Xavier University Athletics

Women's Soccer Continues NCAA Championship Play Against No. 11 Virginia
11.17.22 | Women's Soccer
Musketeers and Cavaliers face off at 2 PM on ESPN+
CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer continues 2022 NCAA Championship on Friday, November 18, taking on No. 11 Virginia in State College, Pa. The Musketeers take on the Cavaliers at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
Xavier (14-3-5) advanced in the NCAA Championship for the second time in program history after taking a 4-1 double overtime win at Tennessee in the opening round. The Volunteers scored in the 20th minute to take the 1-0 lead. Ella Rogers scored the equalizer in the 36th minute, with the draw holding through regulation. Chloe Netzel scored the game-winner in the first overtime period and Molly McLaughlin and Sonia Vargas added tallies in the second OT to set the final score at 4-1.
The winner of the second round match advances to take on the winner between No. 2 seeded Penn State and No. 7 seed West Virginia, set to be played immediately following the XU/UVA match. The third round match is set for Sunday, November 20 at 5:00 p.m. in State College, Pa.
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vs. No. 11 Virginia (NCAA Second Round)
Friday, November 18 - 2 PM
Jeffrey Field (State College, Pa.)
Ticket Information
BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll
(First-place votes)
1.      Georgetown         98 (8)
2.      Xavier          91 (2)
3.      Butler                    83 (1)
4.      Providence           69
5.      St. John's              59
6.      Connecticut          57
7.      Creighton              43
8.      Marquette            42
9.      DePaul                   31
10.    Villanova               22
11.    Seton Hall             10
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BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Katie Soderstrom, Butler, R-Sr., F
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BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Julia Leas, Georgetown, Sr., MÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Allie Augur, Georgetown, Sr., GK
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Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Aliyah Diagne, Butler, R-Jr., D
Katie Soderstrom, Butler, R-Sr., F*
Jaydah Bedoya, Connecticut, Jr., F
Aida Kardovic, Creighton, Sr., M*
Allie Augur, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Julia Leas, Georgetown, Sr., M*
Gia Vicari, Georgetown, Jr., F
Meg Hughes, Providence, Jr., F
Jessica Garziano, St. John's, Sr., M
Molly McLaughlin, Xavier, Grad., M
Ella Rogers, Xavier, So., M
*unanimous selection
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Xavier (14-3-5) advanced in the NCAA Championship for the second time in program history after taking a 4-1 double overtime win at Tennessee in the opening round. The Volunteers scored in the 20th minute to take the 1-0 lead. Ella Rogers scored the equalizer in the 36th minute, with the draw holding through regulation. Chloe Netzel scored the game-winner in the first overtime period and Molly McLaughlin and Sonia Vargas added tallies in the second OT to set the final score at 4-1.
The winner of the second round match advances to take on the winner between No. 2 seeded Penn State and No. 7 seed West Virginia, set to be played immediately following the XU/UVA match. The third round match is set for Sunday, November 20 at 5:00 p.m. in State College, Pa.
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 GAME DETAILS |
Friday, November 18 - 2 PM
Jeffrey Field (State College, Pa.)
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 TICKET & PARKING INFO |
Ticket Information
- Gates open at 1 p.m., and tickets are good for both second round games.Â
- Prices:Â
Adults: $8Â
PSU/WVU/UVA/XUÂ Students: $5
Youth: $5Â
Groups of 20+: $3 - Advanced tickets can be purchased at the Bryce Jordan Center Ticket Office Monday - Friday from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. with cash or credit card. Â
- The day of the match at Jeffrey Field, fans will need to use cash to purchase tickets. Credit cards will NOT be accepted.
- For women's soccer matches, fans are asked to park in the Jordan East, Stadium West or Porter North lots. Fans without a permit are encouraged to prepay for event parking at a discounted rate of $5.50 through ParkMobile -Â https://psu.parkmobile.io/
- Prepayment is available through 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, November 17 for the second round match and through 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, November 19 for the third round match.
- Event day parking will be $10 per vehicle and can be purchased on the ParkMobile app. (Note: On Friday, Nov. 18, due to women's basketball and men's hockey events, the parking lots will begin a $10 cash only entry price at 5 p.m.) The East Deck is also available for $1 per hour.Â
- All vehicles must be parked with the license plate facing the drive aisle located closest to the parking space so that payment can be verified by parking enforcement staff.
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 OPPONENT INFO |
- No. 11 Virginia earned a three-seed in the 2022 NCAA Bracket and enter the second round match at 14-3-3 overall with a 6-2-2 record in the ACC.
- The Cavs earned the No. 4 seed in the ACC Championship, falling to Duke in the Quarterfinals.
- UVA advanced in the NCAA Championship with a 4-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
- Haley Hopkins leads the Cavaliers with 28 points on a team-high 12 goals and four assists.
- Alex Spaanstra has 21 points (8G, 5A) while Lia Godfrey (6G, 4A) and Maggie Cagle (3G, 10A) each have 16 points. 10 others have scored for Virginia this season.
- Cayla White has played the bulk of the time in-goal for the Cavs, collecting 46 saves with 12 goals against in 17 matches. She has a record fo 11-3-3 with nine shutouts.
- This is the first match-up between the two programs.
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 POSTSEASON NOTES |
- The Musketeers earned the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST tournament after going unbeaten in conference play during the regular season, the first time in program history the Musketeers have gone unbeaten in league play.
- Xavier finished runners-up in the BIG EAST Championship after topping St. John's in overtime, 3-1, in the semifinals before falling to No. 18 Georgetown in the championships match.
- Xavier earned the program's second-straight at-large bid and fifth bid to the NCAA Championship overall (1998, 2000, 2019, 2021). It's the third berth of head coach Nate Lie's tenure.
- The Musketeers' win over Tennessee is the second NCAA tournament victory in program history. The first came in 2019 against Virginia Tech, with Molly McLaughlin scoring the game winner in the 1-0 match less than five minutes in the game.
- In two overtime matches so far in the post-season, Xavier has out-scored their opponents 5-0, with Molly McLaughlin and Chloe Netzel each scoring a goal in both overtime matches.Â
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 RECORD BREAKING DEFENSE |
- Maria Galley has made all 22 starts this season, collecting 58 saves with 15 goals against, for a save percentage of 0.795 with a GAA of 0.67, a mark that ranks in the top five in Xavier's single season records.Â
- Galley has a record of 14-3-5 on the season so far and has earned 11 clean sheets, tying the Xavier single season school record for a goalkeeper, set in 2000 by Megan Vieth.
- Natalie Bain has played 1,995 minutes on the Xavier backline in 22 starts so far in her freshman season. Maddie Reed has made 21 starts at center back and Grace Haggerty has made a pair of starts
- Molly McLaughlin and Ella Rogers have started each match in the midfield, and Avery Lockwood has made 18Â starts. Olivia Lawson, Elise Le and Rachel Dewey rotate in the starting outside back positions.Â
- The Xavier defense has 11 shutouts on the season, and had six shutouts in a row prior to Creighton's PK in the 82nd minute on Sunday, October 23. Going back to the DePaul game, the Musketeer defense had played 697 consecutive minutes of action without allowing a goal.
- Xavier's 11 shutouts tie the 2000 season for the second-most team shutouts in a season in Xavier record books. The school record is 13, set in 2019.
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 XAVIER NOTES |
- Molly McLaughlin added to her team-high point total with her goal in overtime in the NCAA First Round match against Tennessee, her team-high seventh of the season. She now has 18 points (7G, 4A). She leads the Musketeers with four game-winners
- McLaughlin is 4-4 on PKs for the season, matching for the best percentage in the country. She's now 7-7 on penalty kicks for her Xavier career.
- Chloe Netzel scored her sixth goal of the season in over-time against Tennessee, her third game-winner of the season. The goal, her second OT goal in two overtime matches so far this season, brings her season total to 13 points (6G, 1A).
- Emma Flick picked up three points in the BIG EAST semifinal match on a goal and an assist. Her goal against SJU was her fourth of the season. She also assisted on Chloe Netzel's goal late in the first overtime period, her third of the season, to bring her season total to 11 points.
- Ella Rogers' scored her second goal of the season in the first half against Tennessee, equalizing the match to help send it to overtime. With two tallies and a team-high five assists, she's up to nine points for the season.
- Regan Dancer scored the game-winning goal in Xavier's 1-0 win over UConn, scoring from Ella Rogers and Grace Blumfeldt in the 25th minute. The goal was Dancer's third match-winning goal of the season, which leads the Musketeers and is tied for a league-best on the year. The freshman now has seven points on three goals and an assist.
- Natalie Bain added a point on an assist in the overtime period of the NCAA First Round match against Tennessee, setting Chloe Netzle up for the game-winner. The freshman now has six points after picking up five points in the opening weekend of BIG EAST play, scoring the eventual game-winner in the 23rd minute at Butler, scoring the first goal in the 2-1 win over DePaul and then assisting on Emma Marcus' game-winner.
- Grace Blumfeldt scored the equalizer in Xavier's 1-1 draw at Marquette, her first goal of the season. Combined with a pair of assists, she has four points on the season.
- Rachel Dewey picked up a point on an assist for the third straight match against Villanova, dishing out the helper to Molly McLaughlin. She now has four points on a team-high four assists.
- Brooke Sroka scored Xavier's first goal, an equalizer, in the first half of the Musketeers' 4-1 win over Lipscomb, her second of the season to bring her total to four points. She also scored in Xavier's 4-2 win over Ball State, knocking in an insurance goal in the final minute of the game.
- Simone Rivard-Roberts picked up an assist on Ella Rogers' goal against Tennessee, to bring her season total to five points. She also has two goals on the season, both game-winners.
- Avery Lockwood picked up her second assist of the season on Chloe Netzel's game-winner against Loyola, bringing her season total to four points. Lockwood, a transfer from Indiana, scored the equalizer in the eventual 2-1 win over Louisville, and picked up an assist on Regan Dancer's game-winner at Ball State.Â
- Emma Marcus notched the game-winner in Xavier's 2-1 win over DePaul shortly after halftime.
- Sonia Vargas became the 11th Musketeer to score in 2022 after scoring in the closing seconds of Xavier's 4-1 win over Tennessee.
- Elise Le has a point on an assist, picked up during the Lipscomb match.Â
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 BIG EAST POSTSEASON HONORS |
- After leading Xavier in goals during the regular season, Xavier graduate student Molly McLaughlin was named the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year. She also earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team.
- McLaughlin, originally from Granger, Ind., led Xavier with 13 points on a team-high five goals and three assists in the regular season.Â
- Among her five goals were a BIG EAST-leading three game-winners prior to the post-season. Four of her goals came on penalty kicks, where she's a perfect 4-of-4 for the season and 7-for-7 for her Xavier career.Â
- On the defensive end, McLaughlin started all 19 regular season matches in midfield for the Musketeers, helping limit Xavier opponents to just 12 goals during the regular season, while picking up 11 shutouts. The Musketeers entered the postseason on 12-match unbeaten streak.
- A trio of freshmen, Natalie Bain, Maria Galley and Regan Dancer, also earned All-BIG EAST honors.
- Goalkeeper Maria Galley earned All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-Freshman honors. Galley, originally from South Windsor, Conn., has made all 19 starts this season and played every minute in goal during the regular season.
- During the regular season, she collected 50 saves with just 12 goals against, earning a save percentage of 0.806 with a GAA of 0.63, a mark that ranks in the top five in Xavier's single season records.
- In BIG EAST play, Galley had a league best .903 save percentage, only allowing three goals against conference opponents for a GAA of 0.30.Â
- Galley wrapped up the regular season with a record of 12-2-5 and earned 11 clean sheets, a mark that leads the BIG EAST and was tied for second most in the NCAA DI at the end of the regular season. Her 11 shutouts tie the Xavier single season school record for a goalkeeper. Seven of her 11 shutouts came in BIG EAST play.
- Defender Natalie Bain earned a spot on both the All-BIG EAST Second Team and the the All-Freshman Team.
- Bain, who is originally from Alexandria, Ky., has made all 19 starts in the regular season, helping limit opponents to just 12 goals during the regular season. The Musketeer defense has 11 shutouts on the season, which is tied for second most in a season in Xavier's record books.
- Offensively, Bain has collected five points, scoring two goals off of set pieces and dishing out an assist, all coming in BIG EAST play. Among her two goals was the game-winner at Butler.
- Forward Regan Dancer was named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
- Dancer, who is originally from South Lyon, Mich., was fourth on the team with seven points during the regular season, scoring three goals and dishing out an assist. All three of her tallies are game-winners.
- Two of her goals came during BIG EAST regular season play, where she scored the game winner in Xavier's 2-0 win over Seton Hall and the Musketeers 1-0 win over UConn. Her two game-winners in conference action are tied for second most in league play.
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 STAND OUT FRESHMEN |
- A trio of Musketeer freshmen, Maria Galley, Natalie Bain and Emma Flick, were named to the Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100 Freshmen list
- Galley, a goalkeeper, is tied for the most shutouts in the nation with 11, which also matches the individual school record. She earned All-BIG EAST Second Team Honors as well as All-Freshman Team honors following the regular season. She was also named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Oct. 10.
- Bain, a defender, leads the Musketeers' field players with 1795 minutes of action this season, making all 20Â starts. She's collected five points, scoring two goals off of set pieces and dishing out an assist. She was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-Freshman Team following the regular season, and was also named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 26.
- Flick, a forward, has 11 points on four goals and three assists, ranking second on the team in points and third in goals. Flick was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Sept. 12.
- Forward Regan Dancer has also played a major role in Xavier's offense, collecting seven points on three goals and an assist, with all three goals going down as game-winners. She earned BIG EAST All-Freshman Team honors and was also BIG EAST Freshman of the Week twice this season.
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 MCLAUGHLIN ON HERMANN LIST |
- Women's soccer graduate student Molly McLaughlin was among the 61 NCAA Women's Division I college soccer players named to the 2022 Hermann Trophy Watch List by the United Soccer Coaches.
- McLaughlin, a midfielder from Granger, Ind., is coming off her third all-conference season as a Musketeer, earning a spot on the 2021 All-BIG EAST First Team and the USC All-East Region First Team, as well BIG EAST All-Tournament Team honors. She was voted to the 2022 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by the league's coaches.
- Last season, McLaughlin totaled 1,664 minutes in the midfield for the Musketeers, helping Xavier to a school-record 16 regular season wins and 10 shutouts. McLaughlin finished with three goals on the season, a pair coming in BIG EAST play, with one game-winner, against Marquette.Â
- The Hermann Trophy, presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club, is the nation's highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year as determined by the voting of Division I coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches.
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 2021 SEASON |
- The Musketeers finished the 2021 season at 16-3-1 overall, setting a new school record for regular season wins (16). The Musketeers went undefeated in the non-conference portion of the home schedule, winning seven straight matches to open the season and playing Bowling Green to a draw to move into conference play at 7-0-1.
- Xavier went 9-1 in conference play, winning program's second BIG EAST Regular Season Championship and earning the opportunity to host the league Semifinals and Finals at Corcoran Field.
- The Musketeers earned a program-best ranking in both the United Soccer Coaches Poll (No. 11) and the RPI (No. 7) last season.
- Last season, Xavier earned the program's first at-large bid and home match in the NCAA Tournament.
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 THE MUSKETEERS |
- The Musketeers return 23 letter-winners from last fall, including All-BIG EAST First Team honoree Molly McLaughlin, BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Ella Rogers, and All-Freshmen Team members Chloe Netzel and Shelby Sallee.
- Xavier's returners account for over 80 percent of Xavier's goals last season, including Xavier's top six goal scorers in Netzel (6), Emma Marcus (4), Sallee (4), Rogers (4), McLaughlin (3) and Mathilde Rasmussen (3).
- Netzel led the Musketeers last season with 14 points total, Marcus and Salle each added 11 for the Musketeers.
- The Musketeers adds 13 newcomers, including four transfers and a nine-person freshman class.
- Xavier enters the season ranked No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason poll after finishing last season at No. 19, and also open up the 2022 season ranked No. 21 by Top Drawer Soccer.
- Xavier was selected to finish second in the BIG EAST Coaches poll, collecting a pair of first place votes.
- All-conference honorees Molly McLaughlin and Ella Rogers were named Preseason All-BIG EAST by the league coaches.Â
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  BIG EAST COACHES POLL |
(First-place votes)
1.      Georgetown         98 (8)
2.      Xavier          91 (2)
3.      Butler                    83 (1)
4.      Providence           69
5.      St. John's              59
6.      Connecticut          57
7.      Creighton              43
8.      Marquette            42
9.      DePaul                   31
10.    Villanova               22
11.    Seton Hall             10
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BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Katie Soderstrom, Butler, R-Sr., F
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BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Julia Leas, Georgetown, Sr., MÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Allie Augur, Georgetown, Sr., GK
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Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Aliyah Diagne, Butler, R-Jr., D
Katie Soderstrom, Butler, R-Sr., F*
Jaydah Bedoya, Connecticut, Jr., F
Aida Kardovic, Creighton, Sr., M*
Allie Augur, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Julia Leas, Georgetown, Sr., M*
Gia Vicari, Georgetown, Jr., F
Meg Hughes, Providence, Jr., F
Jessica Garziano, St. John's, Sr., M
Molly McLaughlin, Xavier, Grad., M
Ella Rogers, Xavier, So., M
*unanimous selection
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Players Mentioned
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