No. 13 Xavier, DePaul Set for Saturday Matinee

Saturday, October 15

Chicago, Ill.

2 p.m. ET

Xavier University

DePaul

No. 13 Xavier, DePaul Set for Saturday Matinee

10.14.22 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats Watch Live

First touch is set for 2 p.m. ET from Wish Field

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer continues BIG EAST action on Saturday, Oct. 15 at DePaul. First touch is set for 2 p.m. ET from Wish Field.

THE MATCHUP AT DEPAUL

NO. 13 XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-0-4, 3-0-3) at DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS (3-4-5, 0-2-3)
Game Info - Saturday, Oct. 15 - 2 p.m. ET - Wish Field (1,000)
Live Stats - bit.ly/3CwHW93
Watch Live (BEDN) - flosports.link/3dUulj6

ABOUT DEPAUL

2022 Record: 3-4-5 (0-2-3 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier leads, 15-3-2
Last Meeting: XU 1, DPU 1 (Nov. 3, 2021 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• DePaul was picked to finish ninth in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll after posting a 7-7-3 (3-4-3) record last season.
• The Blue Demons are coming off a 2-1 loss at St. John's on Wednesday, Oct. 12. DePaul is 1-2-2 in home matches this season with the lone win coming on Aug. 28 vs Bucknell (W, 2-0).
• DePaul ranks 11th in the BIG EAST in goals (11) and shots (97). The Blue Demons also rank sixth in goals against average (1.17). Nine different players have scored a goal this season, paced by Michael Anderson who has two.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series vs DePaul, 15-3-2. The Musketeers are 7-2-1 against the Blue Demons since joining the BIG EAST in 2013. Xavier is 4-0 vs DePaul at Wish Field since 2013 and is 7-1 all-time in road games vs the Blue Demons.

• Xavier and DePaul played to a 1-1 tie on Nov. 3, 2021 in the last meeting between the two schools. It was the season finale for both teams. Payton Miller gave the Musketeers a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute, but DePaul's Grant Herbek scored the equalizer in the 75th minute.

XU IN THE TOP-25

• Xavier ranks No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll as announced on Oct. 11. The Musketeers entered the poll this season on Sept. 6 (as No. 25), the team's first time being ranked since Sept. 17, 2019. Xavier ranked as high as No. 12 in the poll on Oct. 4, the highest ranking for the Musketeers since being ranked No. 11 on Sept. 10, 2019.

• Xavier is the only BIG EAST team ranked in the poll this week, while Butler is receiving votes. The Musketeers also rank No. 34 in the first NCAA RPI Standings of the season.

BIG EAST HONOREES

• Dylan Kropp was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon. Cole Jensen was also named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.

2022 BIG EAST HONOREES
Dylan Kropp - Defensive Player of the Week - Oct. 10
Cole Jensen - Weekly Honor Roll - Oct. 10
Cole Jensen - Weekly Honor Roll - Oct. 3
Cameron Wheeler - Weekly Honor Roll - Oct. 3
Makel Rasheed - Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 26
Cameron Wheeler - Offensive Player of the Week - Sept. 19
Makel Rasheed - Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 12
Cole Jensen - Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 12
Cole Jensen - Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 5
Cole Jensen - Weekly Honor Roll - Aug. 29
Brandon Osterholt - Weekly Honor Roll - Aug. 29

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a 3-1 win vs Creighton on Oct. 13. The Musketeers scored all three goals in the second half.

• Kendall Allen scored his second goal of the season in the 57th minute. The UIndy transfer now has 10 career goals.

• Alejandro Steinwascher scored his second goal of the season in the 61st minute off a pass from Brandon Osterholt. Steinwascher now has 40 career goals. The assist for Osterholt was the first of his career.

• Cameron Phillips scored his first goal of the season with 58 seconds left in regulation. He now has three career goals.

• Cole Jensen (9-0-4) made a season-high nine saves between the pipes. His previous season high was eight saves in the season opener at Virginia on Aug. 25.

• Defenders Kendall Allen, Dylan Kropp and Dominik Kurija all played 90 minutes. Six different players took one shot in the match for Xavier.

• Xavier has only allowed seven goals on the season (three via penalty kick). The Musketeers have scored 21 goals this season with 16 goals coming in the second half of matches.

• Creighton took 15 more shots (21-6) than Xavier and seven more shots on goal (11-4). The Bluejays also took 12 more corner kicks (12-0).

• Xavier committed six more fouls (12-6) than Creighton. The match featured eight yellow cards (five on Xavier; three on Creighton).

• Xavier snapped a three-game losing streak in the series history. The Musketeers picked up their first win vs Creighton since Oct. 11, 2019. Xavier move to 3-2-1 when playing the Bluejays in Cincinnati.

NOTABLES

• Xavier has had 10 different players score a goal this season, paced by Fabrizio Bernal De La Garza and Jerome Jolly who each have three goals.

• Xavier's 13-match unbeaten streak to start the season is the longest unbeaten streak to start a season since 2012 (The Musketeers started the year 10-0-4 before losing a match).

• Xavier concluded non-conference action unbeaten for the first time since 2012 (The Musketeers went 7-0-2 in non-conference action).

• Xavier is the only men's soccer team in the BIG EAST without a loss this season. The Musketeers are one of seven teams in the country without a loss this year (Washington, Kentucky, Portland, Dayton, Duke, Xavier, UMass).

BIG EAST STATS

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in goals against average (0.54) and shutouts (7), while ranking fourth in total saves (46). The Musketeers rank eighth in the NCAA in goals against average.

• Xavier has only allowed seven goals this season, the fewest in the BIG EAST. Three of those seven goals were via penalty kick. The seven goals allowed are tied for the 11th fewest goals allowed in the NCAA.

• Cole Jensen ranks 12th in the NCAA in goals against average (0.54) and fifth saves percentage (0.86). His seven shutouts ranks tied for third in the NCAA.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier has posted a 50-26-14 (.633) non-conference record since 2013. The Musketeers have recorded an 27-8-5 (.738) record at home in those matches.

• Xavier is 71-29-13 (.686) at Corcoran Field since the start of the 2010 season.

• Xavier played seven non-conference matches, three at home and four on the road. The Musketeers opened the home portion of their schedule vs Eastern Illinois on Sunday, Aug. 28. Xavier also played home non-conference matches vs Robert Morris (Sept. 4) and Pacific (Sept. 9). The meeting vs Pacific was the first in program history.

• Xavier also has non-conference road matches at Memphis (Sept. 1), Northern Kentucky (Sept. 12) and Evansville (Sept. 20).

• The Musketeers opened BIG EAST action vs Seton Hall on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Corcoran Field. Xavier's other four home BIG EAST contests are vs Marquette (Sept. 24), UConn (Oct. 1), Creighton (Oct. 12) and Providence (Oct. 29).

• Xavier will face five teams (all from the BIG EAST) that played in the NCAA Tournament last season, including College Cup participant Georgetown. St. John's, Providence, Creighton and Villanova all joined the Hoyas in the NCAA Tournament - the first time since 2013 that the BIG EAST had five teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

• Xavier returns four of its top five point leaders from last season, led by Justus Kauppinen who scored three goals and added four assists. The Musketeers also return Jerome Jolly (three goals, one assist), Taylor Rhinehart (one goal, three assists).

• Xavier added 18 newcomers to the roster, including four University of Indianapolis transfers: Eli Dulle (four goals, four assists), Brandon Osterholt, Makel Rasheed (five goals, three assists), Alejandro Steinwascher (14 goals, 10 assists).

• Lotem Ben Dov and Pol Hernandez will serve as team captains this season. Ben Dov missed the fall 2021 season with an injury, while Hernandez played in all 17 matches.

NEW HEAD COACH

• John Higgins was named the new men's soccer coach in March of 2022. He joined the Musketeers from the University of Indianapolis where he compiled a 150-56-29 overall record in 12 seasons with the Greyhounds.

• Higgins finished the 2021 fall season ranked fourth in the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Top-25 Poll after posting an 18-1-3 record and advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Championships. All told, he posted a 31-1-7 record over two seasons in 2021 (spring season due to COVID-19 pandemic).

• The three-time Great Lakes Valley Conference 'Coach of the Year' owns a 7-3-1 (.625) record in NCAA Tournament action and finished GLVC Tournament play with an 18-3-5 (.750) mark. He finished his coaching career at UIndy as the program's all-time leader in wins (150) and winning percentage (.700).

• Higgins led the Greyhounds to a total of six conference championships from 2010-21, including three regular-season titles and three tournament championships. All told, he has made five NCAA Tournaments with two national semifinal appearances.

• The Dunfermline, United Kingdom, native coached 54 All-GLVC selections at UIndy along with seven All-Midwest Region honorees and two All-Americans. Academically, the Greyhounds have earned the USC Team Academic Award in each season under Higgins.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the last 12 seasons. The Musketeers have also won 10 or more matches in seven of the last 12 seasons.

• Xavier was the only program in the nation with five consecutive major conference awards from 2012-16, including 2016 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Cory Brown.

• XU has qualified for six of the last nine BIG EAST Championships, including trips to the title game in 2014 and 2017.

• XU has been ranked in the nation's top-10 three times in the last nine years by the United Soccer Coaches. The Musketeers have been nationally-ranked in at least one major college soccer poll (United Soccer Coaches, Top Drawer Soccer, College Soccer News, Soccer America) in every season since 2011.

• In 2015, XU knocked off the national No. 1 (Creighton) and No. 2 (Notre Dame) on the road. The Musketeers are widely believed to be the first program to ever knock off both a No. 1 and a No. 2 on the road in the same season.

• Four XU players have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last 10 years, including 2018 third rounder Cory Brown.

PRESEASON COACHES' POLL