No. 21 Women's Soccer Hosts No. 25 Georgetown for BIG EAST Home Opener

No. 21 Women's Soccer Hosts No. 25 Georgetown for BIG EAST Home Opener

09.25.21 | Women's Soccer

Musketeer and Hoyas face off at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 26

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 21 Xavier women's soccer (8-0-1; 1-0-0 BIG EAST) opens up the home portion of the BIG EAST schedule with a top-25 showdown, hosting No. 25 Georgetown (4-0-5, 0-0-1 BIG EAST) on Sunday, September 26 at 1:00 p.m.

Following the match with Georgetown, Xavier remains at home to host Villanova on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7:00 p.m. All BIG EAST matches this season will be available through FloSports.

GAME DETAILS

vs Georgetown
Sunday, September 26 - 1:00 p.m.
Corcoran Field - Cincinnati, Ohio

OPPONENT INFO

The No. 25 Hoyas are 4-0-5 and 0-0-1 in BIG EAST play after playing Creighton to a 1-1 draw through double overtime in the BIG EAST opener on Thursday evening.
Georgetown has wins over Texas, Loyola Marymount, Rutgers and William & Mary, and has played NC State, Dartmouth, Princeton and West Virginia to draws.
Gia Vicari has a team-high 11 points on a team-leading five goals and an assist.
Maya Fernadez-Powell has seven points on two goals and an assist. Cyanne Doyle also has two goals on the season.
Allie Augur has made all nine starts in-goal for the Hoyas, collecting 30 saves with five goals against for a record of 4-0-5. She has four complete shutouts and another shared shutout on the season.
Georgetown was picked to wint he conference aftering finishing the spring at 12-0-2 overall and 7-0-1 in BIG EAST play last season, earning the top seed in the East Division. The Hoyas topped Creighton and Butler in the BIG EAST Tournament to win the title and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The No. 13 national seed, Georgetown beat South Carolina in the second round after receiving a first round bye, then played No. 4 TCU to a 1-1 draw in the Sweet 16, where TCU advanced on PKs.
Senior Jenna Menta was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, finishing with 18 points on five goals and eight assists.
Sophomore Gia Vicari led the Hoyas with 24 points on 10 goals and four assists to earn a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team.
The Hoyas also had the conference Midfielder of the Year, grad student Daisy Cleverly, and Defensive Player of the Year, senior Kelly Ann Livingstone.
Graduate student Lauren Gallagher and senior Alyssa Navarrete split time in-frame, allowing just four goals combined all season. Navarrete made the start in 13 matches, finishing with a 5-0-1 record, and Gallagher appeared in 13 matches, making one start, finishing with a 7-0-1 record and earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Junior Jenna Royson and sophomore Julia Leas both earned Second Team All-BIG EAST as well, while Erin Martin earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
Xavier is 1-8-1 all-time against the Hoyas, with the Musketeers taking a 2-0 win in the 2019 BIG EAST Championship match in the last match-up.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Senior midfielder Molly McLaughlin earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor roll after scoring her first goal of the season to help keep the Musketeers unbeaten, the league office announced on Monday.
With the Musketeers trailing 1-0 in Xavier's lone match of the week at Bowling Green, McLaughlin scored an equalizer in the 41st minute against to help the Musketeers force double overtime. Xavier earned a 1-1 draw to remain unbeaten on the season, wrapping up non-conference play at 7-0-1.
McLaughlin played the full 110 minutes in the midfield, leading the Musketeers with eight shots, matching her career high.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier continued its unbeaten streak to start the season, picking up a 1-0 win at Providence to move to 8-0-1 overall and 1-0 in BIG EAST play.
Both teams were scoreless through the first half, each taking five shots, with Xavier getting four on frame to three for Providence. The Musketeers created six corner kicks to two for the Friars in the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, Providence turned up the offensive pressure, leading the Musketeers 10-2 on shots, but Olivia Jenkins saved all four shots on-frame in the second half to keep the Friars off the board, sending the match to overtime, 0-0.
In the sixth minute of overtime, Emma Marcus got the ball on the right side of the field, crossing to Shelby Sallee out side the box. Sallee dribbled to the edge of the box and shot from the left side, from 18 yards out, to the right corner to end the match on golden goal.
Shelby Sallee's golden goal was her second tally of the season and her first game-winner. She now has five points on two goals and an assist.
Emma Marcus led Xavier with two shots, both on-frame. Six other Musketeers recorded a shot.
The Friars held a 15-8 advantage on shots overall after holding a 10-2 advantage in the second half but the Musketeers led PC 9-4 on corner kicks created.
Olivia Jenkins played the full time in-goal, collecting a career-high seven saves to preserve the clean sheet. She moves to 8-0-1 on the season, matching her career-high for wins in a season, and picked up her fourth shutout.
Hayley Jakovich and Grace Brauer played the full 96 minutes on the Xavier backline to help preserve the shutout.

XAVIER STATS

The win moves the Musketeers to 8-0-1 on the season, the longest unbeaten streak to start the season in program history.
Xavier's nine matches without a loss is the longest unbeaten streak since the 2000 squad went on a 14 match unbeaten streak, going 13-0-1 during that stretch.
Chloe Netzel scored in the first 10 minutes of Xavier's 2-1 win over Loyola Chicago, giving her a team-high three goals for the season. Combined with an assist, she leads the Musketeers with seven points.
Emma Marcus knocked in the game-winner against Ball State, then followed that up with the game-winner against Loyola. She has six points on two goal and two assists.
Shelby Sallee's golden goal against Providence was her second tally of the season and first game-winner as a Musketeer. Combined with an assist, she has five points on the season.
Mathilde Rasmussen also has four points on a pair of goals for the season while Sonia Vargas has three points on a goal and an assist.
Molly McLaughlin's goal against Bowling Green was her first of the season, making her the eighth Musketeer to score this fall. It was McLaughlin's ninth goal as a Musketeer.
Ella Rogers scored her first collegiate goal against Illinois, making her the fourth newcomer to score this season. Sarah Owusu also has two points on a goal.
Elise Le picked up an assist on Chloe Netzel's goal against Loyola, joining Hayley Jakovich and Carrie Lewis who each have two points on a pair of assists. Grace Brauer has also recorded a helper this season as well.
Jakovich and Brauer have anchored Xavier's backline, playing the full time in all nine matches so far, helping limit opponents to just five goals through eight matches.
Olivia Jenkins has made all nine starts in frame, playing the full time in each match. She's collected 24 saves after making a career-high seven against Providence, and has five goals against for a GAA of 0.54 and a record of 8-0-1 with four complete shutouts.

XAVIER IN THE RANKINGS

The Musketeers moved to No. 21 in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll for week five (9/21/21) after playing Bowling Green to a 1-1 draw in the lone match of the week, moving the Musketeers to 7-0-1.
Xavier moved up to a program-best ranking of 17 in week four (9/14/21) after going 2-0 against Ball State and Loyola Chicago the weekend before to move to 7-0 on the season.
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. The Musketeers had been receiving votes in each of the two previous weeks.
Xavier also moved up to the No. 1 spot in the East region in week three, after being at No. 3 in the region for week two. The Musketeers remained at No. 1 in the region until week five, when Hofstra moved up to No. 1, moving Xavier to No. 2

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Musketeers remain at home to host Villanova on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7:00 p.m. at Corcoran Field.
The Wildcats, who were picked to finish 10th in the BIG EAST preseason poll, enter the game at 6-3 overall and 0-1 in BIG EAST play after falling 2-1 to Seton Hall in the BIG EAST opener. VU will face Marquette on Sunday.
Villanova opened up the season with a five-match win streak, topping Drexel, Delaware, Colorado College, Rider and Cornell before falling in three of the next four, to Virginia Tech, Penn and SHU. The Wildcats picked up a win over Colgate in that stretch.
Chloe O'Neill's 18 points on seven goals and four assists are all team-highs.
Regan Smith, Lauren Belcuore and Brice McInroy each have multiple scores on the season.
Megan McClay has played the full time in all nine matches so far for the Wildcats, making 40 saves with 13 goals against.
Villanova finished 3-10-2 overall and 2-6-2 in BIG EAST play in spring 2021, finishing fifth in the East Division standings in the conference.
Sophomore Makayla Stadler led the Wildcats with five points on a goal and three assists. Grad student Sam Rosette led the team with a pair of goals.
Emma Weaver, who finished with a team-high matching three assists, earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
Megan McClay started 13 games in-goal for the Wildcats, finishing with a .830 save percentage and a 1.25 GAA.
Xavier is 4-4-0 all-time against the Wildcats, last facing off in the BIG EAST Semifinals in 2019, a 2-0 win for the Musketeers.

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