Women's Soccer Returns to Campus to Host St. John's on Thursday

Thursday, October 20

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

St. John's University

Women's Soccer Returns to Campus to Host St. John's on Thursday

10.19.16 | Women's Soccer

Season Stats (PDF)St. John's Women's Soccer Live Stats BEDN

Match marks first game for Musketeers at XU Soccer Complex since the season-opener against Evansville

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - After celebrating its first conference win of the season, Xavier women's soccer (7-8-1; 1-5-0 BE) will now commemorate a homecoming of sorts, returning to XU Soccer Complex for the first time since August when the Musketeers host St. John's on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 6:35 p.m. The game will be available on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers vs.
St. John's Red Storm
Thursday, Oct. 20 | 6:35 PM
XU Soccer Complex
Live Stats / BEDN Stream

MUSKETEERS HOMECOMING

• Thursday's match with St. John's marks the first game played at the XU Soccer Complex for Xavier women's soccer since the season-opener against Evansville on August 19, a 2-0 win for the Musketeers.

• The game against Villanova marked the 15th straight match away from the Musketeers' home stadium for women's soccer.

• The XU Soccer Complex was temporarily unplayable after flooding in late August, causing Xavier University to shift its home matches to other local venues.

• Three of the Musketeers' previously scheduled home games were played at Northern Kentucky University. NKU assumed the role of the home team for the Sept. 6 match, a 2-1 win for the Musketeers. Xavier also hosted No. 6 Georgetown and Marquette at NKU Soccer Stadium.

• Xavier also hosted a pair of home matches at University of Cincinnati's Gettler Stadium, including Saturday's win over Villanova and a non-conference matchup with Duquesne.

PROMOTIONS

• Welcome the women's soccer team back to campus!

• FREE Pizza for the first 150 students in attendance.

• Faculty & Staff Appreciation Night - All faculty & staff receive 4 tickets when they present ALL Card at the ticket tent.

SCOUTING THE RED STORM

• St. John's comes into the match-up at 7-3-5, including a 2-2-2 mark in BIG EAST play.

• The Red Storm are coming off a 1-0 win over DePaul, after Samie Scaffidi scored in the 70th minute, giving her a team-high three goals to go with a pair of assists for a team-leading eight points.

• The shutout against DePaul was the 10th of the season for Red Storm senior goalkeeper Diana Poulin, who has collected 52 saves with only seven goals against in 15 games played for a save percentage of .881 and a GAA of 0.44. Both marks are top in the conference.

• In addition to the DePaul win, SJU picked up a BIG EAST win over Seton Hall. The Red Storm also have non-conference wins against CCSU, Albany, Yale, Fairfield and LaSalle.

• St. John's also earned results against BIG EAST opponents Butler and No. 6 Georgetown, both 0-0 draws through double-overtime. The Red Storm also played Towson, Loyola and Washington to draws.

• The Red Storm's two conference losses have come on the road, at Creighton (2-0) and at Marquette (2-0). SJU's sole non-conference setback also occurred on the road, at Portland.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Musketeers are 0-3 in the series with the Red Storm, which dates back to 2013 when the Musketeers joined the BIG EAST.

• Last season, Xavier held the Red Storm in a 0-0 draw for over 80 minutes before St. John's standout Rachel Daly found the back of the net for the game-winner in the 1-0 decision.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Musketeers earned the first BIG EAST win of the season on Saturday, taking down Villanova, 1-0, at UC's Gettler Stadium.

• Rachel Piccus started the game in-frame for the Musketeers, her 13th start of the season, collecting five saves in the first half to keep the Musketeers in a 0-0 draw going into the break.

• After playing to a scoreless draw through the first half, the Musketeers broke through to take the 1-0 lead in the 54th minute after Samantha Dewey stole the ball from Villanova at the top of the 18-yard box. Dewey dribbled the ball forward to the near post, drawing VU's goalkeeper forward before shooting just inside the far post from the edge of the six-yard box. The goal added another tally to Dewey's team-high total of seven on the season.

• Toni Bizzarro played the full second half in-goal and collected three saves to keep the Musketeers ahead 1-0 after the Wildcats began to press for an equalizer. Bizzarro's final stop in the closing seconds of the match saved a clean look for Villanova that would have forced overtime.

• Dewey and Kenadie Carlson each had team-high four attempts, with three on-goal for Dewey and pair on-frame for Carlson.

• Maddie Tierney, who moved from the back line to an attacking position in Saturday's match, also had a pair of attempts for the Musketeers, including a look that forced VU's goalkeeper Emily Harris to make one of her five saves on the day.

• The combined clean sheet marked the third shut-out of the season for the Musketeer defense. With Tierney shifted forward for a portion of the game, Kennedy Rose played a season-high 90 minutes. Addie Englehart and Courtney Kobashigawa also played the full match for the Musketeers.

WEEKLY AWARDS

• Freshman Toni Bizzarro was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after making her ninth appearance for the Musketeers on Saturday. Bizzarro played the full second half against the Wildcats, collecting three saves including a look in the the closing seconds of the match that would have forced overtime. This is the second weekly award of Bizzarro's career. She also earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week for the week of Sept. 6.

• Samantha Dewey earned a spot on the Weekly Honor roll by knocking in the game-winner for the Musketeers on Saturday. This is the second appearance on the Weekly Honor Roll for Dewey this season, also earning the honor for the week of Sept. 5. It marks the third time in her Xavier career, previously earning the honor on Sept. 7, 2015. Dewey was also honored as BIG EAST Freshman of the Week twice in 2015 (8/24/2015 and 10/26/2015).

• Bizzarro and Dewey are among the five Musketeers who have received honors from the conference this season this season. Junior Kenadie Carlson earned Weekly Honor Roll recognition for the week of September 12. In week one, senior Rachel Piccus earned Goalkeeper of the Week honors, while junior Maddie Tierney was named to the Weekly Honor Roll.

XU STATS

• Through 16 games, Samantha Dewey, the leading points scorer from 2015, has posted a team-leading 18 points off a team-highs in goals (7) and assists (4). Dewey's seven total goals ranks T-7th in the BIG EAST. Her point total stands at seventh in the conference.

• Kenadie Carlson added another point to her total with an assist to Dewey against Providence, bringing her to nine points through 16 games, the second highest total on the team. Carlson scored the lone goal for the Musketeers at IUPUI to bring her season total to three to go with three assists.

• Tori Doss has posted eight points through 16 games, the third highest total on the squad. Doss has four goals on the season after she scored the game-winner against Ohio.

• Xavier's 19 goals through 16 games have come from eight different Musketeers. Eight Musketeers have also dished out assists.

• Rachel Piccus has played nearly 1000 minutes in goal, starting 13 of Xavier's 16 matches. Piccus has allowed 16 goals against while collecting 0.775 percent of shots against her for a total of 55 saves. Piccus has picked up four wins on the season, including a pair of shutouts.

• After sitting out a pair of games due to injury, Toni Bizzarro made her ninth appearance for the Musketeers against Villanova, playing the full second half. In 470 minutes of action she has collected 24 shots for a 0.774 save percentage while allowing only seven tallies against. Bizzarro was credited with the win against Villanova, her third of the season.

• In the backfield, Courtney Kobashigawa has played over 1300 minutes for the Musketeers through 16 matches, averaging over 84 minutes per game. The senior defender is joined on the back line by Carly Alfano who has played over 82 minutes per game with 14 appearances. Junior Maddie Tierney shifted to the back line totaling 367 minutes inf our matches, before moving into an attacking position for the Villanova game.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• On Oct. 23, Xavier heads to Omaha, Neb. to face Creighton in its final road match of the season. The Musketeers and the Bluejays will face off at 1:00 p.m. ET.

• The Musketeers return home for Senior Day on Friday, Oct. 28 when Xavier hosts Butler at 6:35 p.m. Xavier's senior student-athletes will be honored prior to the game. The match against Butler is also Xavier's annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game, the first 250 fans in attendance will receive pink thunder sticks. The BU match is also an X-Pulse Double Check-in Match.