Men's Soccer Faces No. 22 Boston College to Cap Weekend Road Trip

Monday, September 4

Boston, Mass.

1 PM

Xavier University

#22 Boston College

Men's Soccer Faces No. 22 Boston College to Cap Weekend Road Trip

09.01.17 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats

Musketeers looking to extend two-match win streak, dominant play

By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier men's soccer continues a northeast road swing on Monday, facing No. 22 Boston College at 1 p.m. at Newton Campus Lacrosse & Soccer Field.

The Eagles are 2-1 on the season, beating Quinnipiac and Boston University by 4-0 scores before dropping their first match, 2-0, against New Hampshire on Friday at home.

The Musketeers are off to a 2-1 start, falling to Loyola Chicago in overtime on opening night before rebounding with a pair of 3-0 wins against Drake and Harvard.

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

BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Match Info: Monday, Sept. 4 – 1 p.m. – Newton Campus Lacrosse & Soccer Field
2016 Record: 9-9-3, 3-3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference
Postseason: ACC Championship Semifinals, NCAA Tournament Second Round

Notable:
• The Eagles reached the 2016 NCAA Tournament second round with a 1-0 win over Fordham before ending their season with a 3-0 loss to Albany.
• BC has been to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2015. The Eagles have made 14 appearances all-time.
• This year's meeting will be the first between the two programs.

LAST TIME OUT

• Simen Hestnes scored twice to lead XU to a 3-0 win over Harvard on Friday.
• It was Xavier's second straight 3-0 win.
• Hestnes' goals were his first and second in a Xavier uniform after transferring from LIU Brooklyn in the offseason.
• Samson Sergi scored in the 71st minute, his second tally in as many matches, to seal the 3-0 win.
• Matt Vasquenza registered assists on both of Hestnes goals, providing his second straight multi-point match.
• Xavier had a 14-7 edge in shots and a 10-1 advantage in corners.
• Josh Grant assisted on Sergi's goal, giving the senior his third helper of the season. He is tied for the team lead with Jacob Goodall.
• Zachary Nelson made three saves to earn his second consecutive clean sheet in goal.

NOTABLE

• Xavier comes into Monday's match with back-to-back shutouts.
• Six different Musketeers have recorded an assist in the first three matches of the season.
• Three XU players already have two goals this season (Taylor, Sergi, Hestnes).
• XU has outshot its opposition 51-23 and holds a 26-6 edge in corner kick opportunities through three matches.
• Josh Grant and Jacob Goodall are tied for the team-lead with three assists apiece.
• Defender Cameron Taylor has supplied a point in all three matches thus far, scoring a goal in the first two contest and registering an assist at Harvard.
• Newcomer Simen Hestnes and Cameron Taylor are tied for the team lead with five points apiece, both with two goals and one assist. Taylor has already surpassed his point total from all of 2016.

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).