Women's Soccer Opens BIG EAST Play at Creighton on Sunday

Sunday, September 23

Omaha, Neb.

2 PM

Xavier University

Creighton

Women's Soccer Opens BIG EAST Play at Creighton on Sunday

09.20.18 | Women's Soccer

Live Stats Watch Live (BEDN)

Musketeers face Bluejays at 2:00 PM ET

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's soccer returns to the road on Sunday, looking to continue a five-game winning streak at Creighton in the BIG EAST Conference opener. The Musketeers (6-4-0) and the Bluejays (3-5-0) are set for a 2:00 p.m. ET first touch Morrison Stadium on the BIG EAST Digital Network through the FOX Sports Go app.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers
at Creighton Bluejays
Sunday, Sept. 22 | 2 PM ET
Morrison Stadium
Watch Live | Live Stats

PREVIEWING CREIGHTON

Creighton enters the game a 3-5-0 after two straight set-backs, a 2-0 loss at home to No. 20 Oklahoma State and a 4-2 loss at Kansas City.
Prior to the Kansas City match, CU had back-to-back wins, at home against South Dakota, 2-1, in overtime and at South Dakota State, 1-0. Creighton also picked up a win over Omaha on August 27, 1-0.
The Bluejays opened the season with a pair of losses, 2-0, at Iowa and 3-0 at Air Force. CU also fell at Eastern Michigan, 2-1, in August.
Aline Reinkober leads CU with a pair of goals. Taryn Jakubowski and Keelie Fothergill both have three points on a goal and an assist.
Katie Sullivan has played all eight matches in-frame, collecting 35 saves with 14 goals against.
Dayton is 4-2-1 after playing Florida Gulf Coast to a 0-0 tie through double overtime on Sunday afternoon.
The Bluejays finished 2017 at 4-11-3 overall and 2-5-2 in BIG EAST play.
CU returns leading scorers Taryn Jakubowski and Kaira Houser, as well as primary goalkeeper McKenzie Meola.
Xavier is 5-3 all time against Creighton, including a 2-1 win for the Musketeers in Cincinnati last season.
Last season, Xavier took the lead in the first half on a put-back goal for Emma Westwater. CU scored the equalizer in the 77th minute but a Sydney Schembri goal off a Carrie Lewis corner kick with less than 20 seconds remaining in the match gave the Musketeers the win.

UP NEXT

Xavier's next match is on the road at Providence on Thursday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m.
The Musketeers return home on Sunday, September 30 to host Villanova.
XAVIER FACULTY/STAFF APPRECIATION NIGHT: Faculty and staff members receive up to 4 complimentary tickets for Xavier's match against Villanova.
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.

VIDEO

LAST TIME OUT - MIAMI

Xavier women's soccer closed out its non-conference schedule with a fifth-straight shutout win, topping the Miami RedHawks, 2-0, at home on Sunday evening.
Samantha Dewey scored the game-winner in a second-straight game midway through the first half. Rachel Dewey crossed towards her sister from the far left side, the ball bounced off the Miami defender to Samantha Dewey in the top left corner of the box where she shot to the upper right corner of the goal.
The insurance goal came in the closing seconds of the first half, off a Musketeer free kick just outside of the penalty box. Grace Bahr took the shot from straight on, shootig above the goalkeeper's head for the 2-0 lead going into halftime.
Xavier led 28-5 on shots and 13-1 on shots on goal.
Eleven Musketeers attempted shots, led by six for Samantha Dewey and five for Kenadie Carlson, both with three looks on frame. Grace Bahr and Sydney Schembri each had a pair of looks on-goal as well.
Xavier led the RedHawks 8-1 on corner kicks.
Toni Bizzarro posted a fourth-straight shut-out win, collecting a save with no goals against.
Hayley Jakovich, Allison Klimkowski and Grace Bahr played the full 90 on the Xavier backline.
Xavier moved to 4-6-2 all time against the RedHawks with the win.
Xavier went 4-0 against the MAC this season, with wins over Toledo, Bowling Green and Akron as well.
Xavier remained undefeated at home, moving to 4-0 on the season at the XU Soccer Complex.

XAVIER STATS

Samantha Dewey's tally was her fourth of the season, bringing her team-high point total to 10.
Dewey is fifth in the league in shots attempted, sixth in goals scored and points.
Dewey's game-winner against Miami was her third of the season and second in the past two games. The redshirt junior is tied for first in the BIG EAST and 13th in NCAA DI for most game-winning goals.
Grace Bahr's tally against Miami was her second of the season, bringing her point total to four to match Sydney Schembri for second most on the team. Schembri's points are on a goal and a pair of assists.
Brooke Sroka and Andie Kennard each have a goal and an assist for three points.
Rachel Butler, 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 10 games, Xavier has 10 goal scorers. The Musketeers needed just seven games to surpass last year's total of six goal scorers. 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 goals, corner kicks earned and shots. The Musketeers are tied for fourth in points.
Xavier's five-game win streak is the longest since 2003, when the Musketeers won six-straight.
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 five matches.
Carrie Lewis and Rachel Dewey have all played over 640 minutes in midfield for the Musketeers.
Goalkeeper Toni Bizzarro has played eight matches in-frame, facing 100 shots, making 40 saves with seven goals against for a GAA of 0.84. Against Miami, Bizzarro picked up her fifth win of the season and fourth shutout.
Bizzarro's four shutouts rank second most in the conference and 25th most in the country.
Bizzarro ranks fourth in the conference in save percentage at .851.
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.
The shutout against Miami was the fifth-straight shutout for the Musketeers, clocking over 460 minutes straight without allowing a tally. It's the longest such streak since 2013.
Xavier's five shutouts match No. 10 Georgetown for the most in the conference this season. Xavier's shutout percentage ranks second in the BIG EAST and 47th in NCAA DI.
As a team, Xavier has the second most saves among BIG EAST squads so far this season.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After a 2-0 week for Xavier women's soccer, the program's fifth-straight shutout, junior Grace Bahr was named the BIG EAST Defender of the Week by the conference offices. Samantha Dewey was also honored by the BIG EAST, earning a spot on the Weekly Honor Roll.
Bahr started both games this week on the backline with Hayley Jakovich and Allison Klimkowski, playing the full 90 minutes in Xavier's a 2-0 win at Dayton on Thursday and a 2-0 win over Miami on Sunday night at the XU Soccer Complex. In those two games, the Musketeers outshot their opponents by a combined 42-17 margin, allowing just three shots to reach Toni Bizzarro in-frame, two for the Flyers and just one for the RedHawks. Xavier is one of just two teams in the BIG EAST last week to not allow a goal, and the lone squad to do so over multiple games.
Bahr also added an insurance goal for the Musketeers against Miami, scoring in the final seconds of the first half off a free kick just outside the penalty box, shot straight over the keepers' head. The tally was her second of the season.
This is Bahr's first time earning a weekly award from the BIG EAST.
Samantha Dewey, who scored both game-winners in last week's matches, was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll as well.
In the Dayton match, Dewey, a redshirt junior, scored off a pass from Sydney Schembri early in the second half, while against Miami, Dewey tallied the game-winner in the 30th minute, her third and fourth goals of the season, bringing her team-high point total to 10. The goals against Dayton and Miami are Dewey's second and third game-winners of the season.
This is the first time this season, and the sixth time in her career that Dewey was named to the Weekly Honor Roll. She was also twice named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (8/24/2015 and 10/26/2015).
Bahr and Dewey join two other Musketeers who have been honored by the conference this season, Toni Bizzarro, who was named Goalkeeper of the Week last week, and 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.