No. 25 Men's Soccer Travels to Northern Kentucky

Monday, September 12

Highland Heights, Ky.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Northern Kentucky

No. 25 Men's Soccer Travels to Northern Kentucky

09.11.22 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats Watch Live (ESPN+)

First touch is set for 7 p.m. from NKU Soccer Stadium

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer continues non-conference action Monday, Sept. 12 at Northern Kentucky. First touch is set for 7 p.m. ET from NKU Soccer Stadium.

THE MATCHUP VS NKU

NO. 25 XAVIER MUSKETEERS (4-0-1) at NORTHERN KENTUCKY NORSE (2-3)
Game Info - Monday, Sept. 12 - 7 p.m. ET - NKU Soccer Stadium (1,000)
Live Stats - bit.ly/3DhBaWP
Watch Live (ESPN+) - es.pn/3DhPIps

ABOUT NKU

2022 Record: 2-3 (0-1 Horizon League)
Series History: Xavier leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: XU 3, NKU 1 (Sept. 18, 1991 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Northern Kentucky is coming off a 2-1 loss at Robert Morris on Sept. 10 in the team's Horizon League opener. The Norse have scored a goal in every match this season, totaling 12 goals.
• Ten different Norse have scored a goal this season, paced by Sam Robinson and Craig Wellens who each have two goals. Robinson has added an assist to lead the team in total points (5).
• The Norse were picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 6-11 (4-6 Horizon League) record a year ago.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series vs Northern Kentucky, 3-0.

ALL-TIME RESULTS VS NKU
Nov. 3, 1982 - XU 5, NKU 1 (Highland Heights, Ky.)
Oct. 25, 1985 - XU 4, NKU 2 (Bowling Green, Ky.)
Sept. 18, 1991 - XU 3, NKU 1 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

XU IN THE TOP-25

• Xavier ranks No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll as announced on Sept. 6. The Musketeers are ranked for the first time since Sept. 17, 2019.

• Three BIG EAST teams are in the USC Poll: Butler (No. 12), Georgetown (No. 21) and Xavier (No. 25).

BIG EAST HONOREES

• Makel Rasheed and Cole Jensen were named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday afternoon. Rasheed earns the honors for the first time this season, while Jensen picks up the accolades for the third time in as many weeks. Xavier posted a 1-0 win vs Pacific on Friday, Sept. 9 to remain unbeaten on the year.

• Jensen and Rasheed posted the team's fourth shutout of the season and limited the Tigers to only four shots (one on goal).

• The Musketeers rank tied for first in the NCAA in goals against average (0.20). Individually, Jensen ranks tied for fourth in the NCAA in goals against average (0.20).

2022 BIG EAST HONOREES
Makel Rasheed - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 12
Cole Jensen - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 12
Cole Jensen - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll - Sept. 5
Cole Jensen - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll - Aug. 29
Brandon Osterholt - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll - Aug. 29

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a 1-0 win over Pacific on Sept. 9.

• Eli Dulle scored his first goal of the season in the 39th minute from outside the top left side of the box. The UIndy transfer now has five career goals.

• Elie Dulle is now the sixth different Musketeer to record a goal this season. Seven different players have also posted an assist this season.

• Ernest Mensah Jr. was credited with an assist on the goal from Eli Dulle. It was the first assist of his career.

• Cole Jensen (4-0-1) made one save in 90 minutes of action. He has four shutouts in five matches this season with a 0.20 goals against average.

• Xavier took five more shots (9-4) than Pacific, including two more shots on goal (3-1). The Musketeers took two more corner kicks (6-4) and committed three more fouls (13-10).

• Fabrizio Bernal De La Garza, Jerome Jolly and Alejandro Steinwascher paced the Xavier attack with two shots each.

BIG EAST STATS

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in goals against average (0.20), saves percentage (0.952) and shutouts (4).

• Cole Jensen ranks tied for fourth in the NCAA in goals against average (0.20) and tied for fifth in saves percentage (0.952). His four shutouts also rank tied for first in the NCAA.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier has posted a 48-26-14 (.625) non-conference record since 2013. The Musketeers have recorded an 27-8-5 (.738) record at home in those matches.

• Xavier is 68-29-12 (.679) at Corcoran Field since the start of the 2010 season.

• Xavier will play 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 plays 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 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