Men's Soccer Kicks Off Northeast Road Trip Against Harvard on Friday

Friday, September 1

Cambridge, Mass.

4:30 p.m.

Xavier University

Harvard

Men's Soccer Kicks Off Northeast Road Trip Against Harvard on Friday

08.31.17 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats Watch (Ivy League Network)

Musketeers looking to build off dominating Drake win last Sunday

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier men's soccer opens up a northeast road swing on Friday, facing the Harvard Crimson at 4:30 p.m. at Jordan Field. It will be the season opener for Harvard.

The Musketeers are off to a 1-1 start, falling to Loyola Chicago in overtime on opening night before rebounding with a 3-0 win over Drake last Sunday at XU Soccer Complex.

Following the match, XU will spend the weekend in the Boston area and play another match on Monday at Boston College.

Coming off an 8-8-3 campaign a year ago, XU has seven starters back and returns 19 letterwinners overall after reaching the BIG EAST Quarterfinals and earning results against three ranked teams in 2016.

THE OPPONENT

at HARVARD CRIMSON
Match Info: Friday, Sept. 1 – 4:30 p.m. – Jordan Field
2016 Record: 10-3-2, 4-0-1 Ivy League
Postseason: N/A

Notable:
• Xavier travels to the Boston area for its first road tests of the year, spending the weekend in head coach Andy Fleming's hometown.
• The Crimson were one of the top sides in the Ivy League last season, going undefeated in five matches.
• This year's meeting will be the first between the two programs.

LAST TIME OUT

• Cam Taylor scored his second goal of the season in the 30th minute, giving XU an early lead against Drake with a header off a cross from Jacob Goodall.
• Samson Sergi followed just a minute later with a tapper past the keeper off a centering pass from Jacob Goodall.
• In the 61st minute, Matt Vasquenza made it a 3-0 match when he found the net for the first time this season off a pass from Josh Grant.
• Josh Grant and Jacob Goodall both supplied two assists in the game. Goodall has now assisted on three of Xavier's four goals this season, while Grant turned in his second multi-assist match in his career.
• XU held a 25-5 edge in shots and also led 7-1 in shots on goal. The Musketeers also held a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks.
• Redshirt freshman Zachary Nelson recorded the first shutout of his career in goal, making one save and playing the full 90.

CORY COLLECTS ACCOLADES

Senior defender Cory Brown, a native of Nelson, New Zealand, has collected an impressive list of awards during the preseason:

BROWN'S 2017 PRESEASON HONORS
• MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List
• Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year (second straight season)
• Unanimous selection to Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
• Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Second Team
• College Soccer News Preseason All-America Second Team
• No. 13 on Top Drawer Soccer list of best players in college soccer

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Cam Taylor was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday after supplying two goals last week and chipping in on a team shutout on Sunday.

NAME	AWARD (DATE)	RELEASE
Cam Taylor	BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week (8/28)	Link

GETTING UP OFF THE MAT

• Xavier has bounced back after losses consistently under head coach Andy Fleming, including this past Sunday with a 3-0 win over Drake.
• Since 2010, XU has compiled a record of 21-10-4 (.657) after a loss.

PRESEASON WRAP-UP

• Xavier ended the 2017 preseason with a 1-1-1 record, including a 3-0 win over Marian (Ind.) and a 1-1 draw against ACC foe Duke.
• In the result against Duke, XU outshot the Blue Devils 15-6 and had a 12-5 edge in corners.
• Matt Vasquenza scored goals in all three preseason games after scoring in each of the Musketeers' spring matches as well, giving him a goal in nine straight exhibitions.

WHAT'S BACK

• Xavier returns 19 letterwinners and seven starters from last season's team, including its leading scorer in Matt Vasquenza and top defender in Cory Brown.
• The roster consists of eight freshmen, 10 sophomores, seven juniors and four seniors. 10 of those players are newcomers to the roster, including transfers Sean Wilson (UNC) and Simen Hestnes (LIU Brooklyn).
• XU's leading scorer in 2016, Matt Vasquenza brings back 17 career goals and should reach the top-10 in program history with another productive season.
• XU's typically-balanced offense saw 11 players record an assist or score a goal last season. Seven players who contributed points last season return to this year's roster, although senior Matt Nance (3g, 4a) will miss the season with an injury.
• The senior class of Cory Brown, Matt Vasquenza, Matt Nance and Josh Grant have led the team to a 35-20-6 (.623) record since 2014.
• The Musketeers bring back 59.3 percent (16-of-27) of their scoring and 59.8 percent (52-of-87) of their points.

HOLES TO FILL

• Midfielders Jalen Brown and Majed Osman departed after combining for 107 shots and eight goals last season. Both offensive weapons made 19 starts and leave big shoes to fill in the Musketeer midfield.
• Another midfielder, Walker Andriot, transferred to Louisville for his final season of eligibility after contributing a goal and three assists in 19 starts last season.
• Longtime stalwart Todd Pratzner graduated after making 70 career starts at center back for XU.
• In addition to player turnover, XU has an entirely new look on the sidelines with David Costa, Kevin Reiman and Jamie Starr all new additions to the coaching staff. Starr returns to XU as goalkeepers coach after spending over a year with the USL club FC Cincinnati.

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

1. Providence (9) – 81 pts.
2. Creighton (1) – 70
3. Butler – 68
4. Villanova – 52
5. Georgetown – 46
6. Xavier – 45
7. Marquette – 30
8. St. John's – 27
9. DePaul – 21
10. Seton Hall – 10

First place votes in ( )

BIG EAST PRESEASON HONORS

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Mac Steeves, Providence, RS-Sr., F *

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Cory Brown, Xavier, Sr., D *

Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
JT Marcinkowski, Georgetown, Jr. *

2017 Men's Soccer Preseason All-BIG EAST #
Ricky Lopez-Espin, Creighton, Sr., F
Mac Steeves, Providence, RS-Sr., F
Harry Cooksley, St. John's, So., F ^
Lewis Suddick, Butler, So., M
Jared Timmer, Butler, Jr., M
Christopher Lema, Georgetown, Sr., M
Luka Prpa, Marquette, So., M
Andreas Bartosinksi, Villanova, Sr., M
Lucas Stauffer, Creighton, Jr., D
Mark Jecewiz, Providence, RS-Jr., D
Cory Brown, Xavier, Sr., D ^
JT Marcinkowski, Georgetown, Jr., GK

AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE

• Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the last seven seasons.
• The Musketeers have won 10 or more matches in six of the last seven seasons.
• Xavier is the only program in the nation with five consecutive major conference awards, including 2016 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Cory Brown.
• XU has qualified for four consecutive BIG EAST Championships, including a trip to the title game in 2014.
• XU has been ranked in the nation's top-10 three times in the last five years. by the NSCAA.
• In 2015, XU knocked off the national No. 1 (Creighton) and No. 2 (Notre Dame) on the road last season. The Musketeers are widely believed to be the first program to ever knock off both a No. 1 and a No. 2 on the road in the same season.
• Three XU players have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last six years, including 2017 second rounder Jalen Brown (38th overall).