Women's Soccer Host Villanova for Thursday Evening Match-Up

Thursday, September 30

Cincinnati, Ohio

7:00 PM

Xavier University

Villanova

Women's Soccer Host Villanova for Thursday Evening Match-Up

09.28.21 | Women's Soccer

Live Stats Live Stream Tickets

Musketeers and Wildcats face off at 7:00 p.m. at Corcoran Field

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer (8-1-1; 1-1-0 BIG EAST) remains at home for it next match-up, hosting Villanova on Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7:00 p.m. at Corcoran Field. The Musketeers are in a four-way tie for fourth place in the BIG EAST following the opening weekend of action.

Following the match with the Wildcats, the Musketeers will head out on the road to face Creighton on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2:00 p.m. ETC. All BIG EAST matches this season will be available through FloSports.

GAME DETAILS

vs Villanova
Thursday, September 30 - 7:00 p.m.
Corcoran Field - Cincinnati, Ohio

OPPONENT INFO

The Wildcats, who were picked to finish 10th in the BIG EAST preseason poll, enter the game at 6-4 overall and 0-2 in BIG EAST play after falling 3-1 to Marquette and 2-1 to Seton Hall in the BIG EAST opening weekend.
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 10 matches so far for the Wildcats, making 45 saves with 16 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.

BIG EAST STANDINGS


SCHOOL	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Butler	2-0	1.000	9-1	0.900	W9
St. John's	2-0	1.000	6-2-1	0.722	W2
Georgetown	1-0-1	0.750	5-0-5	0.750	W1
Xavier	1-1	0.500	8-1-1	0.850	L1
Providence	1-1	0.500	6-3-1	0.650	W1
Seton Hall	1-1	0.500	6-4	0.600	L1
Marquette	1-1	0.500	5-4	0.556	W1
Creighton	0-1-1	0.250	6-3-2	0.636	L1
UConn	0-1	0.000	4-4	0.500	L2
DePaul	0-1	0.000	3-6	0.333	L1
Villanova	0-2	0.000	6-4	0.600	L3

WEEKLY AWARDS

After scoring the game-winning goal in Xavier's BIG EAST opening win in overtime at Providence, Shelby Sallee earned a spot on the conference's Weekly Honor Roll, the league announced on Monday.
Sallee, a freshman forward from Strongsville, Ohio, scored the 96th minute golden goal at Providence on Thursday, her second goal of the season and first game-winner, to help the Musketeers move to 8-0-1 overall and 1-0 to start BIG EAST play.

LAST TIME OUT

The Musketeers had the first setback of the season on Sunday, falling 2-1 to No. 25 Georgetown in overtime at Corcoran Field.
Georgetown struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute after Gia Vicari scored off the rebound of an Olivia Jenkins save to take the 1-0 lead.
Xavier responded just before halftime, with Ella Rogers scoring the equalizer from Sarah Owusu and Hayley Jakovich off a set piece in the 40th minute to send it into the break tied a 1-1.
In the second half, Xavier held a 4-0 advantage on shots and a 3-1 advantage on corners, but neither team was able to find the game-winner, sending the match to overtime. In the extra period, GU's Vicari struck again, this time with a golden goal, to give the Musketeers their first loss.
Ella Rogers' first half goal was her second of the season, bringing her season total to four points. She's the fifth Musketeer to score multiple goals this season.
Hayley Jakovich picked up an assist on Rogers' goal her team-high matching third of the season.
Sarah Owusu also picked up an assist on Rogers' goal, combining with a goal to give her three points on the season.
Mathilde Rasmussen and Shelby Sallee each had a pair of shots to lead Xavier at the Musketeers trailed the Hoyas 8-7 overall on shots.
Olivia Jenkins played the full time in-goal, making three saves with two goals against.
Hayley Jakovich and Grace Brauer played the full 96 minutes for the Xavier defense.

XAVIER STATS

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.
Ella Rogers scored the equalizer in the first half of Xavier's 2-1 overtime loss of Georgetown to give her four points on two goals for the season. Mathilde Rasmussen also has four points on a pair of goals for the season.
Sarah Owusu picked up an assist on Rogers' goal against Georgetown, combining with an assist to move to three points on the season. Sonia Vargas also has three points on a goal and an assist.
Hayley Jakovich picked up an assist on Rogers' goal against Georgetown, giving her three points on three assists for the season. Carrie Lewis also has three helpers for the season.
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.
Elise Le picked up an assist on Chloe Netzel's goal against Loyola and she now has 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 10 matches so far, helping limit opponents to just seven goals through 930 minutes of action.
Olivia Jenkins has made all 10 starts in frame, playing the full time in each match. She's collected 27 saves, including making a career-high seven against Providence, and has seven goals against for a GAA of 0.68 and a record of 8-1-1 with four complete shutouts.
The loss to Georgetown ended Xavier's nine match streak without a loss to start the season, the longest unbeaten streak to start the season in program history.
The Musketeers have gone into overtime in the last three matches.

XAVIER IN THE RANKINGS

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.
Following the 1-1 draw at Bowling Green, Xavier moved down to No. 21 in week five (9/21/21) before falling into the receiving votes category in week six after falling to Georgetown.
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. Xavier is currently ranked No. 5 in the East Regionl

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Musketeers head back out on the road to face the Creighton Bluejays on Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2:00 p.m.
The Bluejays are 6-3-2 overall and 0-1-1 in BIG EAST action headed into Thursday's match with Marquette.
Abigail Santana leads the Bluejays with 15 points on seven goals and an assist, Cristiana Garriga and Jordy Rothwell each have multiple goals.
Ansley Atkinson has a team-high nine assists on the season.
Keelan Terrell has started all 11 matches for the Bluejays in-goal, making 27 saves with five goals against for a GAA of 0.43.
Creighton was picked to finish fifth in the league by the conference coaches after finishing the spring 2021 season at 4-6 overall and 4-4 in BIG EAST play, finishing third in the Midwest Division.
Redshirt sophomore Aida Kardovic led the Bluejays with nine points on four goals and an assist, earning First Team All-BIG EAST.
Junior Ansley Atkinson had seven points on three goals and an assist and sophomore Skylar Heinrich added two goals and assist, with both earning All-BIG EAST Second Team honors.
Defender Maddie Radke earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
Sophomore Keelan Terrell started nine games in-goal, allowing 14 goals on the season for a GAA of 1.53.
Creighton's coaching staff earned BIG EAST Staff of the Year following the 2021 spring season.
Xavier is 7-5 all-time against the Bluejays after splitting the home-and-away series in spring 2021.

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