Women's Soccer Hosts Butler for Senior Day

Friday, October 28

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

Butler University

10.27.16 | Women's Soccer

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Five Musketeers seniors to be honored prior to match

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer (7-10-1; 1-7-0 BE) closes out the 2016 season at home on Friday, hosting the Butler Bulldogs for the season-finale at 6:35 p.m. The Musketeers will honor five senior student-athletes prior to the match, which will be available on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers vs.
Butler Bulldogs
Friday, Oct. 28 | 6:35 PM
XU Soccer Complex
Live Stats / BEDN Stream

PROMOTIONS

• Senior Day: Xavier's five senior student-athletes will be honored in a ceremony before the game. Senior Day is set to begin at 6:20 p.m.

• Breast Cancer Awareness Game: Pink thunder sticks will be given to the first 250 fans in attendance.

• X-Pulse Double Check-in Match

2016 MUSKETEER SENIORS

TORI DOSS
Forward
Indianapolis, Ind.
Major: Chemistry and Biology (double major)

ELLIE ECKERLE
Midfielder
Villa Hills, Ky.
Major: Advertising and Digital Media

MADDY JOHN
Forward
Cleveland, Ohio
Major: Psychology
Minor: Physical Therapy

COURTNEY KOBASHIGAWA
Defender/Midfielder
Honolulu, Hawaii

Major: Finance and
Sport Management

RACHEL PICCUS
Goalkeeper
Cleveland, Ohio
Major: Biology
Minor: Chemistry, Gender and Diversity Studies

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

• Butler comes into the match 10-6-2 overall, with a 3-4-1 mark in the conference. The Bulldogs have postseason implications on the line, needing to pick up a win, in conjunction with a Creighton loss, to earn a chance to return to the BIG EAST Tournament.

• The last time out, BU took Marquette to overtime before falling on a golden goal for a 2-1 final score. Butler also fell to Providence, DePaul and No. 6 Georgetown in conference play.

• Prior to the match at Marquette, the Bulldogs had won a pair of matches against Creighton (2-0) and Seton Hall (2-1). Butler also picked up a BIG EAST win at Villanova (2-0) and a 0-0 double overtime result at St. John's.

• The Bulldogs' entered conference play with a record of 7-2-1, with wins over Ohio, Akron, SMU, Indiana State, Fort Wayne, IUPUI and Evansville. Butler also earned a result in a 0-0 double-overtime draw at Eastern Michigan.

• Butler's two non-conference losses were one-goal setbacks against Indiana (1-0) and LSU (2-1).

• Through 18 games, Serina Kahimoto leads the Bulldogs with 24 points with a team-high nine goals and six assists.

• Hannah Luedtke has played the bulk of the minutes in-goal, clocking nearly 1500 minutes with appearances in all 18 games. She collected 64 saves while allowing only 15 goals for a .810 save percentage with a GAA of 0.90. She is credited with six complete shutouts and took part in three others, sharing time with Madison Card.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Musketeers are 7-10-2 against the Bulldogs all time, dating back to 1991 when the Musketeers opened the series with three straight victories.

• Last season, Xavier fell 2-1 at Butler. The Musketeers took the early lead on a goal from Skylar Groth in the 16th minute. The Bulldogs responded in the 34th minute. The two teams played in a 1-1 draw until the 74 minute when Butler struck again for the game-winner.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier fell, 6-1, at Creighton on Sunday.

• The Bluejays jumped out to an early lead, scoring a pair in the first five minutes of the match.

• The Musketeers responded in the 18th minute, cutting the deficit in half with Andie Kennard's first goal of her college career.

• Maddie Tierney got the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, serving it to Kennard on the left side, just outside the 6-yard box. Kennard collected possession and lost her defender, shooting a rocket past the keeper.

• Less than a minute after Kennard's tally, the Bluejays re-extended the lead, 3-1, a score which held through halftime.

• The Bluejays added an insurance goal in the 65th minute, then added another quick pair in the closing minutes of the match to set the final margin.

• The Musketeers finished with 11 shots, led by a pair for Kennard, Samantha Dewey and Courtney Lankford, but were unable to chip into the Bluejay advantage. Eight different Musketeers recorded attempts.

XU STATS

• Through 18 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 seventh 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 18 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 18 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 21 goals through 18 games have come from nine different Musketeers. Eight Musketeers have also dished out assists bringing the total to 12 Musketeers with points on the season

• Rachel Piccus has played over 1100 minutes in goal, starting 15 of Xavier's 18 matches. Piccus has collecting 0.735 percent of shots against her for a total of 61 saves and 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 a team-high 1531 minutes for the Musketeers through 18 matches, averaging over 85 minutes per game. The senior defender is joined on the back line by Carly Alfano who has played over 83 minutes per game with 16 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 for the week of Oct. 17 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 for the week of Oct. 17 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

• The match against Butler marks only the third match on Xavier's home field for the Musketeers. The Oct. 20th 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.