Women's Soccer Renews Rivalry with Dayton on Friday

Friday, September 2

Dayton, Ohio

5 p.m.

Xavier University

University of Dayton

Women's Soccer Renews Rivalry with Dayton on Friday

08.31.16 | Women's Soccer

Live Stats Live Stream

Musketeers head up I-75 to face Flyers for first time since 2012

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer (2-1-1) heads up I-75 on Friday, Sept. 2 to renew one of the program's longest-standing rivalries. The Musketeers take on the Dayton Flyers at 5:00 p.m. at Baujan Field on the campus of the University of Dayton, the first official match-up between the two schools since the the annual rivalry came to a halt when Xavier joined the BIG EAST Conference in 2013. The game will be televised on Time Warner Cable TV and a live stream will be available from UD.

ABOUT DAYTON

MATCH INFO
Friday, Sept. 2 - 5:00 p.m.
Baujan Field - Dayton, Ohio
TV: TWC SportsChannel
Watch Live / Live Stats

• Dayton comes into the match looking for its first win of the season after the starting the season 0-3, with a fourth scheduled match against Bucknell canceled due to weather.

• In the last match, Dayton fell 2-1 to Kent State despite outshooting the Golden Flashes 16-6. Kent State took the 1-0 lead in the ninth minute on a penalty kick. The Flyers tied it up, 1-1 in the 66th minute when Alexis Kiehl scored her third goal of the season, also on a penalty kick. KSU's game winner came just two minutes later after a long pass found a Golden Flash wide open to chip the ball in.

• The loss to Kent State marked the third narrow loss of the season for the Flyers, who also dropped 2-1 decisions at Ohio in regulation and a heart-breaker at Cincinnati when the Bearcats scored in the final seconds of double overtime to steal the result.
Kiehl's three goals equal the entire scoring output for the Flyers on the season. The junior forward has scored in each of the Flyers' three matches and ranks 20th in NCAA DI for goals per game (1.0) and 29th for total goals. (3.0).

• The Flyers were chosen as the favorites in the Atlantic 10 for the eighth straight season, earning 185 votes, including eight first-place votes, in the coaches poll. Dayton returns nine starters from last season's 10-9-1 team that finished second in the A10 regular season with an 8-2 record in conference play before falling in the semifinals of the A10 tournaments when Duquesne advanced on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw.

• In the preseason poll, Kiehl earned a spot on the 13-person Atlantic 10 Preseason Team for a second-straight year. Kiehl is the top returning scorer from last season, having tallied eight goals and five assists during the 2015 season.

SERIES HISTORY

• The series with the Flyers dates back to 1984, with UD leading 9-25-2 all-time. Friday's match marks the first official meeting between the two since the Musketeers joined the BIG EAST Conference for the 2013 season, with the last match-up coming in 2012, a 3-0 loss for Xavier at Dayton.

• Prior to joining the BIG EAST, Xavier and Dayton played at least once each season since the inception of Xavier women's soccer in 1984. The Musketeers took the first three match-ups between the two programs.

XAVIER OFFENSE

• Tori Doss' pair of goals leads the Musketeers through four games. Doss, led the Musketeers in points as a freshman and a sophomore but had limited appearances as a junior due to injury, ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in total goals (2.0) and goals per game (0.5).

• 2015 points leader Samantha Dewey matches Doss for a team high four points after tallying her first goal of the season at Pitt. Dewey also has a pair of assists, matching Emily Calvani for team-high. The pair rank second in the conference both total assists (2.0) and assists per game. (0.5)

MUSKETEER DEFENSE

• Rachel Piccus leads the BIG EAST in save percentage, collecting 88 percent of shots she sees. Her two complete shutouts rank as second in the conference and 12th overall in NCAA DI.

• Defender Carly Alfano returned to the field after missing the first weekend of action injury related reasons. Alfano jumped right back into action, playing 102 minutes of the 110 double overtime draw at Ball State. She played another 85 minutes at Pitt for a cumulative 187 minutes on the Xavier back line, trailing only Piccus for total minutes among the Musketeers over the weekend.

LAST TIME OUT

• Pittsburgh took a 2-0 before Samantha Dewey struck for her first goal of the season. In the 59th minute, Courtney Kobashigawa played the ball up the field, feeding it in front of the net from just outside the box. Dewey got behind the defenders and buried the ball in the goal from inside the six yard box, cutting the Pittsburgh lead to 2-1.

• Goalkeeper Rachel Piccus collected seven saves on the day to keep the Musketeers within striking distance. Courtney Kobashigawa played the full 90 minutes on the back line and Carly Alfano played 85, helping limit the Panther offense.

• XU had a number of opportunities for the equalizer, getting a pair of corner kicks after forcing the Pitt goalkeeper to collect two of her seven saves in the last 15 minutes of the game, but were unable to find a clean look at the net, falling 2-1.

UP NEXT

• Xavier's next scheduled match is against Northern Kentucky University on Tuesday, Sept. 6th at 6:30 p.m. Please stay tuned to GoXavier.com and Xavier Athletics social media accounts for updates in regards to the match with NKU.