Women's Soccer Hosts Villanova for BIG EAST Home Opener

Sunday, September 30

Cincinnati, Ohio

1 PM

Xavier University

Villanova

Women's Soccer Hosts Villanova for BIG EAST Home Opener

09.28.18 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream

Musketeer and Wildcats face off at 1 PM on Sunday, Sept. 30

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier women's soccer returns to the XU Soccer Complex to open the home portion of the BIG EAST schedule, hosting Villanova on Sunday, Sept. 30. The Musketeers (7-5-0; 1-1 BIG EAST) and the Wildcats (7-4-0; 1-1 BIG EAST) will face off at 1:00 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network through the FOX Sports Go app.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier Musketeers
vs Villanova Wildcats
Sunday, Sept. 30 | 1 PM ET
XU Soccer Complex
Watch Live | Live Stats

PREVIEWING VILLANOVA

The Wildcats enter the game 7-4 overall after beating Marquette, 3-2, on Thursday evening. Villanova took a 3-0 lead after a pair of goals from Ciara Terabasso, one in the first half and one in the second, and 58th minute goal for Bri Austin. Marquette responded with goals in the 75th minute and the final minute to set the final score.
The win over Marquette put VU at 1-1 in BIG EAST play after dropping the conference opener to Providence, 2-0.
VU collected wins over Siena, Saint Joseph's, Brown, Lehigh, James Madison and LSU. The Wildcats' setbacks in non-conference came against Lafayette, Clemson and Virginia Tech.
Austin's goal against Marquette was her fifth of the season, to bring her point total to a team-high 11 points.
Chloe O'Neill has eight points on three goals and three assists.
Hesley Hancuff played full-time in goal against Marquette, her first appearance since early September. With most of her appearances coming early in the season, Hancuff has appearances in seven games and a record of 4-2-0, with 26 saves and seven goals against.
Rebecca Gartner has shared time in-frame with Hancuff, making five appearances with 26 saves and 6 goals against for a record of 3-2-0.
Villanova finished 2017 at 6-12 overall and 2-7 in the BIG EAST.
The Wildcats lost 2017 leading scorer Emily Kuefler to graduation but return second-leading scorer Kristin Barbour on the 2018 roster.
Xavier is 3-2 all-time against the Wildcats, including a 1-0 win in Philadelphia last season.
Last season, Sydney Schembri scored the game-winner in the 65th minute, with a look at an open net after getting behind the Villanova goalkeeper.

UP NEXT

The Musketeers remain at home for its next match, hosting Butler on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7:00 p.m.
LLS AWARENESS NIGHT: During the Butler game, join women's soccer in spreading awareness and raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Cincinnati.

LAST TIME OUT - PROVIDENCE

A golden goal from Sydney Schembri in double overtime gave Xavier women's soccer its first result of conference play, a 3-2 win at Providence on Thursday evening.
The Friars took the lead early in each half, but equalizers from Samantha Dewey and Molly McLaughlin helped force extra time, where Schembri's tally sealed the game in the second minute of the second overtime.
Providence's first goal came in the fifth minute off a free kick just outside the box, where PC's leading scorer Hannah McNulty shot to the right corner of the net to put the Friars up 1-0.
Samantha Dewey answered in the 13th minute, dribbling the ball into the center of the box, shooting to the left side of the net, just inside the bar to tie the game, 1-1.
Shortly after the break, Alessandra Arace scored for Providence on a header off a corner kick to put PC back up, 2-1.
Off a corner kick from Grace Bahr in the 70th minute, Molly McLaughlin used a header to score from just in front of the net, tying the game 2-2.
In the second minute of the second overtime period, off a corner kick from Grace Bahr, Allison Klimkowski flicked the ball over her head inside the penalty box to Samantha Dewey on the left side. Dewey, from just outside the six yard box, found Sydney Schembri on the right side of the net. Schembri slid into the shot, hitting the top of the net for the golden goal and the 3-2 win.
Xavier out-shot Providence 16-14 after taking four shots to none in extra time.
Schembri led with five shots, while Samantha Dewey had four looks, all on-frame.
Xavier earned nine corner kicks to eight for the Friars, with four of those corners coming in the overtime period.
Toni Bizzarro played the full-time in frame, facing 14 shots, collecting six saves with two goals against.
Allison Klimkowski, Hayley Jakovich, and Grace Bahr played the full-time on the Xavier backline.
The win marked back-to-back wins over the Friars, and the first at PC. Xavier is now 3-4 all-time against Providence.
The loss was the first for the Friars since playing at the Duke Nike Classic over Labor Day weekend, where the Friars fell to a pair of top-15 ranked opponents in UNC and Duke.
Xavier's three goals are the most Providence has given up this season.
The Musketeers moved to 2-1 in extra time, with a win at Bowling Green and loss to Louisville.

XAVIER STATS

Samantha Dewey's goal against Providence was her fifth of the season, adding to her team-high. With the assist on Sydney Schembri's game-winner, she now has 13 points.
Dewey is third in the league in shots attempted, fifth in assists, sixth in points and seventh in goals scored.
Dewey's game-winner against Miami was her third of the season. The redshirt junior is tied for second in the BIG EAST and 25th in NCAA DI for most game-winning goals.
Sydney Schembri's goal against the Friars brings her point total for the season to six, second most on the team.
Grace Bahr picked up an assist on Molly McLaughlin's goal against PC, her first of the season, bringing her point total for the season to five with a pair of goals.
Brooke Sroka and Andie Kennard each have a goal and an assist for three points.
Molly McLaughlin's equalizer against Providence was the first tally of her college career. She is the 11th Musketeer to score a goal in 2018, joining Rachel Butler, Kenadie Carlson, Isabella Langush, Rachel Dewey and Carrie Lewis whoe each have two points on a goal.
Grace Brauer, Jenna Leslie and Olivia Popovich each have a point on an assist.
Through 12 games, Xavier has 11 goal scorers. The Musketeers needed just seven games to surpass last year's total of six goal scorers. Xavier also has 14 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, third in the conference for goals and fourth in points.
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 seven matches and the trio has totaled over 900 minutes each, helping Xavier earn shutouts in five matches this season.
Carrie Lewis and Rachel Dewey have both played over 790 minutes in midfield for the Musketeers.
Goalkeeper Toni Bizzarro has played 10 matches in-frame, making 51 saves with 10 goals against for a GAA of 0.96. Bizzarro has a record of 6-4-0 with four shutouts to her credit.
Bizzarro's four shutouts rank third most in the conference.
Bizzarro ranks third in the conference in save percentage at .836.
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 third most in the conference this season. Xavier's shutout percentage ranks second in the BIG EAST.
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.