cincinnati. Then-senior Matt Walker notched a brace as XU seniors accounted for all five points in a 2-1 victory at XU Soccer Complex.

NEXT UP

• The Musketeers return to the road for the first time since Sept. 26, heading to Queens, N.Y. to face St. John's on Wednesday, Oct. 14.

LAST TIME OUT

• Then-No. 20 Xavier couldn't capitalize on a number of scoring opportunities in the second half and then-No. 16 Georgetown broke through with a breakneck counter goal in the 96th minute, escaping the XU Soccer Complex with a 1-0 win on Saturday night. GU's Keegan Rosenberry beat XU goalkeeper Dallas Jaye to the left post, coming off a ball from Brandon Allen, just over midway through the first overtime.
• The match was the second straight overtime contest for Xavier after the Musketeers went 2OT against DePaul in their conference opener in Chicago on Sept. 26.
• The result snapped a five-match winning streak for Xavier in addition to a four-plus match scoreless streak. The final scoreless mark was 485:38, lasting from the second half of the UC match on Sept. 11 until the golden goal on Saturday.

NOTABLE

• Xavier is 7-3 overall (1-1 BIG EAST) and comes into Saturday's contest with five wins in its last six matches.
• The Musketeers have kept shutouts in four of their last five matches, but saw a scoreless streak of 485:38 snapped on Saturday against Georgetown.
• 13 of Xavier's 19 goals have come after halftime this fall. The Musketeers have outscored opponents 12-2 in the second half.
• 10 different players have scored a goal this season for the Musketeers. Nine have registered an assist.
• Under Andy Fleming, the Musketeers are 7-4-2 vs. ranked opponents and 5-2-1 against the top-10, including a win over No. 2 Notre Dame this fall and last season's victories against No. 5 Indiana and No. 8 Georgetown.

DOING IT WITH OFFENSE

• XU is fourth in the BIG EAST in points (51), third in goals (19) and goals per game (1.90).
• XU is 31st in NCAA Division I scoring offense (1.90), 52nd in total points (51) and 49th in the nation in points per match (5.10).
• The Musketeers' 19 goals through six matches are also 33rd in the country.
• Senior Alex Ridsdale leads XU in scoring (5g, 1a) and is 50th in the nation in total goals. His bicycle kick score against IPFW on Tuesday, Sept. 22 was the No. 6 play on ESPN SportsCenter that night.
• Xavier generates 5.60 shots on goal per match, ranking 67th in the nation. The Musketeers have outshot opponents 108-81 overall and 56-31 in shots on goal.

DOING IT WITH DEFENSE

• Xavier has allowed just seven goals in 10 matches, ranking second in the BIG EAST in GAA (0.68).
• The Musketeers' six shutouts are second in the BIG EAST and their 0.67 shutout percentage ranks seventh in the nation.
• GK Dallas Jaye is third in the nation with a 0.32 GAA and third nationally in save percentage (.900).
• Xavier goalkeepers have had to make just 24 saves in 10 matches. That averages out to 2.4 saves per match, which is tied for the second-lowest average in the BIG EAST.

JAYE MAKING IMPACT

• Graduate student Dallas Jaye is 5-1 in net for Xavier and is ranked third in the nation in GAA (0.32) and save percentage (.900).
• 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.
• 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.

XU IN THE NSCAA POLL

• Xavier remained in the NSCAA rankings for the fourth time in six polls this week, checking in at No. 24 on Tuesday.
• 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 have an eight-man senior group and three of their top-four scorers back in 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 10-plus win seasons.
• 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.