Women's Soccer Closes out Regular Season Road Schedule at Seton Hall

Thursday, October 18

South Orange, N.J.

6:30 PM

Xavier University

Seton Hall

Women's Soccer Closes out Regular Season Road Schedule at Seton Hall

10.17.18 | Women's Soccer

Watch Live Live Stats

Musketeers and Pirates face off on the BEDN at 6:30 on Thursday

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's soccer (9-6-1; 3-2-1 BIG EAST) takes a three-match unbeaten streak on the road for the final time in the 2018 regular season, heading to Seton Hall to face the Pirates on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 6:30 PM. A live stream of the match will be available from the BIG EAST Digital Network through the FOX Sports Go app.

Xavier picked up its third conference win last Sunday, topping Marquette 3-0, to move into a tie for third place with St. John's with three regular season matches remaining. Xavier is looking the secure a second-straight bid to the BIG EAST Championships by finishing in the top six, and the program's first home match by securing one of the top four seeds.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers at
Seton Hall Pirates
Thursday, Oct. 18 | 6:30 PM ET
Owen T. Carroll Field
Watch Live | Live Stats

BIG EAST STANDINGS

SCHOOL	CONF	PTS.	OVERALL	STREAK
Georgetown	6-0	18	13-0-2	W12
Butler	4-1-1	13	10-4-1	W1
Xavier	3-2-1	10	9-6-1	W2
St. John's	3-2-1	10	7-7-1	W2
Villanova	3-3	9	9-6	L2
Creighton	3-3	9	6-8	W2
Providence	2-3-1	7	8-5-2	L1
DePaul	2-3-1	7	6-6-3	L2
Marquette	1-4-1	4	3-10-2	L2
Seton Hall	0-6	0	2-9-4	L6

PREVIEWING SETON HALL

The Pirates enter the game at 2-9-4 overall and 0-6 in BIG EAST play.
The Pirates were last in action against St. John's, falling 2-0. Prior to SJU, the Pirates were at Creighton where SHU fell, 2-1, and Villanova, where they fell, 4-1. SHU opened the conference schedule with 3-0 losses to DePaul, Butler and No. 7 Georgetown.
SHU picked up wins over Loyola and Quinnipiac in August. The Pirates played Delaware, UMass Lowell, Central Connecticut State and LIU Brooklyn to a draw during non-conference.
Siobhan McGovern leads the Pirates with four points on two goals. Alyssa Reszkowski, Cassey Harrign, Eva Gonzalez and Tanika Roach have each recorded a goal as well.
Anna MacLean has played the bulk of the time in-frame, collecting 73 saves with 23 goals against for a GAA of 1.45
Seton Hall finished 0-12-5 last season, including an 0-6-3 mark in BIG EAST play.
The Pirates return leading scorer Julia Stirpe as well as goalkeeper Anna MacLean, who played the majority of the minutes in-frame last season.
Xavier is 3-1-1 against Seton Hall all-time, including a 2-1 win over the Pirates from last season that secured the Musketeers' first bid to the BIG EAST Championship.
Last season, Xavier took the early lead, off a goal from Sydney Schembri in the first half. The lead held until SHU found the equalizer in the 67th minute. Xavier responded with a goal from Tori Doss in the 77th minute and held on to the advantage to secure the win.

VIDEO

WATCH | Kenadie Carlson and Rachel Dewey talk about getting the win over Marquette and staying focused going into the final stretch of the regular season. #LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/znwarK3fRb
— XU Women's Soccer (@XavierWSOC) October 17, 2018

UP NEXT

Xavier returns home on Sunday, October 21 to host St. John's at 1:00 p.m. ET.
SENIOR DAY: Join us as we honor our seniors at the game against the Red Storm!
FAMILY WEEKEND: Family weekend registrants receive free admission with wristband.
POST-GAME PENALTY KICKS: All kids in grades 8 & under are invited to the field after the game to participate in penalty kicks on the field.
STUDENT PROMO: T-Shirts to first 150 students.

LAST TIME OUT - MARQUETTE

Xavier women's soccer picked up its first win over Marquette since joining the BIG EAST on Sunday, topping the Golden Eagles, 3-0, at the XU Soccer Complex.
In the 40th minute, Courtney Lankford slipped the ball past the defender, playing the ball ahead to Claire Fisher. Fisher shot from the right side of the box to the left corner of the net past the MU goalkeeper off her line, putting Xavier up, 1-0.
The first insurance goal came in ght 57th minute when Samantha Dewey served the ball into the box on a free kick deep in the right corner. Molly McLaughlin used a header to finish low, putting Xavier up 2-0.
Xavier's third goal came in the final 10 minutes, when Samantha Dewey received the ball on the right side of the box, worked past multiple MU defenders and shot from the right side of the six yard box to the left corner, putting Xavier up, 3-0.
Marquette owned a 16-13 advantage on shots and 4-3 advantage on corner kicks.
Samantha Dewey recorded four shots, all on-frame. McLaughlin and Fisher each had a pair of looks.
Toni Bizzarro played the full time in frame, collecting eight saves with no goals against for her eighth win and sixth shutout of the season.
Grace Bahr and Allison Klimkowski played the full-time on the back line as Xavier's defense posted its seventh shutout of the season. Hayley Jakovich played 85 minutes, and made a save on the goal line to help preserve the shutout.
Rachel Dewey also played over 70 minutes in the midfield.
Xavier picked up its first win against Marquette since joining the BIG EAST. XU is now 2-8 all-time against the Golden Eagles, with the last win coming in 1990. Its the first match since the 2-0 win in 1990 where the Musketeers have scored more than a single goal against MU.
The win gave Xavier its 10th point in conference play, putting the Musketeers in a tie with St. John's for third in the conference with three regular season matches remaining. The top six teams earn a bid to the BIG EAST Championships, with home-field advantage on the line for the top four seeds.
Xavier's win was its ninth of the season, surpassing last season's total of eight wins with three regular season matches remaining. Nine wins is the most for the program since 2013.
Xavier moved to 5-1-1 at home on the season.

XAVIER STATS

Against Marquette, Samantha Dewey added three points to her team-high point total, now standing at 19, on seven goals and five assists. Both marks are also team-highs.
Dewey is third in the conference in points, assists and shots taken, fifth in goals.
Dewey also has four game-winning goals on the season, tied for the second most in the conference and for 21st in NCAA DI.
Grace Bahr has three goals, combined with an assist, for seven points, second most on the team.
Molly McLaughlin's goal against Marquette was her second of the season matching Sydney Schembri for third most goals on the team. The tally brought her point total to four, the fourth-highest point total.
Brooke Sroka and Andie Kennard each have a goal and an assist for three points.
Claire Fisher became the 14th Musketeer to record a goal, scoring a game-winner against Marquette on her first goal at Xavier. She joined Allison Klimkowski, Sabrina Kunimoto, Rachel Butler, Kenadie Carlson, Isabella Langush, Rachel Dewey and Carrie Lewis who each have two points on a goal.
Courtney Lankford recorded her first assist of the season on Fisher's goal. Grace Brauer, Jenna Leslie and Olivia Popovich each have a point on an assist.
Through 15 games, Xavier has 14 goal scorers. The Musketeers needed just seven games to surpass last year's total of six goal scorers. Xavier also has 18 players who have recorded points, surpassing last year's total of 11.
Kunimoto's goal against Villanova was the 20th tally of the season for the Musketeers, surpassing last year's total of 19. Xavier now has 26 goals on the season.
Xavier's offense is second in the BIG EAST in shots, goals and corner kicks earned and third in points.
Freshmen Allison Klimkowski and Hayley Jakovich have started every game in the backfield this season. Grace Bahr joined Klimkowski and Jakovich in the starting backfield in each of Xavier's past 11 matches and the trio has totaled over 1290 minutes each, helping Xavier earn shutouts in seven matches this season.
Carrie Lewis and Rachel Dewey have both played over 1110 minutes in midfield for the Musketeers.
Goalkeeper Toni Bizzarro has played 14 matches in-frame, making 68 saves with 14 goals against for a GAA of 0.95. Bizzarro has a record of 8-5-1 with six shutouts to her credit.
Bizzarro's six shutouts rank third most in the conference. Her save percentage of .829 ranks third as well.
Olivia Jenkins has appeared in-frame twice this season, collecting six saves with three goals against for a GAA of 1.50. She picked up the first win and shutout of her college career against Southern Indiana.
Xavier's seven shutouts are tied for the third most in the conference this season.

USC REGIONAL RANKINGS

After making its first appearance in the USC Regional Rankings at No. 10 in the East, Xavier moved up to No. 9 this week after extending its unbeaten streak to three last week against Marquette.
The East rankings features four BIG EAST schools, including undefeated Georgetown at No.1. The Hoyas are also ranked No. 4 nationally, as well as No. 3 Butler and No. 8 Providence.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After leading the league in saves last week, Xavier women's soccer goalkeeper Toni Bizzarro was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week. Samantha Dewey was also named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after collecting three points in Xavier's lone match.
Bizzarro collected eight saves against Marquette to keep the Golden Eagles scoreless, earning her sixth shutout of the season, and second in BIG EAST action. The eight saves led all BIG EAST goalkeepers last week as Xavier picked up the 3-0 win over Marquette to move into a tie for third in the BIG EAST standings.
The weekly award is Bizzarro's second of the season and fifth of her career. Bizzarro also earned Goalkeeper of the Week earlier this season, for the week of Sept. 10. Additionally, she was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week last season for the week of Oct. 2, and was twice named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week during her rookie campaign (9/12/2016, 10/17/2016).
Samantha Dewey was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after playing a role in two of Xavier's three goals against Marquette. On Xavier's insurance goal, Dewey picked up the assist by serving the ball into the box from near the sideline on a free kick, finding Molly McLaughlin for the header. Dewey then created an opportunity for herself in the 84th minute, playing the ball into the box and shooting to the far corner for Xavier's third goal.
It is the third time this season, and the eighth time in her career that Dewey was named to the Weekly Honor Roll, also earning the honor for the weeks of Oct. 1 and Sept. 17 this season. She was also twice named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (8/24/2015 and 10/26/2015).
Bizzarro's weekly award marks the fourth weekly honor for the Musketeers this season, joining Allison Klimkowski, the Freshman of the Week last week, and Grace Bahr, who was the Defender of the Week for the week of Sept. 17, in addition to Bizzarro's pair of honors. In addition to Samantha Dewey's Weekly Honor Roll nominations, Sydney Schembri has also been recognized by the conference with BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll honors.

USC TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD

Xavier women's soccer earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the fourth straight year, and eighth year overall.
The Musketeers posted a department-best grade point average of 3.67 for the 2017-18 academic year, with 22 team members earning BIG EAST All-Academic for posting a grade point average of 3.0 or above.
The USC Team Academic Award distinction is awarded to programs with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher for the academic year. In total, 773 soccer teams, including 484 women's squads and 289 men's, earned the award for the 2017-18 academic year.
Xavier was one of the 192 schools with both their men's and women's programs recognized.
Xavier women's soccer, which has earned Public Recognition from the NCAA for posting a perfect 1000 in the Academic Progress Rate score three years in a row, also earned the USC Team Academic Award in 2001, 2011-13 and 2015-17.

XU LINEUP

Xavier returns 75 percent of its scoring from last season, including the scorers of 14 of the team's 19 goals.
Leading scorer Sydney Schembri is back after finishing with 12 points on six goals as a rookie, earning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and All-Freshman Team honors.
Emma Westwater returns as a senior after a nine-point junior season, scored on four goals and an assist.
The Musketeers' attack is bolstered by the return of two of the program's most prolific scorers in recent years, redshirt junior Samantha Dewey and redshirt senior Kenadie Carlson.
Xavier also adds a pair of transfers up front, Sabrina Kunimoto, a sophomore from Delaware, and Raechel Eck, a grad transfer from Akron with two years of eligibility remaining.
Four freshmen also join Xavier's offensive attack, Grace Brauer, Makenna Jordahl, Reagan Norvell and Brooke Sroka
Xavier returns the core of its midfield with Carrie Lewis and Courtney Lankford who, combined, accounted for six of Xavier's 14 assists on the season.
Lewis led the Musketeers with four in a season where she started every match, while Lankford added a pair.
Jessica Miller, who started two of the first three games last season before sitting out due to injury, also returns. Emily Burton and Abby O'Keefe combined to make 16 starts last season after Miller's injury. O'Keefe assisted on a pair of goals and Burton added an assist as well. Makayla Kolberg, who made multiple starts in 2017, and Megan Sullivan, who appeared in 15 matches, also return.
The Musketeers brought in a pair of experienced transfers in the midfield for the 2018 spring season, Claire Fisher, a sophomore transfer from Tennessee, and Grace Bahr, a junior transfer from Wisconsin.
Rachel Dewey, younger sister of Samantha Dewey, makes up part of a quartet of freshmen midfielders, which also includes Jordan Reddington, Molly McLaughlin and Rachel Butler.
Xavier returns defender Andie Kennard for her senior season after a junior campaign where she was second on the team in minutes played. Kennard also recorded her first career goal in 2017, the game-winner against Ohio.
Redshirt-freshman Abi Janszen also returns for the Musketeers after being limited to three appearance due to injury.
Five newcomers join the backfield, freshmen Hayley Jakovich, Isabella Langusch, Jenna Leslie, Allison Klimkowski and Olivia Popovich.
Goalkeeper Toni Bizzarro, who started all 19 games she appeared in last season, returns for her junior season. Bizzarro collected eight wins, including four shutouts last season, making 106 saves for a .828 save percentage with a GAA of 1.09.
Xavier added a pair of freshmen goalkeepers, Olivia Jenkins and Caroline Welsh, to join Bizzarro.

DEWEY NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

For a second-straight season, Xavier women's soccer's Samantha Dewey was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
The red-shirt junior forward is the first Musketeer to earn preseason conference honor in back-to-back years since joining the conference. Last season, her nomination was the first preseason nod for a Musketeer since Xavier joined the BIG EAST in 2013.
Dewey, a native of Fairland, Ind., appeared in the first five matches in 2017 before sitting out the remainder due to injury. In her shortened season, Dewey still tallied three goals, fourth most on the team. Dewey led the Musketeers in scoring during the first five games of the season, tallying a pair in a win against Cleveland State and scoring the game winner against Ball State. She was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice in the first two weeks of the season.
Prior to the 2017 season, Dewey led the Musketeers in points in each of her two previous seasons at Xavier. After posting 20 points on eight goals and four assists in 2016, Dewey was named Second Team All-BIG EAST, making her the first Musketeer to earn first or second team honors since joining the conference. Dewey was also named to the All-Ohio Second Team after the 2016 season.
As a freshman, Dewey was a unanimous selection to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team after a 22-point rookie campaign. She was twice conference rookie of the week and has earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll honors fives times in her career.

2017 IN REVIEW

The Musketeers, picked to finish seventh in the BIG EAST, are coming off a fifth-place finish in the 2017 season, which earned the program's first berth to the BIG EAST Championship since joining the conference and the program's first conference championship appearance since 2003.
In Nate Lie's first season as head coach, Xavier finished the season 8-8-4 overall, marking the first season at .500 or above since 2013, when Xavier finished 9-8-1. The Musketeers' record of 4-3-2 in BIG EAST play, posting a winning conference record for the first time since 2005. Xavier finished the regular season with a program-best 14 points in the BIG EAST standings.
The Musketeers limited 16 of 20 opponents to a single goal or less, including every BIG EAST regular season match-up.
In addition to Sydney Schembri's Freshman of the Year and All-Freshman Team honors, seniors Tori Doss and Carly Alfano both earned Second Team All-BIG EAST and CoSIDA Academic All-American after last season.