Women's Soccer Closes Out Road Schedule at DePaul on Sunday

Sunday, March 28

Chicago, Ill.

2 PM ET

Xavier University

DePaul

Women's Soccer Closes Out Road Schedule at DePaul on Sunday

03.27.21 | Women's Soccer

Live Stats Live Stream (BEDN)

Musketeers and Blue Demons face off at 2:00 p.m. ET

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer (2-5, 1-3 BIG EAST) will close out its road schedule on Sunday, traveling to Chicago to face the DePaul Blue Demons (3-3, 2-3 BIG EAST), set for 2:00 p.m. ET.

A live stream of the match will be available through the BIG EAST Digital Network.

GAME DETAILS

at DePaul (BIG EAST)
Sunday, March 28 - 2:00 PM ET
Chicago, Ill. - Wish Field

OPPONENT INFO

DePaul enters the game at 3-3 overall and 2-3 in BIG EAST play.
The Blue Demons opened up the season with a 2-1 win at Valparaiso in their lone non-conference match.
DU opened up BIG EAST play with losses to Butler and Marquette before picking up back-to-back wins against Creighton and Butler. In their last outing, the Blue Demons fell to Marquette.
Morgan Turner leads DePaul with five points on two goals and an assist.
Four other Blue Demons have scored.
Mollie Erikson has played the bulk of time in-frame, collecting six saves with seven goals against.
Elena Milam has made two appearances in-frame with one save and one goal against.
DePaul finished 2019 at 8-8-3 overall and 5-3-1 in BIG EAST play, earning the No. 5 seed in the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament. DU fell to Villanova in the first round.
The Blue Demons return All-BIG EAST selections Morgan Turner, Kristin Boos and Avery Hay.
Xavier won, 2-1, against DePaul in Cincinnati in the programs' last match-up in October 2019. Xavier took the lead on a goal from Molly McLaughlin early in the second half before DePaul equalized. Jenna Prathapa scored the game-winner in the closing seconds to give Xavier the win.
Xavier is 2-4-2 against DePaul all-time, and currently in a four-match unbeaten streak against the Blue Demons, dating back to 2017.
The two teams will play again on April 11 at XU Soccer Complex.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier moved to 1-3 in BIG EAST play after falling 1-0 to Creighton at XU Soccer Complex on Thursday.
After falling behind on a Creighton goal in the first half, Xavier challenged for an equalizer in the second half but were unable to score.
In a match that was moved up to 9:00 a.m. from its original start time of 1:00 p.m. to avoid rain, Xavier's offense started slowly, getting out-shot 5-2 in the first half. Creighton found the back of the net in the 26th minute on a shot from just outside the box to give the Bluejays a 1-0 lead at the break.
The Musketeers came out after halftime as the aggressors on offense, holding a 9-4 advantage on second-half shots, including a flurry of shots from the box where two attempts bounced off the crossbar, and earning five corner kicks to one for Creighton in the second 45 minutes, but were unable to find the equalizer.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Musketeers return home for the remainder of the regular season, starting with the Butler Bulldogs on Saturday, April 3. Xavier hosts BU at 1:00 p.m. at XU Soccer Complex as part of a doubleheader with the Xavier and Butler men.

XAVIER STATS

Grace Blumfeldt became the fourth Musketeer to score with her second-half goal against Marquette. Blumfeldt also has a point, on an assist on Mackenzie Tucker's goal against Bellarmine, to lead Xavier with three points for the season.
Molly McLaughlin, Gabrielle LoPresti and Mackenzie Tucker each with two points on a goal. McLaughlin's and Tuckers were both game-winners.
McLaughlin is leading Xavier with 22 shots total, with 11 on-goal.
Maddie Thiss picked up an assist on Grace Blumfeldt's goal against Marquette.
Olivia Jenkins has played the bulk of the time in-frame, starting all seven games so far, making 15 saves with 13 goals against for a GAA of 1.95.
Ashley Bowles entered for the final 30 minutes against Marquette, not facing a shot.
Hayley Jakovich has played a team-high 630 minutes for Xavier's defense. She has also attempted five shots, with three 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