Men's Soccer Travels to No. 2 Notre Dame

Tuesday, September 15

South Bend, Ind.

7 P.M.

Xavier University

Notre Dame

09.15.15 | Men's Soccer

Musketeers facing tall task on road against highest-ranked opponent in program history

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Men's soccer faces a tall task on the road Tuesday night, travelling to South Bend, Ind. to face No. 2 Notre Dame at Alumni Stadium. First touch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

In addition to live stats and Twitter updates, the match will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

NOTABLE

• Xavier is ranked fourth in NCAA Div. I in scoring offense (2.80) and ninth in the nation in points per match (7.60). Its 14 goals through five matches are also fourth in the country.
• Senior Alex Ridsdale leads XU in scoring (4g, 1a) and is 19th in the nation in goals per match (0.80).
• Xavier generates 7.6 shots on goal per match, ranking 15th in the nation.
• Under Andy Fleming, the Musketeers are 6-3-2 vs. ranked opponents and 4-2-1 against the top-10, including wins last season against No. 5 Indiana and No. 8 Georgetown.
• No. 2 Notre Dame will be the highest-ranked opponent Fleming has faced during his tenure.

SCOUTING NOTRE DAME

The Irish (4-0-1) are off to great start behind six returning starters in 2015. Coming off a national title in 2013, UND advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 a year ago after a 12-5-4 season. Sophomore forward Jon Gallagher leads UND with three goals so far, while classmate Blake Townes, a midfielder, paces the team with three assists.

Notre Dame's defense has only allowed nine shots on goal in its first five games, shutting out No. 4 Maryland, No. 10 Indiana, No. 24 USF, No. 9 Clemson and UAB. Junior goalkeeper Chris Hubbard, listed at 6-4, has begun his career with five consecutive clean sheets after serving as a backup the last two seasons.

SERIES HISTORY

Notre Dame leads the all-time series 11-2 with the last regular season meeting coming on Nov. 3, 1994 in the MCC Tournament – a match Notre Dame won 6-2. Xavier's wins in the series came in 1979, 1992.

The two programs did meet in the spring, as Xavier battled the Irish to a scoreless draw on March 28 in Cincinnati.

NEXT UP

The Musketeers return home to face Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 19 at Xavier Soccer Complex. First touch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a big rebound win, 2-1, at crosstown rival Cincinnati last Friday. Senior Alex Ridsdale opened the scoring for Xavier in the first half, scoring in the 17th minute. The match remained locked at 1-0, however, until Ian Vicars buried a shot in the 69th minute for the first goal of his career. UC answered in the 75th minute, but the XU defense weathered some hairy moments late to preserve the win. Graduate student Dallas Jaye made his debut in goal during the win, saving one shot and earning the win in the full 90.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

Redshirt freshman Ian Vicars was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after scoring the game-winner in the 69th minute of a 2-1 win at UC on Friday. It was the first goal of his career and his first weekly honor as well.

XU IN THE NATIONAL POLLS

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. After a two-match losing streak, however, the Musketeers find themselves back in the "receiving votes" section of the NSCAA Poll.

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.

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.

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 five 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.