SEASON WRAP-UP: Men's Soccer Finishes in Playoffs for Sixth Straight Season

CINCINNATI - Hardly ever did the season go the way it was planned, but when the dust cleared the 2018 Xavier men's soccer team could look back with pride on another year in the national rankings and a fifth-place finish in the BIG EAST Conference.

The Musketeers survived a five-match losing streak in the latter stages of the season, a barrage of injuries and some poor luck to finish 6-7-6 overall with a 4-4-1 mark in league action.

XU dug deep in its final two regular season matches, however, getting a road win at Seton Hall and taking down rival Butler in a 5-3 shootout to clinch a spot in the BIG EAST Championships. The five goals were a program record for a BIG EAST match.

The late season results put XU into the BIG EAST Championships for the sixth straight season. Facing Marquette on the road, the Musketeers battled to a 2-2 tie and eventually saw the season end on penalty kicks.

Simen Hestnes, Samson Sergi and Taylor Crull were each recognized as all-conference performers after the season, while head coach Andy Fleming finished the year with 98 career wins.

COACH FLEMING'S COMMENTS

On the season overall...

On the senior class...

On the program's future outlook...

AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE

• Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the last nine seasons.
• The Musketeers have won 10 or more matches in seven of the last nine seasons.
• Xavier was the only program in the nation with five consecutive major conference awards from 2012-16, including 2016 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Cory Brown.
• XU has qualified for six consecutive BIG EAST Championships, including trips to the title game in 2014 and 2017.
• XU has been ranked in the nation's top-10 three times in the last six years by the United Soccer Coaches. The Musketeers have been nationally-ranked in at least one major college soccer poll (United Soccer Coaches, Top Drawer Soccer, College Soccer News, Soccer America) in every season since 2011.
• 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.
• Four XU players have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last seven years, including 2018 third rounder Cory Brown.

NOTABLE

• XU ranked 54th nationally in shots per game (13.26), 48th in goals with 30 and 29th in the nation with 33 assists. XU's 93 points ranked 41st at the NCAA Division I level.
• XU's goal differential for the year was 30-28 and the Musketeers outshot their opposition 252-204.
• The Musketeers held a 119-82 edge in corner kicks against their opposition this season. Xavier ranked 12th in the nation in corner kicks per match (6.26).
• Xavier began the season unbeaten in seven matches (3-0-4) for the first time since a program record 14-match unbeaten streak to start the 2012 season.
• Balanced offense has become a hallmark for Xavier and the team had 12 different players with an assist this season as well as 10 different goal scorers.
• Samson Sergi and Simen Hestnes both scored hat tricks this season for the Musketeers. Sergi's three-goal effort came in the regular season finale, a 5-3 win over Butler, while Hestnes' hat trick was against Cincinnati Christian in the 2018 season opener.
• Head coach Andy Fleming finished the season with a career record of 98-55-30 (.618) and is just two wins from 100 in his career.

TOURNAMENT TIME

• XU is 7-6-5 in conference tournaments under head coach Andy Fleming, winning Atlantic 10 Championships in 2010 and 2011.
• The 2017 BIG EAST Championship match was XU's fourth appearance in a conference championship match in eight years under Andy Fleming.
• The Musketeers are 3-5-2 in the BIG EAST Championships with runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2017.
• Xavier improved to 2-0 at home in the league's postseason tournament after a 3-0 win over Providence last season.
• Xavier's highest-seed was No. 2 in 2014.
• XU was a No. 5 seed for the second time in 2018 and is 0-1-1 in the league tournament as the fifth seed. XU tied 2-2 against Marquette in this year's playoff and lost 3-1 at No. 4 Creighton in 2016 in its last appearance as the No. 5 seed.
• Providence was the last team to make it to the title match as a No. 5 seed in 2010. A five seed has never won the tournament in the league's history. The lowest seed to win the title was No. 6 Connecticut, which advanced on penalty kicks against No. 8 Seton Hall in 2004.

X IN THE RANKINGS

• Xavier was ranked in all three national polls for the only time this fall on Sept. 25, checking in at No. 20 in the College Soccer News Top 30 and No. 22 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25. Xavier was rated the highest in Top Drawer Soccer's Top 25, ranking 18th overall.
• The Musketeers received votes in the coaches poll in five weeks this fall.
• XU has been ranked in the nation's top-10 three times in the last six years by the United Soccer Coaches.
• The Musketeers have been nationally-ranked in at least one major college soccer poll (United Soccer Coaches, Top Drawer Soccer, College Soccer News, Soccer America) in every season since 2011.

GETTING UP OFF THE MAT

• XU is 1-5-1 after a loss in 2018, but has bounced back after losses consistently under head coach Andy Fleming compiling a record of 25-16-5 (.598) after a loss since his arrival to the program in 2010.

BIG (EAST) SUCCESS

• With a 4-4-1 record in 2018, Xavier is now 30-19-5 (.602) in BIG EAST play since joining the conference ahead of the 2013 season.
• The Musketeers have never finished below fifth-place or missed qualifying for the BIG EAST Championships in six seasons in the league.
• Xavier has reached the league semifinals twice (2013, 2015) and has appeared in the title game twice (2014, 2017). Xavier was defeated in the quarterfinals at Creighton in 2016.

HOME SWEET HOME

• Xavier saw a 14-match home unbeaten streak snapped against Creighton on Friday, October 12 and finished the season 4-2-3 at XU Soccer Complex in 2018.
• Prior to this year's loss to Creighton on Oct. 12, the Musketeers' last loss at XU Soccer Complex came on Friday, August 25 against Loyola Chicago in the 2017 season opener.
• The Musketeers are 18-5-5 (.732) at home since the start of the 2016 season.
• Xavier is 58-18-10 (.733) at Xavier Soccer Complex since Andy Fleming took over the program in 2010.

HERE VS. THERE

• Xavier was 4-2-3 and averaged 2.22 goals per game while holding opponents to 1.33 goals per game at XU Soccer Complex this season. The Musketeers also held a 15.9-10.6 edge in shots at home and a 62-32 advantage in corner kicks.
• On the road, XU was 2-5-3 with a 1.00 goals per game average while allowing 1.60 goals per game. Opponents have been even with XU 10.9-10.9 in shots on the road and XU has a slight edge in corners, 57-50.
• XU was shut out four times on the road and had 10 goals in 10 road matches. Three of those came in a 3-2 win at Georgetown on Sept. 15 and another two came in a 2-2 tie at Marquette on Nov. 3.

A TALE OF TWO TEAMS

• XU's unbeaten start (3-0-4) featured prolific scoring and defense as the team averaged 1.86 goals per match and a 0.57 goals against average. The Musketeers posted four shutouts in the seven matches and out-scored their opposition 13-4.
• In a nine match skid after the unbeaten start, Xavier was 1-7-1 and was been out-scored 18-8 with 0.89 goals per match and a goals against average of 2.00.
• Xavier ultimately responded with wins its final two matches, securing a playoff spot with seven goals in its final two regular season matches.

SIMEN SAYS "SCORE"

• Senior midfielder Simen Hestnes was one of the top offensive weapons in the nation and led Xavier with 24 points (8g, 8a) in 19 matches. He recorded at least a point in nine of Xavier's last 13 matches.
• Hestnes ranked 56th nationally with 1.26 points per match. His eight goals ranked tied for 72nd nationally, while his 24 points rank 43rd.
• He led the BIG EAST in total points (24), points per game (1.26) and was second with eight goals.
• Hestnes scored or assisted on all three goals during XU's 3-1 win over rival Cincinnati in the "Crosstown Derby" on Friday, Sept. 7.
• Hestnes began the season with his first career hat trick, scoring three times in just 32 minutes in a 6-0 win over Cincinnati Christian.
• Hestnes transferred to Xavier from LIU Brooklyn before his junior season and is XU's leading returning scorer after recording 21 points (7g, 7a) in 2017.
• The Oslo, Norway native has been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice this season and was a preseason All-BIG EAST selection.

XU'S STINGY START

• Xavier saw its season-opening shutout streak come to an end against UC on Friday, Sept. 7 after 364:41 minutes of scoreless soccer.
• XU's three match shutout streak to start the season was the longest for the program since the Musketeers had three consecutive shutouts from Oct. 4-11 during the 2016 season, a span of 279:07 minutes without allowing a goal.
• Xavier's last four match shutout streak was from Sept. 15-26 during the 2015 season, which tied a program record from 1988 and 2014. The shutout streak stretched a total of 485.38 minutes, including the second half of a 2-1 win over UC on Sept. 11, 2015.

XAVIER AGAINST THE BEST

• Xavier has faced 31 United Soccer Coaches-ranked opponents since Andy Fleming took over the program in 2010, including No. 6 Kentucky, No. 12 Creighton and No. 20 Notre Dame this season.
• In the Fleming era, Xavier boasts an 11-14-7 overall record against USC ranked opposition, including wins over No. 9 Georgetown and No. 22 Boston College last season.
• XU has a home draw against No. 6 Kentucky this season and is 0-2-1 against ranked opponents in 2018.
• The Musketeers are also an incredible 7-2-2 against the Top-10 in that time frame, including wins at No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 1 Creighton in 2015. In 2014, the Musketeers claimed victories against No. 5 Indiana and No. 8 Georgetown on the way to the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 berth.

2018 AWARDS

BIG EAST/National Awards

NAME	AWARD	LINK
Simen Hestnes	NCAA All-East Region Third Team	Story
Simen Hestnes	All-BIG EAST First Team	Story
Samson Sergi	All-BIG EAST Second Team	Story
Taylor Crull	BIG EAST All-Freshman Team	Story
Simen Hestnes	Preseason All-BIG EAST	Story
Cameron Taylor	Preseason All-BIG EAST	Story

BIG EAST Weekly Awards

NAME	AWARD	LINK
Simen Hestnes	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (8/27)	Story
Zachary Nelson	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (9/3)	Story
Simen Hestnes	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (9/10)	Story
Zachary Nelson	BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week (9/17)	Story
Cameron Belle	BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (9/17)	Story
Matt Nance	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (9/17)	Story
Zachary Nelson	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (9/24)	Story
Samson Sergi	BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week (10/8)	Story
Cameron Belle	BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (10/8)	Story
Simen Hestnes	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (10/29)	Story
Samson Sergi	BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week (11/5)	Story
Felix Boe-Tangen	BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (11/5)	Story

PRESEASON WRAP-UP

• Xavier wrapped the 2018 preseason with a 1-0-1 record against a pair of vaunted opponents.
• The Musketeers topped preseason No. 2 Indiana by a score of 2-1 on the road on Sunday, Aug. 12. Bryce Curran and Cameron Belle supplied the goals in the first period of the match.
• XU then closed exhibition action on Friday, Aug. 17 with a 0-0 draw against preseason No. 7 Michigan State.

PRESEASON POLL/HONORS

• Xavier was picked third in the BIG EAST preseason poll, receiving 60 points for its highest-ever preseason ranking. Xavier had previously been picked as high as fourth in the 2016 preseason poll.
• Cameron Taylor and Simen Hestnes were also picked to the preseason All-BIG EAST Team, giving XU multiple players on that team for the third time in six seasons.

PRESEASON POLL
1. Georgetown (7) - 79
2. Butler (3) - 73
3. Xavier - 60
T4. Creighton - 54
T4. Providence - 54
6. Marquette - 37
7. St. John's - 33
8. Villanova - 31
9. Seton Hall - 20
10. DePaul - 9

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