Women's Soccer Closes Out Non-Conference at Home with Cincinnati

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's soccer closes out its non-conference schedule by taking on crosstown rival Cincinnati on Sunday with first kick set at 6:30 p.m. at XU Soccer Complex. Live streaming video and live stats will be available through GoXavier.com

Xavier (5-3-0) is coming off a 2-1 loss at home to Ohio on Friday. After the Musketeers fell behind, 2-0, Kenadie Carlson struck with 10 minute remaining off a pass from Samantha Dewey to cut the lead to one. Xavier created several good looks late in the match but couldn't find the equalizer before time expired.

Cincinnati (5-2-2) is coming off a 2-2 double overtime draw with Long Beach State. After falling behind 1-0, the Bearcats' Rachel Holloway evened the score at 1-1 just before the half. At the 72 minute mark, UC took the 2-1 lead after the 49ers were called for a handball in the box and Kelly Latimer knocked in the penalty kick. The Beach knocked in the game tying goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation.

SERIES HISTORY

Sunday's match will be the 30^th matchup in series history with Cincinnati, with Xavier trailing in the series 6-23-0. The series dates back to 1984 and has been played annually, with the exceptions of 2001 and 2012. Last season's match at Cincinnati ended in a 2-0 win for the Bearcats scored on a penalty kick less than two minutes into the game. UC added an insurance goal at the 77 minute mark to set the final margin.

CARLSON SCORES FIFTH VS. OHIO

Sophomore Kenadie Carlson's first game winner of 2015 brings her season total to four goals, doubling her total goals from last season through just seven games. After the Musketeers held a 0-0 draw with IUPUI for a half, Carlson knocked in a pass from senior Catherine Allon less than 10 minutes after the break to put Xavier up, 1-0.

Carlson struck late against Ohio on Friday to cut into the Bobcats' 2-0 lead for her fifth goal of the season. Carlson now matches Samantha Dewey for team-high in goals through eight games.

BIG EAST AND NCAA LEADERS

Xavier's offense is setting the standard among BIG EAST team, leading the conference with 2.86 goals per game through seven games, which matches VMI for the 14^th highest in the country. XU's total goals (20) through seven matches stands as second in the conference, just behind No. 20/21 DePaul's total of 21, and matches VMI for the 17^th most in NCAA.

The Musketeers also lead the conference in assists per game (3.0) through seven games which stands as fifth most in NCAA DI. Xavier also leads the conference in total assists at 21, the eighth most in the country.

Xavier's BIG EAST-leading 8.71 points per game and is also among the top 10 in the country, and the Musketeers' total points (61) rates as highest in the conference and 11^th in all of Division I. (All NCAA stats and rankings as of 9/15)

BALANCED OFFENSIVE ATTACK

Through eight games, 13 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) in just eight games, posting 21 goals thus far in 2015. Nine Musketeers have knocked in a goal, while 10 different Musketeers have collected assists.

PICCUS NAMED GK OF THE WEEK

Junior keeper Rachel Piccus collected 12 saves over the weekend for a pair of shutouts, making three straight and four overall for the Musketeers in 2015. The BIG EAST Conference office recognized Piccus' performance by honoring the Cleveland, Ohio native with BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week. Against IUPUI, Piccus collected a career-high seven saves as the Musketeers held off the Jaguars in a 2-0 win. Piccus grabbed five more in the 4-0 win over EKU to bring her season total to 35.
This is Piccus' first weekly honor from the BIG EAST Conference. She is the fourth Musketeer to earn recognition from the conference, joining Samantha Dewey (Rookie of the Week – 8/24, Weekly Honor Roll – 9/7), Tori Doss (Weekly Honor Roll – 8/24) and Kenadie Carlson (Weekly Honor Roll – 8/31). A Xavier women's soccer student-athlete has been honored in each week of the 2015 season thus far, as the Musketeers have surpassed the totals wins and doubled the number of goals from the 2014 season in just seven games.

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