Xavier University Athletics
Thursday, September 3
Nashville, Tenn.
7 P.M.
Xavier University
at
Lipscomb
No. 10 Men's Soccer Travels to Lipscomb for Thursday Match
09.02.15 | Men's Soccer
Musketeers off to 2-0 start, up nine spots in national rankings
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - No. 10 men's soccer wraps up a two-match road swing on Thursday, visiting Lipscomb for a 7:00 p.m. ET match at Lipscomb Soccer Complex.
The Musketeers are coming off a 2-0 win at Wisconsin on Sunday, a match which saw Josh Grant (46') and Alex Ridsdale (74') score goals as XU picked up a redemptive win over a team that beat them 4-0 a year prior (nearly to the day). After a 2-0 start and beginning the year ranked for the first time in program history (No. 19), Xavier has rocketed up nine spots to No. 10 in the NSCAA poll.
After an eight-goal outburst in the season opener against EIU, Xavier's 10 goals through two matches are the most for the program since 1992. Xavier is currently first in the nation in total goals (10) and second in total points (26), as well as points per match (13).
The Musketeers have also kept clean sheets in both matches, the first time they've started the season with back-to-back shutouts since 2011.
After an 0-2 start to the season, including a 2-0 road loss to Belmont and a 3-1 home loss to Eastern Illinois, Lipscomb will be looking to right the ship. The Bison brought back a talented core from a 12-4-1 team (4-1-1 Atlantic Sun) and were picked to finish third in the Atlantic Sun Conference -- returning 12 letterwinners and seven starters from 2014.
Matt Kerridge and Ivan Alvarado were both tabbed preseason All-Atlantic Sun Conference. Kerridge was the leading scorer last season for the Bison, chipping in with seven goals and three assists (17 points) en route to first team All-Atlantic Sun honors. Alvarado was the 2014 A-Sun Freshman of the Year, scoring four goals and linking up on eight assists (16 points). He scored Lipscomb's first goal of the year in the 22nd minute of Sunday's 3-1 loss to EIU.
Xavier leads the all-time matchup with Lipscomb, 2-1, after the Bison stole a 3-2 win in last season's home opener on August 29. Prior to last year's meeting, the Musketeers took back-to-back decisions during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
Xavier returns home on Saturday, Sept. 5 to face ACC foe Virginia Tech at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Matt Nance and Kaleb Bayse were each recognized by the BIG EAST Conference on Monday, earning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week and BIG EAST Rookie of the Week, respectively. It was the first career BIG EAST weekly honor for both student-athletes.
Nance helped the Musketeers post two shutouts during opening weekend and was among the team leaders with 158 minutes played. The sophomore from Washington, Mich. also assisted on Josh Grant's go-ahead goal against Wisconsin on Sunday. Bayse made his XU debut on Friday, playing 22 minutes in the second half and scoring his first two career goals in an 8-0 win over Eastern Illinois.
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 is 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.
Alongside No. 10 Xavier, the BIG EAST boasts a total of four programs in the top-12 nationally. That list also includes No. 3 Creighton, No. 8 Providence and No. 12 Georgetown.
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.
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).
Sophomore defender Cory Brown, a native of Nelson, New Zealand, has 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.
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.
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.
• 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.
The Musketeers are coming off a 2-0 win at Wisconsin on Sunday, a match which saw Josh Grant (46') and Alex Ridsdale (74') score goals as XU picked up a redemptive win over a team that beat them 4-0 a year prior (nearly to the day). After a 2-0 start and beginning the year ranked for the first time in program history (No. 19), Xavier has rocketed up nine spots to No. 10 in the NSCAA poll.
After an eight-goal outburst in the season opener against EIU, Xavier's 10 goals through two matches are the most for the program since 1992. Xavier is currently first in the nation in total goals (10) and second in total points (26), as well as points per match (13).
The Musketeers have also kept clean sheets in both matches, the first time they've started the season with back-to-back shutouts since 2011.
 | SCOUTING LIPSCOMB |
Matt Kerridge and Ivan Alvarado were both tabbed preseason All-Atlantic Sun Conference. Kerridge was the leading scorer last season for the Bison, chipping in with seven goals and three assists (17 points) en route to first team All-Atlantic Sun honors. Alvarado was the 2014 A-Sun Freshman of the Year, scoring four goals and linking up on eight assists (16 points). He scored Lipscomb's first goal of the year in the 22nd minute of Sunday's 3-1 loss to EIU.
| SERIES HISTORY |
| NEXT UP |
| BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS |
Nance helped the Musketeers post two shutouts during opening weekend and was among the team leaders with 158 minutes played. The sophomore from Washington, Mich. also assisted on Josh Grant's go-ahead goal against Wisconsin on Sunday. Bayse made his XU debut on Friday, playing 22 minutes in the second half and scoring his first two career goals in an 8-0 win over Eastern Illinois.
| SOARING IN NATIONAL POLLS |
| #FUTBOLCONFERENCE |
| XU PICKED TO FINISH FOURTH |
| PLENTY LOST, PLENTY BACK |
| BROWN'S HARDWARE |
• 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 |
| A LOOK BACK ON 2014 |
| AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE |
• 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.
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