No. 17 Women's Soccer Closes Out Regular Season Home Schedule with Butler

Thursday, October 21

Cincinnati, Ohio

7:00 PM

Xavier University

Butler

No. 17 Women's Soccer Closes Out Regular Season Home Schedule with Butler

10.20.21 | Women's Soccer

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Musketeers host Bulldogs on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 17 Xavier women's soccer (14-1-1; 7-1-0 BIG EAST) closes out the home portion of the regular season on Thursday, October 21, hosting Butler at 7:00 p.m. at Corcoran Field. Xavier sits in first place in the BIG EAST with two regular season matches remaining for the Musketeers.

Following the match with Xavier closes out the regular season on Sunday, October 24 at UConn. All BIG EAST matches this season will be available through FloSports.

GAME DETAILS

vs. Butler
Thursday, October 21 - 7:00 p.m.
Corcoran Field - Cincinnati, Ohio

OPPONENT INFO

Butler is 12-2-1 overall and 5-1-1 in BIG EAST play, sitting in third place in the BIG EAST standings after beating DePaul 2-0 on Sunday.
Katie Soderstrom leads the Bulldogs with 24 points on nine goals and six assists.
Abigail Isger has 17 points on six goals and five assists.
Alli Leonard has a team-high seven assists.
Emma Martin has played the bulk of the time in-goal, staring 14 matches, collecting 36 saves with eight goals against with a record of 12-1-1.
Butler was picked second in the BIG EAST by the coaches after finishing the spring at 10-2-0 overall and 6-1-0 in the BIG EAST, earning the No. 1 seed in for the BIG EAST Championship from the Midwest Division. The Bulldogs topped UConn in the semifinals of the BIG EAST tournament before falling to Georgetown in the championship match.
Junior Anja Savich led the bulldogs with 19 points on nine goals and one assist, earning First Team All-BIG EAST.
Junior Katie Soderstrom finished with 17 points on six goals and five assists, also earning All-BIG EAST First Team honors.
Redshirt-junior Stephanie Rodriguez was named BIG EAST Co-Goalkeeper of the Year and earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors after starting all 12 games, allowing just nine goals with 43 saves on the season.
Sophomore Defender Aliya Diange earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team as well.
Alli Leonard collected 13 points on five goals and three assists and earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. She was joined by defender Caitlin O'Malley on the All-Freshman squad.
Xavier is 8-12-4 all-time against the Bulldogs after falling in the lone match-up in Spring 2021.

BIG EAST STANDINGS

SCHOOL	CONF	CPTS	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Xavier	7-1	21	14-1-1	0.906	W6
Georgetown	5-0-2	17	9-0-6	0.800	W3
Butler	5-1-1	16	12-2-1	0.833	W2
Marquette	4-4	12	8-7	0.533	L1
UConn	4-3	12	8-6	0.571	W2
Providence	3-3-1	10	8-5-2	0.600	L2
St. John's	3-3-1	10	7-5-2	0.571	W1
DePaul	3-4	9	6-9	0.400	L2
Creighton	1-5-1	4	7-7-2	0.500	W1
Seton Hall	1-6	3	6-9	0.400	L6
Villanova	1-7	3	7-9	0.438	L2

WEEKLY AWARDS

Following another 2-0 weekend for Xavier women's soccer, graduate student Carrie Lewis was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week by the league offices.
Lewis, a midfielder from Charlotte, N.C., was instrumental in a pair of key wins for the first-place Musketeers. She helped anchor a defense which allowed Xavier to outshoot DePaul and Marquette by a combined 36-18 margin, including 16-9 on target.
The midfielder also added a pair of assists on offense, assisting on Dana Dahm's game-winning goal in the 1-0 win at DePaul on Thursday, before dishing on Sarah Owusu's 30th-minute goal in the 3-1 win against Marquette on Sunday.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier women's soccer picked up a sixth-straight win on Sunday afternoon, topping Marquette, 3-1, on Senior Day at Corcoran Field.
The Musketeers struck first, with a goal from Sarah Owusu from Carrie Lewis to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. Less than a minute after the halftime break, the Musketeers added what would be the eventual game-winner on a Molly McLaughlin penalty kick after a Marquette handball in the box.
The Golden Eagles cut Xavier's two-goal lead in half less than 10 minutes later, with MU's Alexa Maletis getting a goal off a the rebound of a save to make it a 2-1 match. The goal ended the Musketeers' streak of over 500 minutes straight without allowing an opposing team score.
Xavier would respond less than five minutes later, picking up an insurance goal from Mathilde Rasmussen, who scored after a Shelby Sallee shot bounced off the post.
Sarah Owusu's first half goal was her second of the season. She has six points on two goals and two assists.
Molly McLaughlin's second half goal was her third of the season and her first game-winner. She is 2-2 on penalty kicks for the season and 3-3 for her Xavier career.
Mathilde Rasmussen's second half goal was her third of the year, giving her six points so far in her freshman season.
Carrie Lewis added to her team-high assist total on Sarah Owusu's goal, bringing her to six for the season.
Shelby Sallee picked up the assist on Mathilde Rasmussen's goal, her third of the season. Combined with four goals, she has 11 points for the season.
Xavier finished with a 20-7 advantage on shots overall, led by four for Shelby Sallee, and a 10-5 advantage on shots on-goal.
Olivia Jenkins made the start in-goal, collecting three saves with one goal against in over 87 minutes of action to pick up the win, her 14th of the season.
Caroline Welsh entered at goalkeeper for the final minutes of the match, her first appearance of the season.
Hayley Jakovich and Grace Brauer played the full time on Xavier's backline, helping limit the Golden Eagles to just five shots on-goal.

XAVIER STATS

Chloe Netzel leads the Musketeers with 12 points on a team-high five goals and a pair of assists. Her point total is tied for 10th in the league.
Among Netzel's five goals are three game-winners, matching Emma Marcus for team-high and tied for fourth most in the BIG EAST.
Shelby Sallee has 11 points on the season on four goals and three assists. Eight of those points have come in league action, leading the Musketeers in BIG EAST play and tied for fourth in the conference. Her three goals in BIG EAST play also lead Xavier and rank fourth in the league.
Emma Marcus, Ella Rogers, Molly McLaughlin and Chloe Netzel all have three goals in BIG EAST play, tied for eighth most in the league.
Carrie Lewis has a team-high six assists for the season, which ties for third most in the BIG EAST. Her three helpers in BIG EAST play are also tied for third in the conference.
Sarah Owusu and Shelby Sallee have two assists in conference play, tied for ninth most.
Molly McLaughlin scored the game-winner against Marquette on a penalty kick, making her 2-2 on PKs for the season, which ties for the most in NCAA DI.
Xavier leads the conference with 16 goals in BIG EAST play, averaging 2.0 goals per game through eight matches.
Olivia Jenkins has a goals against average of 0.49 which, as it stands, would rank as the best GAA for a single season in program history, and currently ranks second in the BIG EAST and eighth in the nation. Jenkins has nine shutouts so far this season, leading the conference and tied for the most in the country. Jenkins has league-best GAA of 0.37 in conference action.
Xavier's defense has only allowed three goals in BIG EAST play, matching Georgetown and Butler for the lowest total in the league. The Musketeers' 0.37 GAA in conference play is also the league best mark.

XAVIER IN THE RANKINGS

Xavier re-entered the United Soccer Coaches National Poll this week, coming in at No. 17 to match a program-best ranking. The Musketeers were previously ranked No. 17 in week four (9/14/21). BIG EAST opponent Georgetown also re-entered the rankings this week, coming in at No. 20.
The Musketeers made their first appearance of the season in the USC National Poll in week three (9/7/21), entering the rankings at No. 23, marking the first time the Musketeers have been ranked in the USC National Poll since finishing the 2019 season at No. 24.
Xavier also moved back up to the No. 1 spot in the East region in week nine of the USC poll.
The Musketeers came in at No. 13 in the most recent DI Women's Soccer RPI, one of four BIG EAST teams in the top 50 for the week, Georgetown (11), Providence (32) and Butler (42).

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Musketeers travel to Storrs, Conn., to face the UConn Huskies to close out the regular season on Sunday, October 24 at 1:00 p.m.
The Huskies 8-6 overall and 4-3 in the BIG EAST to sit in fifth place with three matches remaining.
Jaydah Bedova leads UConn with 13 points on five goals and three assists.
Jada Konte has 10 points on four goals and two assists and Duda Santin has seven points on two goals and three assists.
Seven other Huskies have tallied goals this season, including Lucy Cappadona, who also has a team-high four assists.
Kaitlyn Mahoney has made 13 starts in-goal for the Huskies, collecting 54 saves with 16 goals against for a 6-6-0 record. MaryKate Ward has made eight appearances, starting in one match, collecting 18 saves with seven goals against for a 2-0-0 record.
UConn was picked third in the league in the preseason poll after the Huskies went 8-3-1 overall and 6-2-1 in the BIG EAST in the spring, finishing second in the East Division and earning a spot in the BIG EAST tournament. The Huskies fell to Butler in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship.
Redshirt senior Randi Palacios earned BIG EAST Co-Goalkeeper of the Year and all-conference First Team honors after posting a GAA of 0.40 through 12 starts, allowing just seven goals on the season and collecting 38 saves.
Senior defender Melina Couzis and sophomore midfielder Jessica Mazo both earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors as well.
Senior Yamilee Eveillard earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors after leading the Huskies with eight points on three goals and two assists. Isabelle Lynch also had eight points on a team-high four goals.
Midfielder Lucy Cappadona and forward Jada Konte earned BIG EAST All-Freshmen honors.
This will be the first match-up between the Huskies and the Musketeers in women's soccer.

SPRING 2021 SEASON

Xavier finished spring 2021 at 3-6 overall and 2-4 in BIG EAST play, picking up wins over Bellarmine in the non-conference portion of the schedule, and BIG EAST wins over Creighton and DePaul, all three coming on the road.
Following the spring season, two Musketeers earned all conference honors, All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree, senior midfielder Molly McLaughlin, and All-Freshman Team member, forward Sonia Vargas.
McLaughlin led the Musketeers with four points on two goals, while sophomore Grace Blumfeldt finished her rookie season with three point on a goal and an assist.
After finishing fourth in the Midwest Division, the Musketeers missed the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time in Nate Lie's tenure as head coach.

THE MUSKETEERS

The Musketeers return 26 letter-winners from the spring, including All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree, senior midfielder Molly McLaughlin, and All-Freshman Team member, forward Sonia Vargas.
Xavier's returners account for over 70 percent of the goals scored last season, led by McLaughlin's pair of tallies.
The Musketeers added and 11-person freshman class for the fall after losing 11 letterwinners from spring 2021.
Xavier was picked seventh in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, collecting 45 points. Georgetown was picked to win the conference.
Ahead of the start of the 2021 season, head coach Nate Lie announced additions to his staff. Katy Etelman joins Xavier as an assistant coach, while Tyler Smaha, who served as Xavier's Director of Player Development last season, also moves into the role of assistant coach. Jacob Morrison joins Xavier as the Director of Goalkeeping and Kaitlyn Jones joins Lie's staff as Director of Player Analysis/Operations.

BIG EAST COACHES POLL

1. Georgetown	100 (10)
2. Butler	88
3. UConn	74
4. Providence	65 (1)
5. Creighton	64
6. St. John's	47
7. Xavier	45
8. Marquette	43
9. DePaul	41
10. Villanova	27
11. Seton Hall	11

(first-place votes)

BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Zsani Kajan, St. John's, Grad., F

BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Kelly Ann Livingstone, Georgetown, Grad., D

BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Stephanie Rodriguez, Butler, Grad., GK

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Stephanie Rodriguez, Butler, Grad., GK
Anastasia Savich, Butler, Sr., F*
Katie Soderstrom, Butler, Sr., F*
Jessica Mazo, UConn, Jr., M
Aida Kardovic, Creighton, So., M
Kelly Ann Livingstone, Georgetown, Grad., D
Daisy Cleverley, Georgetown, Grad., M
Julia Leas, Georgetown, Jr., M
Meg Hughes, Providence, So., F
Jessica Garziano, St. John's, Jr., M
Zsani Kajan, St. John's, Grad., F
*unanimous selection