Women's Soccer Travels to Providence for BIG EAST Road Match

Thursday, September 27

Providence, R.I.

7 PM

Xavier University

Providence

Women's Soccer Travels to Providence for BIG EAST Road Match

09.26.18 | Women's Soccer

Watch Live Live Stats

Musketeers and Friars face off at 7:00 p.m. on BEDN

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's soccer remains on the road for its next BIG EAST match, traveling to Providence for a Thursday evening match-up. First touch with the Friars is set for 7:00 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network through the FOX Sports Go app.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers
at Providence Friars
Thursday, Sept. 27 | 7 PM ET
Chapey Field at Anderson Stadium
Watch Live | Live Stats

PREVIEWING PROVIDENCE

The Friars enter the game at 7-2-1 overall and 1-0 in BIG EAST play.
Providence opened BIG EAST play last Saturday, Sept. 22 with a 2-0 win at Villanova.
The win over Villanova was the fifth-straight results for the Friars, including three wins, over Brown, Harvard and Drexel, and a 1-1 double overtime draw at Arkansas. PC also opened the season with three straight wins, over Holy Cross, Fairleigh Dickinson and Hartford.
Providence's two setbacks came at the Duke Nike Classic, a 1-0 loss to No. 3 North Carolina and a 2-1 loss to No. 12 Duke.
Hannah McNulty leads the friars with 16 points on seven goals and two assists.
Amber Birchwell has added three goals, while Casey Estey and Kayla Steeves have each scored two.
Goalkeeper Shelby Hogan has played all 10 games in-frame, collecting 49 saves with six goals against.
PC finished the 2017 season at 10-8-2 overall and 5-3-1 in BIG EAST play.
The Friars earned the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Championship, advancing the semifinals after topping No. 6 seed DePaul on PKs in the quarterfinals, after playing the Blue Demons to a 1-1 draw through double overtime. PC's season came to a close with a 3-0 loss to No. 2 seed Butler.
The Friars return goalkeeper Shelby Hogan, who shared BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors with Xavier's Sydney Schembri and Butler's Leonie Doege. Hogan also earned BIG EAST Second Team and All-Freshman Team honors.
All-BIG EAST First Team honoree Katie Day (defender) also returns, as does second team honoree Kayla Steeves (midfield) and All-Freshman Team Selection Amber Birchwell (midfield/forward).
Xavier is 2-4 all-time against Providence, including last year's 1-0 win for the Musketeers in Cincinnati.
Last season, Tori Doss' goal in the 13th minute proved to be the game winner, marking the first time since joining the BIG EAST the Musketeers had picked up a result against the Friars.

UP NEXT

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.

LAST TIME OUT - CREIGHTON

A late goal for Creighton ended a five-game winning streak for Xavier women's soccer, falling 1-0 on Sunday afternoon after a Bluejay goal in the 85th minute. The setback is the first for the Musketeers since August, moving Xavier to 6-5-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the BIG EAST.
After playing 85 scoreless minutes, Creighton's Aline Reinkober shot from the left side of the penalty box off a corner kick, a ball saved by Toni Bizzarro. The punch-out save found a CU player in the penalty box who used a header to cross to CU's Taryn Jakubowski, who finished with a header in the right corner for the game-winnner.
Xavier out-shot Creighton 23-13, including seven shots for Samantha Dewey, including a look at the equalizer in the final minutes that hit the post.
Sydney Schembri and Claire Fisher each finished with four shots. Two of Fisher's looks were on-frame, matching Samantha Dewey and Andie Kennard for team-high.
Nine Musketeers attempted shots.
Xavier led Creighton 6-2 on corner kicks, including a pair in the final four minutes as Xavier looked for the equalizer.
Toni Bizzarro played the full time in-frame, collecting five saves with one goal against.
Hayley Jakovich, Allison Klimkowski and Grace Bahr played the full 90 on the Xavier backline.
Prior to the CU goal in the 85th minute, Xavier had clocked over 558 minutes without allowing a goal.
Xavier moved to 5-4 all-time against Creighton.

XAVIER STATS

Samantha Dewey's tally against Miami was her fourth of the season, coupled with a pair of assists, brings her team-high point total to 10.
Dewey is third in the league in shots attempted and eighth in goals scored and points.
Dewey's game-winner against Miami was her third of the season. The redshirt junior is tied for second in the BIG EAST and 22nd 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 11 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 first in the BIG EAST in shots, second in the conference in corner kicks earned and fourth in the conference for goals.
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 six matches.
Carrie Lewis and Rachel Dewey have all played over 700 minutes in midfield for the Musketeers.
Goalkeeper Toni Bizzarro has played nine matches in-frame, making 45 saves with eight goals against for a GAA of 0.86.
Bizzarro's four shutouts rank third most in the conference.
Bizzarro ranks third in the conference in save percentage at .849.
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 five shutouts are tied for the second most in the conference this season. Xavier's shutout percentage ranks second in the BIG EAST and 43rd 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 for the week of Sept. 17. 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.