Musketeers Open Home Season on Sunday Night vs Eastern Illinois

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer opens the home portion of its schedule on Sunday, Aug. 28 vs Eastern Illinois. First touch is set for 7 p.m. ET from Corcoran Field.

THE MATCHUP VS EIU

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (1-0) vs EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS (0-1)
Game Info - Sunday, Aug. 28 - 7 p.m. ET - Corcoran Field (1,000)
Live Stats - bit.ly/2Pzr1JH
Watch Live - FloSports - bit.ly/3Tk9fLm

ABOUT EIU

2022 Record: 0-1 (0-0 Summit League)
Series History: Xavier leads, 3-2-1
Last Meeting: Xavier 1, Eastern Illinois 0 (Sept. 27, 2021 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Josh Oakley was named the 11th head coach in Eastern Illinois history on June 29, 2022. Oakley has over 25 years of coaching experience, most recently as the head coach of Lansing Common FC in the Midwest Premier League. During the 2021 season, Oakley coached the team to a 10-1-3 record as they ranked second in the league with 35 goals scored.
• The Panthers opened the 2022 season with a 2-1 loss at Green Bay. Sam Eccles scored the lone goal via a penalty kick in the 82nd minute.
• Eastern Illinois was picked to finish seventh in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 2-12-1 (1-5 Summit League) record a year ago.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series with Eastern Illinois, 3-2-1. The Musketeers have won three straight meetings vs the Panthers. Xavier has outscored Eastern Illinois, 12-0, in those matches.

LAST TIME OUT VS EIU

• Xavier won the last match between the two schools, 1-0, on Aug. 28. Jerome Jolly scored the game-winning goal in the 80th minute.

• Xavier held a 12-8 advantage in shots and a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Musketeers also took seven more corner kicks (12-5) than the Panthers. Eastern Illinois committed three more fouls (11-8) than Xavier.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier opened the 2022 season and John Higgins Era with a 1-0 win at Virginia on Thursday, Aug. 25. Brandon Osterholt delivered the game-winning goal in the 85th minute following a deflection by Kendall Allen via a corner kick. It was the first career goal for Osterholt.

• Redshirt-junior Cole Jensen (1-0) appeared in his first match in a Xavier uniform vs the Cavaliers. The goalkeeper made eight saves and earned the shutout.

XU AT HOME

• Xavier is 66-29-11 (.675) at Corcoran Field since the start of the 2010 season.

• The Musketeers are 5-2 in their last seven home openers.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier has posted a 45-26-13 (.625) non-conference record since 2013. The Musketeers have recorded an 25-8-4 (.729) record at home in those matches.

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

• Xavier's remaining non-conference road matches are vs Memphis (Sept. 1), Northern Kentucky (Sept. 12) and Evansville (Sept. 20).

• The Musketeers open 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

1.	Providence (4)	94
2.	Georgetown (7)	93
3.	St. John's	79
4.	Creighton	71
5.	Butler	60
6.	Villanova	59
7.	Marquette	49
8.	UConn	38
9.	DePaul	23
10.	Seton Hall	22
11.	Xavier	17

First-place votes in ()

UP NEXT

• The Musketeers return to action on Thursday, Sept. 1 at Memphis. First touch is set for 8 p.m. ET from the Billy J. Murphy Soccer/Track & Field Complex.

WATCH LIVE ON FLOSPORTS

Fans can sign up now to watch Xavier Athletics on FloSports! Men's and women's soccer and volleyball will debut this fall on the streaming platform, while women's basketball and baseball will be available later this academic year.
Xavier will broadcast every home soccer and volleyball match that isn't produced by the BIG EAST Digital Network. Both broadcasts will be available for fans to watch on FloSports.

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