Women's Soccer Remains on the Road to Face Marquette

Thursday, March 18

Milwaukee, Wis.

1 PM

Xavier University

Marquette

Women's Soccer Remains on the Road to Face Marquette

03.17.21 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream Live Stats

Musketeers and Golden Eagles face off at 1:00 p.m. ET

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer (2-3, 1-1 BIG EAST) stays on the road for its next conference match-up, traveling to Milwaukee to face the Marquette Golden Eagles (3-1, 1-1 BIG EAST) on Thursday, March 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A live stream of the match will be available through GoMarquette.com.

GAME DETAILS

at Marquette (BIG EAST)
Thursday, March 18 - 1:00 PM ET
Milwuakee, Wisc. - Valley Fields

OPPONENT INFO

The Golden Eagles come into the game at 3-1 overall and 1-1 in BIG EAST play. MU picked up wins over Chicago State and Illinois State, then opened BIG EAST play with a 2-0 win over DePaul before falling to Butler 1-0, in the last outing.
Elsi Twombly leads the Golden Eagles with six points on three goals. Kylie Sprecher has five points on two goals and an assist. Five other Golden Eagles have scored.
Mikki Easter and Lauren Schill have split time in goal, each starting two games. Easter started the two non-conference games, playing 169 minutes with six saves and two goals against. Schill has played 191 minutes in three apperances, including starts in both BIG EAST matches, collecting 10 saves with one goal against for a GAA of 0.47.
Marquette finished 2019 at 6-11-1 overall and 3-5-1 in BIG EAST play.
The Golden Eagles return All-BIG EAST selections in forward Alyssa Bombacino and midfielder/defender Josie Kelderman.
Xavier last faced Marquette in Milwaukee during the 2019 regular season, picking up the 2-1 win at Valley Fields on the way to a conference regular season title. Grace Bahr scored the first goal for the Musketeers in the opening minutes, and Molly McLaughlin added what would be the game-winner less than two minutes later.
The Musketeers are 3-8 all-time against the Golden Eagles.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier moved to 1-1 in BIG EAST play after falling, 4-0, at Butler on Sunday afternoon.
The Bulldogs scored two goals in quick succession midway through the first half to take a 2-0 lead into the break, then added a third shortly after halftime. The Bulldogs added a fourth goal midway through the second period to set the final score at 4-0.
Xavier's offense created pressure for the entire game, outshooting the Bulldogs 19-7 and earning 12 corner kicks but were unable to find the back of the net.
Xavier held a 19-7 advantage on shots overall, and a 6-4 advantage on shots on-goal, led by seven shots for Molly McLaughlin, with two on-frame.
Xavier held a 12-0 advantage on corner kicks, including eight in the second half.
Olivia Jenkins played the full time in-frame, collecting a save. Hayley Jakovich also played the full 90 minutes on the Xavier backline.
Nine freshmen played for the Musketeers who had a limited roster available.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Musketeers return to XU Soccer Complex to open the home BIG EAST schedule on Thursday, March 25, hosting Creighton at 1:00 p.m.

XAVIER STATS

Molly McLaughlin's goal in the BIG EAST opener at Creighton made her the third Musketeer in the scoring column, joining Gabrielle LoPresti and Mackenzie Tucker each with two points on a goal.
Grace Blumfeldt also has a point, on an assist on Mackenzie Tucker's goal against Bellarmine.
McLaughlin is leading Xavier with 17 shots total, with eight on-frame after a seven-shot outing at Butler.
Olivia Jenkins has played the full time of all five matches in-frame, making eight saves with nine goals against for a GAA of 1.80.
Hayley Jakovich has played a team-high 450 minutes for Xavier's defense. She has also attempted three shots, all on-goal.

THE MUSKETEERS

Xavier claimed its first BIG EAST title in 2019, winning both the regular season and conference championship to advance to its first NCAA Tournament since 2000. The Musketeers led the BIG EAST in shots (151), points (62), assists (22) and goals (20), while allowing less than a goal (0.67) per contest over nine league games.
In addition to winning the conference titles, Xavier collected its first-ever NCAA tournament win, over Virginia Tech, on the way to a school-record 17 wins in 2019.
Xavier returns 10 players who made regular starts in 2019, including preseason all-conference picks Molly McLaughlin and Brooke Sroka. In total, Xavier returns 21 letter-winners from the 2019 squad.
The Musketeer returnees account for 25 of Xavier's 43 total goals last season, and 65 percent (13 of 20) of goals scored during BIG EAST play. Xavier also added a pair of transfers to join deep freshman class.
Among the departures were First Team All-BIG EAST Selections Samantha Dewey and Grace Bahr.

TWO NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

A pair of Musketeers, junior midfielder Molly McLaughlin and junior forward Brooke Sroka, were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST as voted on by the coaches.
McLaughlin appeared in 19 matches in the midfield for the Musketeers in 2019, starting in 18, finishing with nine points on the season on four goals and an assist.
Among McLaughlin's goals were two game-winners, including the go-ahead tally in the second minute of the NCAA Tournament First Round game at Virginia Tech to help Xavier to the program's first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Following the 2019 season, McLaughlin earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team and BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.
Sroka appeared in all 23 matches for the Musketeers in 2019, starting in 17, finishing the season with 14 points, on six goals and two assists.
Sroka led the Musketeers with 11 points on five goals and an assist during conference play, earning All-BIG EAST Second Team honors. She also tallied the game-winner in the BIG EAST Championship match, scoring off a long Grace Bahr pass in the 11th minute, helping her earn Most Outstanding Offensive Player for the Championship.

MUSKETEERS PICKED TO WIN MIDWEST

Xavier women's soccer was the unanimous favorites to win its division this spring as the BIG EAST announced the results of the 2020-21 Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Pol.
Xavier collected 16 poitns in the Midwest Division Poll, including all four available first-place nods. DePaul followed in second with 12 points and the remaining first-place vote, edging Butler which tallied 11 points. Marquette followed in fourth with six points, while Creighton rounded out the Midwest with five points.
Georgetown topped the East Division Poll with 25 points, including all five available first-place nods. The Hoyas were followed by Villanova with 19 points, and Providence with 18 points and the remaining available first-place vote. Returning to BIG EAST play for the first time since 2012, Connecticut was slotted fourth in the East with 12 points, followed by St. John's in fifth with 11 points and Seton Hall in sixth with five.

BIG EAST COACHES POLL

BIG EAST Women's Soccer East Division Preseason Poll
1. Georgetown 25 (5 first-place votes)
2. Villanova      19
3. Providence   18 (1)
4. UConn          12
5. St. Johns       11
6. Seton Hall     5

BIG EAST Women's Soccer Midwest Division Preseason Poll
1. Xavier           16 (4 first-place votes)
2. DePaul         12 (1)
3. Butler           11
4. Marquette    6
5. Creighton     5

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Zsani Kajan, St. John's, R-Sr., F

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Jenna Royson, Georgetown, Jr., D

Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Stephanie Rodriguez, Butler, R-Jr., GK

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team^
Stephanie Rodriguez, Butler, R-Jr., GK
Anja Savich, Butler, Jr., F
Katie Soderstrom, Butler, Jr., F
Skylar Heinrich, Creighton, So., F*
Kristen Boos, DePaul, So., F
Morgan Turner, DePaul, Sr., F
Jenna Royson, Georgetown, Jr., D
Hannah McNulty, Providence, Sr., F*
Zsani Kajan, St. John's, R-Sr., F*
Brice McInroy, Villanova, Jr., M
Molly McLaughlin, Xavier, Jr., M
Brooke Sroka, Xavier, Jr., F

^extra player added due to a tie in voting
*unanimous selection