Women's Soccer Wins the 2021 BIG EAST Regular Season Championship

Sunday, October 24

Storrs, Conn.

1:00 PM

Xavier University

16-1-1, 9-1-0

Connecticut

8-7-1, 4-4-1

Xavier

UConn

Women's Soccer Wins the 2021 BIG EAST Regular Season Championship

10.24.21 | Women's Soccer

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Musketeers earn No. 1 seed and will host Semifinals and Finals of BIG EAST Championship

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

STORRS, Conn. - No. 17 Xavier women's soccer wrapped up the regular season with the 2021 BIG EAST conference title after topping UConn, 1-0, at Morrone Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The win moved the Musketeers to 16-1-1 overall and 9-1 in BIG EAST play and secured the No. 1 seed in the 2021 BIG EAST Championship.

The Musketeers, who were picked seventh in league's preseason poll, claimed a second BIG EAST regular season championship in three years, also winning the conference regular season crown in 2019.

The Musketeers scored the game-winner early on Sunday, when Sonia Vargas shot past the reach of the UConn goalkeeper in the sixth minute off a cross from Emma Marcus. The 1-0 lead held through the next 84 minutes as the Xavier defense held the Huskies without a shot on-goal for the first 70 minutes of the match.

Xavier defense, anchored by Grace Brauer and Hayley Jakovich, limited the Huskies to just two shots on-goal overall. Both looks on frame were saved by goalkeeper Olivia Jenkins, who earned a NCAA D-I leading 10th shutout.

The Musketeers earned the conference tournament No. 1 seed and the opportunity to host the Semifinals and Finals of the BIG EAST Championship at Corcoran Field. Xavier will next be in action in the semifinal round on Thursday, November 4, against winner of the first round game between the No. 4 seed and No. 5 seed, to be played on Sunday, October 31, with those teams to be determined.

The rest of the field for the BIG EAST Championship will be determined following the conclusion of the BIG EAST regular season, with one final play date remaining on Thursday, October 28. The Musketeers have a bye for the final play date.

SCORING RECAP

6' | XAVIER | Emma Marcus crossed into the box from deep on the left side, finding Sonia Vargas in front of the net. Vargas shot to the far right corner just out of the reach of the UConn goalkeeper, putting Xavier up 1-0.

NOTABLE

Sonia Vargas scored her second goal of the season in the sixth minute which also goes down as her second game-winner of the season.
Elise Le and Emma Marcus each picked up an assist on Vargas' goal. It was Marcus' third assist of the season, combining with four goals for 11 points. Le now has four assists on the season.
Molly McLaughlin and Shelby Sallee each finished with three shots, with Xavier holding a 16-8 advantage overall on shots and an 8-2 advantage on shots on-goal.
Xavier earned 11 corner kicks to just one for the Huskies.
Olivia Jenkins added to her school-record win total in-goal, now sitting at 16-1-1. She made a pair of saves to preserve the clean sheet, her 10th of the season, to remain tied as the national leader in the category.
Grace Brauer and Hayley Jakovich played the full 90 minutes on Xavier's backline to help the Musketeers to the shutout.
Xavier picks up its second BIG EAST regular season title in three years, also taking the title in 2019.
The 2021 championship marks the second regular season conference title in program history. Xavier has also won conference tournament titles in 1998, 2000 and 2019.
The Musketeers finish the regular season with 16 wins, a new program record for wins prior to the postseason.

VIDEO

Emma Marcus finds Sonia Vargas in the box for the early lead at UConn!#LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/Mm5sAb92XZ
— XU Women's Soccer (@XavierWSOC) October 24, 2021