No. 10 Men's Soccer Hosts Virginia Tech in Primetime Saturday Match

Sunday, September 6

Cincinnati, Ohio

10 A.M.

Xavier University

Virginia Tech

No. 10 Men's Soccer Hosts Virginia Tech in Primetime Saturday Match

09.04.15 | Men's Soccer

Musketeers look for rebound win at home, meet Hokies for first time since 2008

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

Follow @XavierMSOC
CINCINNATI – No. 10 Xavier men's soccer returns home Saturday looking for a rebound win against visiting Virginia Tech at Xavier Soccer Complex. First kick is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

Saturday's match will be broadcast live on GoXavier.com with D.J. Switzer and Connor Muldoon on the call. Check back to GoXavier.com for a complete recap, stats and more. Live updates will be available on Twitter.

The Musketeers (2-1) are coming off a road split over the past week, defeating Wisconsin, 2-0, and falling at Lipscomb, 2-1. The Musketeers saw a season-opening scoreless streak of 203:25 come to an end on Thursday night, falling victim to a feisty Lipscomb squad for the second straight season. The Bison picked up their highest-ever ranked win with the result, despite XU holding a clear advantage in shots (13-6) and corners (11-5).

Alex Ridsdale scored on a penalty kick in the 21st minute on Thursday, giving him a third goal in three matches (two via PK).

Xavier had been off to a fast start, winning its first two matches by a combined score of 10-0 and rocketing up nine spots in the NSCAA poll to No. 10 – after beginning the season ranked for the first time in program history. Despite the loss, Xavier's 11 goals through three matches are a program record.

Xavier is currently first in the nation in total goals (11) and third in total points (28), as well as 12th in points per match (9.33).

SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH

Virginia Tech opened its season with a disappointing 1-0 loss in double OT at home against UNC-Greensboro, but rebounded on Thursday with a decisive 5-1 win over UC. The Hokies have outshot their opponents 32-18 thus far, generating 17 shots on frame against just seven for their opposition. VT is coming off a 7-8-2 (2-5-1 ACC) season, but returns a large portion of a young squad – including its three top scorers, all of which are seniors.

Merlin Baus leads the Hokies with four points (1g, 2a), while four others have scored one goal this season. Ricardo John (1g), an All-ACC second team selection as a freshman, has been VT's most dangerous player and leads the team with seven shots.

Ben Lundgaard has started both matches in goal for VT, making five saves and allowing two goals (0.92 GAA).

SERIES HISTORY

Virginia Tech leads the all-time series against Xavier, 6-1. This will be the first meeting between the two programs since 2008.

NEXT UP

XU is back on the road, visiting crosstown rival Cincinnati on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7:00 p.m.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

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.

SOARING IN 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. 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.

#FUTBOLCONFERENCE

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.

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 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).

BROWN'S HARDWARE

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.

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.