Women's Soccer Closes Out Road Swing at Providence

Thursday, September 29

Providence, R.I.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Providence College

Women's Soccer Closes Out Road Swing at Providence

09.28.16 | Women's Soccer

Live Stats Live Stream ($)Xavier Season Stats (PDF)Providence Women's Soccer Info PC Women's Soccer

Musketeers and Friars face off Thursday at 7:00 PM

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer finishes out a five-game road swing on Thursday, Sept. 29 at Providence. The Musketeers (6-4-1; 0-1-0 BE) and the Friars are set to face off at 7:00 p.m. ET. A live stream will be available through Friars.com with a paid subscription.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers at
Providence Friars
Thursday, Sept. 29 | 7 PM ET
Chapey Field / Providence, R.I.
Live Stats / Live Stream ($)

SCOUTING THE FRIARS

• Providence (6-3-2, 0-0-1 BE) is coming off a 0-0 double-overtime draw at No. 6/3 Georgetown in its BIG EAST opener. Senior goalkeeper Kristyn Shea made seven saves against the Hoyas to hold GU scoreless in BIG EAST play for the first time since Oct.11, 2015.

• The match with Georgetown marks the third double-overtime match of the season for PC, which played No. 10 Rutgers to a 1-1 tie on Aug. 21, then lost in double OT, 2-1, at Northeastern the next time out.

• Providence earned results in seven of its last eight games, including getting six wins over Maine, Boston University, Colgate, Brown, CCSU and UMass.

• The Friar's lone loss in that stretch was a 3-1 loss to Harvard on Sept. 11. PC also dropped its season opener to Boston College, 4-1.

• Through 11 games, graduate student Kathryn Hiller and senior Rachel Ugolik each have a team-high 11 points. Hiller has amassed a team-high five goals an an assist, while Ugolik has four goal and three assists, each the second highest on the team.

• The Friars have 19 goals from eight different players through 11 matches.

• Kristyn Shea, who was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week for the second time this season after her shut-out performance against the Hoyas, has clocked over 1157 minutes in-goal for the Friars. Shea has 61 saves for a save percentage of 0.847 with a GAA of 0.86 in six-shutout performances on the way to a 5-2-2 record.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Musketeers trail the all-time series with Providence 1-3-0, dating back to 1995. The Musketeers took a 4-0 win at home in the first match of the series, which then took a 17-year hiatus until Xavier joined the BIG EAST Conference in 2013. Since then, PC has taken three straight wins in the series.

• In last season's matchup in Cincinnati, Providence took a 1-0 win after then-sophomore Christina Klaum scored in the 10th minute. Kenadie Carlson led the Musketeers with a pair of shots on-goal. Rachel Piccus collected seven saves to keep the Musketeers within striking distance.

LAST TIME OUT

• Last Sunday, Xavier was shut out for only the second time this season, falling 5-0 at DePaul in the BIG EAST opener.

• DePaul had five players record points in the match, including three players who scored goals. The Blue Demons took a 2-0 lead in to the halftime break after Franny Cerny scored in the 18th minute and Abby Reed added to the lead in the 38th.

• Ellie Eckerle had the first good look of the match, getting a header off a corner kick from Samantha Dewey in the 13th minute that went just wide of the goal. Dewey then found an opportunity of her own in the first period when she dispossessed a DePaul defender and had a clean look at the net from 20 yards out, but the shot was collected for the save.

• Lankford's first of her team-high two shots came in the 30th minute, a look in the box that would have tied the match. Lankford found the ball about 15 yards out off a pass from Kennedy Rose but Lankford, under pressure from DePaul defenders, shot just wide of the goal.

• Addie Englehart created a good chance for the Musketeers early in the second half, shooting from the far side of the box. The ball narrowly missed going inside the near post to keep the Musketeers scoreless.

• The Musketeers kept the Blue Demons within two goals until the 72nd minute, when DePaul added a third tally on a penalty kick for Cerny. Less than four minutes later, Bina Saipi found the ball off a rebound in front of the net to put DU up 4-0. Cerny scored once more in the 79th minute to set the final margin.

• The Musketeers continued to pressure on offense even as the game came to a close. The best late look came from Lankford, who created a chance that forced the DePaul keeper to make the save to keep Xavier scoreless in the final 10 minutes of the game.

• Bizzarro started the game in goal, playing nearly 60 minutes and collecting a save and allowing a pair. Rachel Piccus relieved Bizzarro for the final 30 minutes, collecting three saves, including a pair of diving stops, and allowing three. Ellie Eckerle played the full 90 minutes on the Xavier back line.

XU STATS

• Through 11 games, Samantha Dewey, the leading points scorer from 2015, has posted a team-leading 14 points off a team-highs in goals (5) and assists (4).

• Tori Doss and Kenadie Carlson have each posted eight points through 11 games, the second highest total on the squad. Doss has four goals on the season after she scored the game-winner against Ohio. Carlson scored the lone goal for the Musketeers at IUPUI to bring her season total to three to go with a pair of assists.

• Xavier's 17 goals through 11 games have come from eight different Musketeers. Eight Musketeers have also dished out assists.

• Rachel Piccus has played a team-high 681 minutes in goal, starting eight of Xavier's 11 matches. Piccus has allowed 12 goals against while collecting 75.5 percent of shots against her for a total of 37 saves. Piccus has picked up four wins on the season, including a pair of shutouts.

• Toni Bizzarro made her third start of the season against DePaul. Through 329 minutes of action, Bizzarro has 14 saves for a 73.7 save percentage while only allowing five goals for a 1.37 GAA. In six appearances, Bizzarro has a record of 2-2-0.

• In the backfield, Courtney Kobashigawa plays a team-leading 86 minutes per game for the Musketeers. The senior is joined on the back line by Carly Alfano and Ellie Eckerle who each contribute over 85 minutes a game for the Musketeer defense.

WEEKLY AWARDS

• Five Musketeers have earned weekly awards from the BIG EAST Conference. Most recently, Toni Bizzarro and Kenadie Carlson earned honors for the week of September 12.

• Bizzarro was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week after Bizzarro making her first collegiate appearance against NKU on Sept. 6, splitting time with Rachel Piccus in frame in all three of the Musketeers' matches that week to total 135 minutes. In those three appearances, she collected seven saves for a .875 save percentage while allowing only one goal on the way to a 2-0 record.

• Kenadie Carlson earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after she totaled five points through three games to help the Musketeers to a 2-1 record during that week. After the Musketeers fell behind 1-0 at NKU, Carlson scored her first of the season just out of the halftime break to tie the game which the Musketeers won on a last second goal. Carlson collected another three points in the win at Youngstown State, assisting on Samantha Dewey's goal in the 60th minute and scoring the game-winner in the 73rd. This is Carlson's first weekly award of the season.

• Bizzarro and Carlson join three other Musketeers who have earned weekly awards from the BIG EAST this season. In week one, Rachel Piccus earned Goalkeeper of the Week honors, while Maddie Tierney was named to the Weekly Honor Roll. Samantha Dewey also earned Weekly Honor Roll recognition for the week of Sept. 5.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Xavier women's soccer will host No. 6/3 Georgetown on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1:00 p.m. The match with the Hoyas has been moved to the NKU Soccer Stadium on the campus of Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Ky.

• Admission and parking at the event will be free. Gates to NKU Soccer Stadium open an hour prior to first kick.

• Parking for NKU soccer matches is available for in Lot O, adjacent to the NKU Soccer Stadium and The BB&T Arena. For information on accessible parking or other general inquiries regarding parking, contact NKU Parking Services.

• Xavier's home match with Marquette on Thursday, Oct. 6 will also be played at NKU Soccer Stadium. That match is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.

• The XU Soccer Complex is temporarily unplayable due to severe flooding in certain sections of campus and surrounding areas. Stay tuned to GoXavier.com and @XavierWSOC on Twitter for further updates.