No. 19 Men's Soccer Opens Season at Xavier Soccer Complex

Friday, August 28

Cincinnati, Ohio

8 P.M.

Xavier University

Eastern Illinois

No. 19 Men's Soccer Opens Season at Xavier Soccer Complex

08.27.15 | Men's Soccer

Musketeers return eight seniors, three of top four scorers from 2014 Sweet 16 team

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 19 Xavier men's soccer is set to open the regular season tomorrow night, taking on Eastern Illinois at 8:00 p.m. ET at the XU Soccer Complex. The match will be carried live on GoXavier.com with Mike Schmaltz and Erik Alanson on the call.

XU is coming off a 2-0-1 preseason and a historic 2014 season when, competing in the BIG EAST for just a second year, Xavier won a program record 15 matches, hosted its first-ever NCAA Tournament match and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

The Panthers are coming off a 3-13-1 (1-4-1 Summit League) season last year, but have a new coach and hold a 2-0-1 all-time record against Xavier – with the last meeting coming back in 1987.

ALL THE POLLS LIKE XAVIER... AND THE BIG EAST
After a memorable run to the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, the Musketeers enter the season nationally-ranked for the first time in program history. The NSCAA has Xavier No. 19, while Top Drawer Soccer (No. 16) and College Soccer News (No. 18) also have XU in their preseason top-20. Xavier is one of four BIG EAST Conference programs receiving preseason recognition, including Georgetown, Providence and Creighton.

XAVIER PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH IN BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL
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 RETURNING
Despite losing the winningest senior class in Xavier history, the Musketeers will return an eight-man senior group and three of their top-four scorers in sophomore Matt Vasquenza (7g, 6a), senior Alex Ridsdale (5g, 4a) and junior Jalen Brown (4g, 2a).

CORY BROWN COLLECTING PRESEASON HARDWARE
Sophomore defender Cory Brown, a native of Nelson, New Zealand, has picked up a laundry list of preseason honors, including a spot on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. A few others:

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 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.

SEASON OPENERS
Xavier begins its 42nd season of men's soccer in 2014 and has put together a 1-2-2 record in its last five season openers, including results against Marshall (1-0 win in 2011) and No. 20 Northwestern (1-1 tie in 2012).

Last season, Xavier dropped a tough 3-2 decision at home against Lipscomb. The Musketeers are 11-22-8 all-time in season openers.

PRESEASON WRAP
Xavier put together a 2-0-1 preseason, defeating SIUE, 1-0, and Cincinnati State, 5-1, while earning a 1-1 draw against Ohio State. Ian Vicars (1g, 2a) was the side's leading scorer over the three matches, tallying against SIUE and contributing a pair of helpers in the Cincinnati State win. Jalen Brown (1g), Majed Osman (1g), Joash Sutherland (1g), Kyle Martin (1g), Eric McWoods (1g, 1a), Chris Moore (1a) and Samson Sergi (1g) also contributed points during the exhibition season.

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.

XAVIER SOCCER 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's 39 wins in the past three seasons are tied for 13th in the nation.
XU has collected five straight NSCAA Team Academic Awards, while the 2012 teams 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.