Women's Soccer Hosts Miami to Close Non-Conference Schedule

Women's Soccer Hosts Miami to Close Non-Conference Schedule

09.14.18 | Women's Soccer

Musketeers and RedHawks face off at 7 PM on Sunday

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's soccer (5-4-0) closes out the non-conference schedule on Sunday evening, hosting the Miami RedHawks at 7:00 p.m. at the XU Soccer Complex. A l ive stream and live stats are available from GoXavier.com.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers
vs. Miami RedHawks
Sunday, Sept. 16 | 7 PM
XU Soccer Complex
Watch Live | Live Stats

PREVIEWING MIAMI

Miami enters the game at 2-3-1, coming off a 3-2 overtime loss at Lipscomb on September 9.
Prior to the Lipscomb game, Miami picked up three straight results, starting with a 1-1 double overtime draw at WKU, and followed by a pair of home wins over Illinois State, 1-0, and Evansville, 2-1.
The RedHawks opened the season with a pair of losses against Northwestern, 2-1, and Indiana, 3-0.
Lyda Bogdanovitch leads six goal scorers with a pair, matching two others for a team-high four points.
Olivia Winnett has four points on a goal and an assist.
Jordan King also has four points, on four assist.
Patricia Koutoulas has played all six matches in-frame for the RedHawks, collecting 25 saves with 10 goals against for a GAA of 1.59.
The RedHawks finished 2017 at 2-15-1 overall and 2-8-1 in MAC play.
MU returned goalkeeper Koutoulas, who was named Second Team All-Mac after the 2017 season. Leading scorer from 2017, Olivia Winnett, returns for the RedHawks, as does Lydia Brosnahan, who matched Winnett's goal output on the season.
Courtney Sirmans was named head coach of the RedHawks following the 2017 season.
Xavier is 3-6-2 all time against the RedHawks, with the last match occurring in 2013, a 3-0 loss in Cincinnati.

PROMOTIONS

STUDENT PROMO: Yeti Cooler giveaway to one lucky student in attendance for the Miami game!

VIDEO

WATCH | Jess, Emily and Hayley talk about the team's strong points so far this season, and what a win for Miami on Sunday would mean headed into conference play. #LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/QUUi9oKFEi
— XU Women's Soccer (@XavierWSOC) September 14, 2018

UP NEXT

After the first midweek bye of the season, Xavier opens up conference play on the road at Creighton on Sunday, September 23. First touch with the Bluejays is set for 2:00 p.m. ET and will be aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network through the FOX Sports Go app.

LAST TIME OUT - DAYTON

On Thursday against Dayton, Samantha Dewey's third tally of the season was her second game-winner, helping the Musketeers to a 2-0 win.
The Musketeers and Flyers went into the break in a scoreless draw, but Dewey broke the tie shortly after halftime on an assist from Sydney Schembri. In the closing seconds of the game, an own goal from UD set the final margin at 2-0 in favor of the Musketeers.
In the 49th minute, Sydney Schembri, from the right side of the box, crossed to Samantha Dewey at the top of the box. Dewey worked past multiple defenders and shot to the left corner to put the Musketeers up 1-0 with the eventual game-winner.
In the closing seconds, Samantha Dewey dribbled the ball to the endline on the right side of the box and passed to the left side, looking for Grace Brauer. A UD defender knocked the ball in with three seconds remaining to put Xavier up 2-0 as time expired.
Samantha Dewey's tally was her third of the season, bringing her team-high point total to eight.
This is Dewey's second game-winner of the season, and the second of her career against Dayton. Dewey also scored the game-winner in Xavier's 2016 win at Dayton, one of her two goals in a 3-1 win.
Sydney Schembri's assist brings her point total to four for the season, second most on the team.
Xavier led 14-12 on shots, and 8-2 on shots on goal.
Eight Musketeers attempted shots, led by four for Samantha Dewey, which include a pair on-frame. Grace Bahr and Sydney Schembri each had a pair of looks on-goal as well.
Dayton led 7-2 on corners.
Toni Bizzarro posted a third-straight shut-out win, collecting two saves with no goals against.
Hayley Jakovich, Allison Klimkowski and Grace Bahr played the full 90 on the Xavier backline.
Andie Kennard made a critical save on the goal line in the first half to help keep the Flyers off the board.
The win at Dayton marked the first time since the late 90s that Xavier has won back-to-back games a Baujan Field, dating back to a 1997 regular season win and the 1998 A10 Championship game that sent the Musketeers to the program's first NCAA Tournament.

XAVIER STATS

Samantha Dewey's game winner at Dayton added to team high goals, at three, and to her team-high point total, standing at eight, with a pair of assists that matches for team high.
Dewey is tied for third in the BIG EAST on game-winning goals, sixth in the league in shots attempted, tied for eighth in total goals and assists and ninth in points.
Sydney Schembri's assist on Dewey's goal against Dayton is her second of the season and brings her point total to four, second most on the team. She's also tied for eighth in the BIG EAST in assists so far this season.
Andie Kennard and Brooke Sroka each have a point on a goal and an assist.
Rachel Butler, Grace Bahr, Kenadie Carlson, Isabella Langush, Rachel Dewey and Carrie Lewis each have two points on a goal.
Grace Brauer, Jenna Leslie and Olivia Popovich each have a point on an assist.
Through nine games, Xavier has 10 goal scorers, needing just seven games to surpass last year's total of six. Xavier also has 13 players who have recorded points, surpassing last year's total of 11.
Xavier's offense is second in the conference for corner kicks earned. The Musketeers rank third in the BIG EAST in goals scored and shots points, and fourth in the conference for goals per game and assists.
Xavier ranks in the top half of the conference in goals. goals per game, assists and assists per game.
Freshman Allison Klimkowski and Hayley Jakovich have started every game in the backfield this season.
Andie Kennard, Carrie Lewis, Grace Bahr and Rachel Dewey have all played over 560 minutes so far this season on defense and in midfield for the Musketeers.
Goalkeeper Toni Bizzarro has played seven matches in-frame, facing 95 shots, making 39 saves with seven goals against for a GAA of 0.96. Against Dayton, Bizzarro picked up her fourth win of the season and third shutout.
Bizzarro is tied first in the BIG EAST in total saves and saves per game. She's tied for third in shutouts and is fourth in save percentage (.848).
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.
As a team, Xavier has the most saves among BIG EAST squads so far this season and ties for the most shutouts in the conference.
The win over Dayton was the fourth-straight shut-out for the Musketeers, clocking over 370 minutes straight without allowing a tally. It's the longest such streak since 2013.
Xavier's four-game win streak is the longest since 2003, when the Musketeers won six straight.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After a pair of clean sheets last week, Xavier women's soccer goalkeeper Toni Bizzarro was named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week by the conference offices on Monday. The junior made a combined 14 saves in over 195 minutes of work last week to earn the honor.
Bizzarro posted her first shutout of the season in the double-overtime win at Bowling Green. The Mason, Ohio native collected eight saves, including three in extra time, to keep the Falcons off the board and give the Musketeers the opportunity for the golden goal, scored by Andie Kennard in the 106th minute.
The Musketeers posted a second-straight shut-out against a MAC school on Sunday, topping Akron, 3-0. Bizzarro played the full-time in frame, collecting six saves with no goals against. The match kept the Musketeers undefeated at home and was the third straight shut-out.
This is the fourth weekly award from the conference in Bizzarro's career. She earned 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).
Bizzarro's is the first weekly award for the Musketeers this season, and she is the second Xavier player to earn accolades from the conference, joining Sydney Schembri, who was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll during week one.

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.