Women's Soccer Hosts Dayton on Thursday Evening

Thursday, August 29

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 PM

Xavier University

Dayton

Women's Soccer Hosts Dayton on Thursday Evening

08.28.19 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream Live Stats

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer returns to the home pitch on Thursday, hosting former A10 rival Dayton at 7:00 p.m. The Musketeers are 2-0 after topping Bowling Green, 2-1, at home on Sunday.

GAME DETAILS

Dayton (A10)
Thursday, Aug. 29 | 7:00 PM
XU Soccer Complex | Cincinnati, Ohio

PROMOTIONS

T-SHIRT THURSDAY STUDENT PROMO: No Fly Zone t-shirts to first 250 students

OPPONENT INFO

UD opened the season at 1-1 last weekend, taking a 5-1 win over Miami (Ohio) to open the season on August 22, and falling, 3-2, at Illinois on Sunday.
Jordan Pauley and Alexis Goins each have two goals on the season, while Caroline Mink and Laney Huber have each added a tally. Five Flyers have assists through two matches.
Carly Becker has played the full time in-frame, collecting seven saves with four goals against.
Dayton finished 2018 at 8-9-2, with a 4-5-1 mark in the Atlantic 10, falling in the A10 Quarterfinals against Saint Louis to close out the season.
UD returned Izzy Greene, an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honoree from 2018.
Xavier is 11-26-2 all-time against the Flyers, including last season's 2-0 win in Dayton.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Xavier women's soccer freshman Jackie Richards earned the first BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honor or the 2019 season after scoring the game-winner against Bowling Green on Sunday.
Richards had an eventful first weekend of collegiate soccer, earning the start against reigning Ohio Valley champions Murray State on Thursday, playing 64 minutes in her Xavier debut.
Richards followed that up with the game-winning goal against MAC champs Bowling Green on Sunday, breaking the 1-1 draw and helping Xavier improve to 2-0 thanks to her strike in the 52nd minute against the Falcons. Richards was the lone BIG EAST newcomer to notch a game-winning goal during the opening week of play. She added two shots on the week.
Red-shirt senior Samantha Dewey also earned a nod to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after her four-goal performance against Murray State on Thursday.
Dewey got off to a hot start last week, scoring all four goals in a 4-3 win at Murray State on Thursday. The BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year pounded the reigning Ohio Valley champions with 10 shots. Dewey added two shots, both on-frame, in the Musketeers' 2-1 win over Bowling Green on Sunday.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier women's soccer moved to 2-0 on the season with a 2-1 win over Bowling Green State University on Sunday afternoon. A pair of Musketeers each scored their first goal in a Xavier uniform to help XU pick up its second win of the season against an 2018 NCAA Tournament team.
Xavier struck first, with Gabrielle LoPresti scoring midway through the first half to give the Musketeers the 1-0 lead. The Falcons responded immediately, scoring less than a minute later in a 1-1 draw that held into halftime.
Less than 10 minutes in to the second half, a long throw by goalkeeper Olivia Jenkins helped the Musketeers get behind the BGSU defense, with freshman Jackie Richards finishing with the game-winning goal.
LoPresti collected three points on the day, picking up her first goal as a Musketeer in the first half, and assisting on Jackie Richards' game-winner in the second. It's the second collegiate goal for the junior transfer from Cincinnati, with her first coming during her freshman season in 2016 with the Bearcats. It's also her second assist as a collegiate player, picking up one as a sophomore at UC.
Jackie Richards' game-winner was the first goal of the freshman's college career.
In addition to LoPresti's assist on Richards' goal, Brooke Sroka picked up an assist as well, her first of the season and the third the sophomore's college career.
Xavier led 13-5 on shots, including a 5-1 advantage on shots on goal. LoPresti and Molly McLaughlin led the Musketeers with three shots each, while Sroka and Samantha Dewey each had a pair. LoPresti and Dewey each had two looks on-frame.
Olivia Jenkins picked up the win in goal, her first of the season and second of her college career.
Grace Bahr, Hayley Jakovich and Halle Rogers each played the full 90 in the Xavier backfield to help limit the Falcons to just one shot on-frame.
The back-to-back wins to open the season mark the first time Xavier has opened the season 2-0 since 2016.

XAVIER STATS

Samantha Dewey, the team leader in goals (4) and points (8) is currently tied for No. 1 in the NCAA DI with 2.0 goals per game and second in total goals at four.
Dewey's eight total points rank seventh in the NCAA and are tied for the most in the BIG EAST
Gabrielle LoPresti is second on the team with three points on a goal and assists.
Jackie Richards has two points on a goal.
Four other Musketeers, Brooke Sroka, Grace Bahr, Halle Rogers and Emily Burton, have a point on an assist.
Xavier's shot accuracy of 0.571 ranks second among BIG EAST teams.
The Musketeers' scoring offense, at 3.0 goals per game, is 34th in the country and tied for second in the BIG EAST.
Xavier's total goals (6) rank second in the BIG EAST, and 29th in NCAA DI.
Olivia Jenkins and Toni Bizzarro have each made a start in frame, with one win to their credit each.

THE MUSKETEERS

Xavier finished the 2018 season at 10-8-3, a .548 winning percentage, marking the first winning record for the Musketeers since 2013. Xavier's 10 wins in 2018 are the most for the program since 2003's 12-win season.
The Musketeers finished a program-best fourth in the BIG EAST standings, hosting a BIG EAST Championship match for the first time since joining the conference and advancing in the postseason for the first time since 2003.
Xavier's 0-0 draw against No. 4 Georgetown to close out the regular season on Oct. 25, 2018 was the first result against a top-five team in program history.
Xavier's defense forced its ninth shutout of the season in the regular season match against Georgetown, the most since 2000's school-record 11 shutouts. The Musketeers ranked third in the BIG EAST for shutouts. Nine shutouts stand as the second most in a single season in program history, matching 1985 and 1991's season totals.
Xavier 2018 finished the season with 31 goals, the most since 2006's 31-goal season. The Musketeers return 87 percent of their scoring, including BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year Samantha Dewey, who finished with 25 points on nine goals and seven assists.

DEWEY NAMED OFFENSIVE POY

Redshirt senior Samantha Dewey was named Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and earned a unanimous nod to the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad for the 2019 season, as voted on by league coaches. The Musketeers are picked fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason poll, the highest preseason selection for the team since joining the conference.
Dewey appeared in all 21 matches for the Musketeers in 2018, collecting a team-high 25 points, a new career-best mark which topped her previous career-high point total of 22. Dewey's 25 points also marks the most for a Musketeer since Lauren Giesting's 25 points in 2003.
Dewey's 25 points came on team-leading totals in goals (9) and assists (7), the most goals by a Musketeer in over 10 years. Of Dewey's nine goals, four were game-winners.
Among BIG EAST returnees, Dewey ranked first in points from the 2018 season, third in total goals and second in total assists.
Following the 2018 season, Dewey was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and First Team All-Conference, the first Musketeer to earn either honor, following Xavier's 10-8-3 season.
Dewey also earned All-East Region Third Team honors from United Soccer Coaches as well as BIG EAST All-Tournament Team honors after Xavier advanced to the BIG EAST Semifinals.
Dewey, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., has earned preseason All-BIG EAST honors for the past three seasons after leading Xavier on offense in her first two full seasons as a Musketeers. Her Preseason Player of the Year nomination is the first for a Musketeer since joining the conference in 2013.
Dewey has totaled 73 points so far in her Xavier career, earning post-season conference honors in each of her three complete seasons. In 2016, she became the first Musketeer to be named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team as a sophomore, and was unanimously selected to the All-BIG EAST Freshman team in 2015.

MUSKETEERS PICKED FOURTH

The Musketeers are picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST, returning 23 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last season's squad that went 10-8-3 overall an 4-3-2 in BIG EAST play.
The 2018 season marked the first winning record for the Musketeers since 2013 and the most wins for the program since 2003's 12-win season. The Musketeers finished a program-best fourth in the BIG EAST standings, hosting a BIG EAST Championship match for the first time since joining the conference.
Xavier's 2018 team advanced to the BIG EAST Semifinals for the first time since joining the conference in 2013, the first time the Musketeers have advanced in the postseason since 2003, when Xavier topped St. Joseph's, 2-0, in the Atlantic 10 tournament.
The Musketeers return 87 percent of their scoring from 2018's 31 goal season, the goals most for the program since 2006. The 2018 Musketeers also posted nine shutouts, tied for second most in program history and the most since 2000. Xavier finished ranked in the top 75 of the RPI for the first time in nearly 20 season.
The Musketeers were picked behind reigning BIG EAST Champion and 2018 College Cup Semifinalist Georgetown, which received nine first place votes, as well as Butler and Providence.

BIG EAST COACHES POLL

1.   Georgetown              81 (9)
2.   Butler 67 (1)
3.   Providence 62
4.   Xavier 55
5.   DePaul 46
6.   Villanova 38
       St. John's 38
8.   Marquette                 34
9.   Creighton 20
10. Seton Hall 9

BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Samantha Dewey, Xavier, R-Sr., M

BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Meaghan Nally, Georgetown, Sr., D

BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Shelby Hogan, Providence, R-Jr., GK

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Anja Savich, Butler, So., F
Annika Schmidt, Butler, R-Sr., D*
Taryn Jakubowski, Creighton, Sr., M*
Paula Germino-Watnick, Georgetown, Sr., F*
Kelly Ann Livingstone, Georgetown, Jr., D
Meaghan Nally, Georgetown, Sr., D*
Katrina Wetherell, Marquette, So., M
Shelby Hogan, Providence, R-Jr., GK
Hannah McNulty, Providence, Jr., F
Zsani Kajan, St. John's, R-Jr., F*
Samantha Dewey, Xavier, R-Sr., M*
*unanimous selection

CREIGHTON HOSTS BE TOURNEY

Creighton University will serve as host of the 2019 BIG EAST Women's Soccer Championship Presented by Jeep. The league tournament's semifinals and final will be played Nov. 7 and 10 at the Bluejays' Morrison Stadium, with first round matches being held at higher-seeded campus sites on Nov. 3. This marks the second time Creighton is serving as the host for the BIG EAST Championship, last doing so in 2015.
The top two teams in the standings at season's end earn an automatic bye into the semifinals, with the first round matches pitting the No. 6 seed at the No. 3 seed and the No. 5 seed at the No. 4 seed to determine who will also earn a trip to Omaha. Georgetown has won three consecutive BIG EAST Championships, all at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C. Butler won its first conference crown at Morrison Stadium in 2015, after DePaul won in Queens, N.Y., in 2014, and Marquette won in 2013 in Milwaukee, Wis. The Hoyas advanced to the NCAA College Cup in two of their last three championship seasons.
Morrison Stadium's seating capacity is 7,500. Construction on the stadium was completed in 2004 and included a video scoreboard, champions room, nearly 2,000 covered chairback seating, five luxury suites, an enclosed press box, concession stands and a banquet area. An athletic training room and locker rooms were built in the adjacent Ryan Athletic Center, which opened in 2009. The $13 million facility hosted its first match on Aug. 29, 2003 and was officially dedicated on Oct. 15, 2004.
Morrison Stadium received an upgrade just this summer with the installation of FieldTurf CORE. The FieldTurf CORE sports turf is a FIFA Quality Pro certified surface and is currently featured at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the home facility of the MLS Atlanta United FC and NFL Atlanta Falcons and at Providence Park in Portland, the home facility of the MLS Portland Timbers and NWSL Portland Thorns. CORE is "the first multi-layer dual-polymer fiber ever," and "rewrites the playbook for sports turf, reinvents the playing field, and redefines the player experience," according to FieldTurf.

2019 BIG EAST Women's Soccer Championship Presented by Jeep
First Round – Nov. 3 – higher seeds
No. 6 seed at No. 3 seed, TBD
No. 5 seed at No. 4 seed, TBD
Semifinals – Nov. 7 – Omaha, Neb.
No. 1 seed vs. No. 4/5 winner, 6 p.m. ET
No. 2 seed vs. No. 3/6 winner, 8:30 p.m. ET
Final – Nov. 10 – Omaha, Neb.
Semifinal winners, TBD