Women's Soccer Heads to Creighton for Final Road Match of the Season

Sunday, October 23

Omaha, Neb.

1 p.m.

Xavier University

Creighton University

Women's Soccer Heads to Creighton for Final Road Match of the Season

10.21.16 | Women's Soccer

Season Stats (PDF)Creighton Women's Soccer Live Stats Live Stream

Match will be available on BIG EAST Digital Network

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer (7-9-1; 1-6-0 BE) heads to Omaha, Neb. to close out its road schedule on Sunday, Oct. 23, taking on the Creighton Bluejays at 1:00 p.m. The game will be available on the BIG EAST Digital Network .

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers at
Creighton Bluejays
Sunday, Oct. 23 | 1 PM
Morrison Stadium
Omaha, Neb.
Live Stats / BEDN Stream

SCOUTING THE BLUEJAYS

• Creighton comes into the match at 8-5-2, with a 3-4-0 mark in BIG EAST play.

• The Bluejays fell 2-0 at Butler on Thursday night, a second-straight setback after falling to Providence in overtime on Saturday, Oct. 15. CU also dropped matches to Villanova and DePaul in conference play.

• Prior to the match at Providence, Creighton had won back-to-back matches against Seton Hall and St. John's. The Bluejays also picked up a 3-2 overtime win against Marquette in the conference opener.

• Creighton entered conference play with a mark of 5-1-2, picking up wins against Iowa, Omaha, South Dakota State, South Dakota and Yale. The Bluejays also earned results against UMKC and Kansas State, both 1-1 double overtime draws. The Bluejay's lone non-conference setback was to Iowa State.

• Through 15 games, Lauren Sullivan leads the Bluejays with 11 goals and five assists for 27 points. Sullivan's 11 goals ties for most in the conference, and 14th most in the country. Sullivan is averaging 0.79 goals per game which stands at 12th in NCAA Division I. Her assist total ties for fifth in the conference, giving her the highest point total in the BIG EAST and the 12th highest point total in Division I.

• McKenzie Meola has played the bulk of the minutes in goal for the Bluedays, playing nearly 1000 minutes in 14 appearances. In those 14 appearances she ahs allowed 14 goals for a GAA of 1.27 and collected 38 saves for a save percentage of .731. Meola has two complete shutouts and a record of 6-3-1.

• Erin Scott has made five appearances in-goal for the Bluejays for a total of 425 minutes. She has a GAA of 2.33 with 11 total goals allowed. Scott has collected 67.6 percent of the shots she faced, totaling 23 saves.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Musketeers are 4-2-0 against the Bluejays all time, dating back to a 2-0 win in 1992.

• Last season, Xavier took the 3-0 win on Senior Day in Cincinnati, the most convincing BIG EAST win in program history. Kenadie Carlson scored the game winner in the 20th minute off a pass from Samantha Dewey. Skylar Groth added an insurance goal on a rainbow shot from the top of the 18-yard box. Groth also assisted on the third goal, challenging the Creighton keeper and sneaking the ball behind her for Dewey to finish.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier fell, 3-1, against St. John's on Thursday night, moving to 7-9-1 on the season.

• The Musketeers held the Red Storm scoreless for 55 minutes, with goalkeeper Rachel Piccus making the start in-goal and getting a save on the the only on-goal shot St. John's had in the first period.

• Toni Bizzarro started the second half in-goal and faced a deluge from the St. John's offense. The Red Storm tallied three goals in 10 minutes, in the 55th minute from Shea Connors, the eventual game-winner in the 58th minute from Samie Scaffidi, and an insurance goal in the 65th minute from Lucy Whipp.

• Piccus returned in-goal to relieve Bizzarro for the final 22 minutes, with Bizzarro finishing with a pair of saves. Carly Alfano and Courtney Kobashigawa each played the full 90 minutes on the back line for the Musketeers. Courtney Lankford also played the entire match.

• After the offensive outburst for the Red Storm, the Musketeers pressured for a tally, taking the majority of their shots in the final 30 minutes. Samantha Dewey and Kenadie Carlson led the offensive effort with a pair of shots a piece, eventually connecting in the final minute to earn the tally. Carlson played the ball to Dewey on the left side. Dewey brought the ball to the edge of the 18 yard box on the left side and shot over SJU goalkeeper Diana Poulin's head to the left corner, marking only the eighth goal scored against the Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year in over 1500 minutes this season. The tally was Dewey's eighth of the season and third of BIG EAST play. The assist is Carlson's fourth of 2016, matching Dewey's total for team high.

• In addition to Dewey and Carlson, Maddie Tierney, moved into an attacking position for a second straight game, also had an on-frame attempt for the Musketeers.

XU STATS

• Through 17 games, Samantha Dewey, the leading points scorer from 2015, has posted a team-leading 20 points off a team-highs in goals (8) and assists (4). Dewey's eight total goals ranks T-6th in the BIG EAST. Her point total stands at sixth in the conference.

• Kenadie Carlson added another point to her total with an assist to Dewey against St. John's, bringing her to 10 points through 17 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 17 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 20 goals through 17 games have come from eight different Musketeers. Eight Musketeers have also dished out assists.

• Rachel Piccus has played over 1000 minutes in goal, starting 14 of Xavier's 17 matches. Piccus has allowed 16 goals against while collecting 0.778 percent of shots against her for a total of 56 saves. Piccus has picked up four wins on the season, including a pair of shutouts.

• Toni Bizzarro made her 10th appearance of the season in the second half against St. John's. With nearly 500 minutes of action she has collected 26 shots for a 0.722 save percentage with 10 tallies against. Bizzarro was credited with the win against Villanova, her third of the season.

• In the backfield, Courtney Kobashigawa has played over 1400 minutes for the Musketeers through 17 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 15 appearances. Junior Maddie Tierney shifted to the back line in BIG EAST play, totaling 367 minutes in four matches, before moving into an attacking position for the Villanova game.

WEEKLY AWARDS

• Freshman Toni Bizzarro was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after making her ninth appearance for the Musketeers against Villanova. 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. It was 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 against Villanova. 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.

MUSKETEERS HOMECOMING

• Thursday's match with St. John's marked 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 a win over Villanova and a non-conference matchup with Duquesne.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• 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.