Men's Soccer Hosts Battle of Unbeatens as No. 3/6 Kentucky Comes to Town Tuesday

Tuesday, September 11

XU Soccer Complex

7 PM

Xavier University

No. 6 Kentucky

Men's Soccer Hosts Battle of Unbeatens as No. 3/6 Kentucky Comes to Town Tuesday

09.10.18 | Men's Soccer

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By: Brendan Bergen, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer hosts a matchup of unbeaten teams on Tuesday night as Kentucky visits XU Soccer Complex for a 7 p.m. ET first touch.

The Musketeers (2-0-2) extended their unbeaten streak to nine straight against rival Cincinnati on Friday night with a 3-1 win and remain unbeaten to start the season. The four match unbeaten streak is the longest to start a year for XU since 2012.

Xavier is now receiving votes in the Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News Polls after receiving votes in the first three United Soccer Coaches Polls as well.

Kentucky (4-0) is ranked as high as No. 3 by Top Drawer Soccer after an impressive start to the season, which includes a 3-0 home win over rival Louisville. UK also has defeated DePaul, Columbia and UAB to start the 2018 season. The Wildcats are also rated 14th by College Soccer News and are up to No. 6 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll.

Unbeaten Xavier generated some preseason buzz with an impressive 1-0-1 exhibition record against a pair of top-10 opponents prior to the regular season, defeating No. 2 Indiana 2-1 on Sunday, Aug. 12 and drawing against No. 7 Michigan State in a 0-0 match.

Overall, eight starters are back for XU after an 11-6-3 campaign in 2017 that saw the Musketeers reach the BIG EAST Championships title game.

PROMOTIONS

FACULTY/STAFF APPRECIATION NIGHT: Xavier faculty and staff can receive up to 4 complimentary tickets.
STUDENT PROMO: Food in the student section at halftime!

THE OPPONENT

vs. KENTUCKY WILDCATS
Match Info: Tuesday, Sept. 11 – 7 p.m. – XU Soccer Complex
2018 Record: 4-0 (3-0 Home, 1-0 Away)
2017 Record: 8-6-4, 4-2-2 Conference USA
Postseason: C-USA Tournament First Round

Notable:
• Both teams enter the match with four match unbeaten streaks to start the season.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series 7-3-1, but XU is 2-1-1 against the Wildcats under head coach Andy Fleming.
• Both teams were nationally ranked and battled to a 1-1 tie last season in Lexington on Sept. 20. Samson Sergi had the equalizer for Xavier in the 28th minute.
• Xavier won its first-ever NCAA Tournament match against UK in 2012, besting UK by a 1-0 score in Lexington.

NOTABLE

• After four matches, Xavier ranks eighth in the nation in shutout percentage (.750) and sixth in team goals against average (0.225). XU allowed its first goal of the season in the second half of Friday night's win over UC, snapping a three-match shutout streak that lasted 364:41 minutes.
• XU also ranks fifth nationally in shots per game (17.75) and 25th nationally in shots on goal per match (6.75).
• XU's goal differential for the year is now 9-1 and the Musketeers are outshooting their opposition 71-33. XU also holds a 27-11 edge in shots on goal.
• The Musketeers hold a 23-19 edge in corner kicks against their opposition this season.
• Balanced offense has become a hallmark for Xavier and the team already has seven different players with an assist this season as well as six different goal scorers.
• Head coach Andy Fleming moved to 94-48-26 with a win on Friday and is now just six wins from 100 in his career.

HOME SWEET HOME

• Xavier is currently riding a 10-match winning streak at home, including a 2-0 mark in 2018.
• The Musketeers' last loss at XU Soccer Complex came on Friday, August 25 against Loyola Chicago in the 2017 season opener.
• The Musketeers are 16-3-2 (.810) at home since the start of the 2016 season.
• Xavier is 56-16-7 (.753) at Xavier Soccer Complex since Andy Fleming took over the program in 2010.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier defeated rival Cincinnati 3-1 in the annual "Crosstown Derby" at XU Soccer Complex. The Musketeers are now unbeaten in nine straight matches against UC.
• Xavier is unbeaten in four matches to start the season for the first time since a program record 14-match unbeaten streak to start the 2012 season.
• Cincinnati leads the all-time series 25-14-8, but hasn't had a result against the Musketeers since 2010 and XU holds a 15-7 goal differential over that span.
• The match has been played every season since 1974 and was the 47th all-time meeting between the programs.
• Xavier saw its season-opening shutout streak come to an end after 364:41 minutes of scoreless soccer.
• Redshirt sophomore Zachary Nelson made four saves for the second straight match. Despite conceding his first goal of the season, Nelson now has a 0.27 GAA on the year.
• Tomek Pauer opened the scoring in the sixth minute, tallying for the first time in a Xavier uniform. He now has three points this season (1g, 1a).
• Samson Sergi, playing in his second match of the season and starting for the first time, scored the go-ahead goal in the second half for his first points in 2018.
• Simen Hestnes scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season and added two assists. He leads XU with 10 points this season (4g, 2a).
• Matt Nance contributed an assist as well for his first point of the season.

SIMEN SAYS "SCORE"

• Senior midfielder Simen Hestnes is off to fast-paced start in 2018, leading Xavier with 10 points (4g, 2a) in four matches.
• Hestnes ranks eighth nationally with 2.50 points per match. His four goals rank 19th nationally, while his 10 points rank 15th.
• Last Friday, Hestnes scored or assisted in all three goals during XU's 3-1 win over rival Cincinnati.
• 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 in the first three weeks and was a preseason All-BIG EAST selection.

XU'S STINGY START

• Xavier saw its season-opening shutout streak come to an end on Friday 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.
• The Musketeers are among the national leaders in several defensive categories, including team GAA (6th, 0.23), shutout percentage (8th, 0.750) and save percentage (7th, .909).
• Goalkeeper Zachary Nelson ranks eighth in the nation in goals against average (0.268) and 13th in save percentage (0.889).

XAVIER AGAINST THE BEST

• Xavier has faced 29 United Soccer Coaches-ranked opponents in the last eight seasons.
• Since 2010, Xavier boasts an 11-12-6 overall record against USC ranked opposition, including wins over No. 9 Georgetown and No. 22 Boston College last season. XU has also gotten results against No. 15 Kentucky and No. 15 Butler to post a 2-2-2 record against Top 25 opponents this season.
• The Musketeers are also an incredible 7-2-1 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 Major Awards

NAME	AWARD	LINK
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

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

PRESEASON NATIONAL RANKINGS

• Xavier is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches preseason Top 25 poll, marking the first time XU has been listed in the preseason poll since 2016.
• The Musketeers received votes in the poll last season after a season-long six match unbeaten streak in mid-September.
• Historically, the Musketeers have cracked the poll regularly since 2010 and have been ranked inside the top-10 three times in the last six years.
• XU was one of four BIG EAST teams to show up in the preseason poll, including No. 9 Butler and No. 13 Georgetown. Creighton was also listed as receiving votes.

AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE

• Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the last eight seasons.
• The Musketeers have won 10 or more matches in seven of the last eight 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 five 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.
• 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.