Women's Soccer Hosts Kent State on Thursday Evening

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's soccer hosts Kent State on Thursday, September 14 in the second of five-straight home games. The Musketeers and Golden Flashes will face off at 7:00 p.m. at the XU Soccer Complex.

A live stream of the match will be available through the GoXavier.com.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers vs.
Kent State Golden Flashes
Thursday, Sept. 14 | 7 PM
XU Soccer Complex

PREVIEWING KENT STATE

The Golden Flashes come into the match at 4-3-0 overall. Kent State is coming off a weekend where it picked up a pair of 1-0 wins at home, first over Pitt on Thursday, and over Dayton on Sunday.
The win over Dayton was the third straight for Kent State, also topping Florida Atlantic, 1-0, in Fort Meyers, Fla. The Golden Flashes also fell 2-0 to Florida Gulf Coast during the trip to the Sunshine State.
To open the season, Kent State fell to Purdue and Cleveland State, then picked up it's first win of the season over St. Bonaventure.
Against the Flyers, freshman Vital Kats scoring the match-winning goal in the 46th minute, and the Golden Flashes recorded their fourth shutout in the last five matches.
The goal against Dayton was Kats' third of her season, adding to her team-high seven points on three goals and an assist. Cameron Schedenhelm has also scored three for the Golden Flashes this season. Two others have a tally each.
Ashleah McDonald and Katie Kingsbury have split time in-goal for Kent State. McDonald has started four of the five games she appeared in, collecting 18 saves with four goals against to earn a 3-2-0 record, including a pair of shutouts.
Kingsbury has started three games, appearing in four total, collecting six saves with two goals against for a record of 1-1-0, including a shutout against St. Bonaventure.
Kent State finished 2016 with a record of 15-3-2 overall and 8-1-2 in MAC play.
The Golden Flashes beat Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship game to earn the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
In NCAA Tournament play, Kent State fell to Northwestern in the first round.
The match-up with the Golden Flashes marks the first time the program's will face off.

VIDEO

PROMOTIONS

SOCIAL MEDIA BOGO NIGHT: The team's Facebook and Twitter accounts will post a Social Media BOGO graphic on match day, and fans that retweet, repost or share the graphic will receive a FREE ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket. Simply show the staff at the ticket tent your retweet, repost or share to receive the offer.

XU STATS

With the win over Northern Kentucky, Xavier moved to 4-3-1 overall and 4-1-1 at home this season.
Emma Westwater scored a pair over the weekend, making her the sixth Musketeer to have scored this season. Overall, ten Musketeers have recorded points.
Westwater's pair of goals, along with a previous assist, give her five points on the season, third most on the team. Her two goals rank 10th in the BIG EAST for an individual.
Sydney Schembri's tally against NKU was her third of the season, matching Samantha Dewey for team-high in goals (3) and points (6). Schembri and Dewey are tied for sixth in the conference for most goals, and rank in the top ten in the BIG EAST for points
Dewey's goals per game (0.60) rank second in the conference, with the preseason All-BIG EAST selection scoring three goals despite being limited to five appearances this season.
Dewey's total points (6) and points per game (2.0) are both fourth among BIG EAST competitors.
Carrie Lewis' pair of assist rank among the top 10 in the BIG EAST.
Toni Bizzarro's total saves (49) ranks highest in the BIG EAST and seventh in NCAA D-I. Her saves per game (6.12) ranks second in the conference and 36th in the country.
Bizzarro's save percentage (.803) ranks fourth in the conference.
As a team, Xavier ranks in the top five in the conference in total shots (99 - 4th), goals (11 - T4th), points (30 - 5th) and goals per game (1.38 - 5th). The Musketeers also lead the conference in saves (49) as a team.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier beat NKU, 2-1, after taking a 2-0 lead into halftime last Sunday.
In the Courtney Lankford served the ball into the box off a corner kick. Sydney Schembri, in the six-yard box, found the ball used a header to sink the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
In the 33rd minute, Caitie Baron served the ball ahead in transition for the Musketeers. Emma Westwater took possession in the box, working the ball past several defenders before tapping it into the left corner to put the Musketeers ahead 2-0.
NKU got a goal back shortly after the break when NKU's Macy Hamblin received the ball from Emily Soltes on the left side of the box. Hamblin played it through, sneaking the ball just inside the post on the far side of the net.
Sydney Schembri's first-half goal was the third of the season.
Courtney Lankford picked up the assist on Schembri's goal, her first points of the 2017 season.
Emma Westwater's goal was the second of the season for her and is the first game-winner of her college career.
Caitie Baron picked up the assist on Westwater's goal to bring her point total to three for the season, matching Tori Doss for fourth most on the team.
After both teams collected six shots and three corner kicks each in the first half, Xavier turned up the intensity on offense in the second half. Looking for an insurance goal, Xavier out-shot NKU 11-5 in the second period.
Toni Bizzarro played over 89 minutes in-frame, collecting four saves with one goal against before coming out for injury in the closing seconds of the match. Bizzarro's record improved to 4-3-1 with the win.
Libby Grace made her first appearance of the season in-goal in relief of Bizzarro.
Carly Alfano, Andie Kennard, Maddie Tierney and Addie Englehart all played the full 90 minutes on the Xavier back line.

UP NEXT

The Musketeers return home on Sunday, hosting Dayton on Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Next weekend, the Musketeers open BIG EAST play by hosting the Creighton Bluejays on Sunday, September 24 at 1:00 p.m.

WESTWATER NAMED TO HONOR ROLL

After scoring the first goal of her Xavier career on Friday night at Duquesne, Emma Westwater added a second on Sunday night to earn a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, announced by the conference office on Monday.
Friday evening, Westwater, a Canisius transfer, scored her first goal as a Musketeer. After Duquesne took a 3-0 lead, in the 78th minute Westwater found a ball, misplayed by the DU goalkeeper, in the penalty box. Westwater poked it in to cut the lead to 3-1,
Westwater, a native of Campbellville, Ontario, struck again in the 33rd minute against NKU on Sunday night. Caitie Baron served the ball ahead in transition for the Musketeers. Westwater took possession on the left side of the box, working the ball past several defenders before tapping it into the left corner to put the Musketeers ahead 2-0. After NKU scored early in the second half, making Westwater's goal the game-winner.
The two goals bring her collegiate total to three, including the first game-winner of her college career. Westwater's point total now stands at five, including an assist against Cleveland State, for the third most for the Musketeers so far this season.

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