No. 24 Xavier Opens BIG EAST Action vs Seton Hall

Saturday, September 17

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Seton Hall

No. 24 Xavier Opens BIG EAST Action vs Seton Hall

09.16.22 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats Watch Live

First touch is set for 7 p.m. from Corcoran Field on Saturday

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer opens BIG EAST action on Saturday, Sept. 17 vs Seton Hall. First touch is set for 7 p.m. ET from Corcoran Field.

THE MATCHUP VS SETON HALL

NO. 24 XAVIER MUSKETEERS (5-0-1) vs SETON HALL PIRATES (3-1-2)
Game Info - Saturday, Sept. 17 - 7 p.m. ET - Corcoran Field (1,000)
Live Stats - bit.ly/2Pzr1JH
Watch Live (BEDN/FloSports) - flosports.link/3dUulj6

ABOUT SETON HALL

2022 Record: 3-1-2 (0-0 BIG EAST)
Series History: Xavier leads, 7-1
Last Meeting: XU 1, SH 0 (Oct. 9, 2021 - South Orange, N.J.)

NOTABLES
• Seton Hall is 2-1-1 in road matches this season, highlighted by a 1-0 win at No. 10 Oregon State on Sept. 2. The Pirates are coming off a 1-1 tie vs Army on Sept. 13 in South Orange, N.J.
• The Pirates were picked to finish 10th in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 6-8-3 (2-7-1 BIG EAST) record last season.
• Seton Hall ranks fourth in the conference in goals against average (0.83), fifth in total goals (8) and second in shutouts (3). The Pirates also pace the BIG EAST in total fouls (106), 29 more fouls than St. John's who ranks second (77).

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier leads the all-time series with Seton Hall, 7-1. The Musketeers have won four straight in the series and are 4-0 vs the Pirates at Corcoran Field.

• Xavier's lone loss to the Pirates was on Oct. 29, 2016 by a score of 2-1 in South Orange, N.J.

• The Musketeers won the last meeting with Seton Hall, 1-0, in New Jersey on Oct. 9, 2021. Taylor Rhinehart scored the game-winning goal in the 71st minute.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS SETON HALL
Oct. 9, 2021 - XU 1, SHU 0 (South Orange, N.J.)
Oct. 23, 2019 - XU 2, SHU 1 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Oct. 27, 2018 - XU 2, SHU 1 (OT) (South Orange, N.J.)
Oct. 28, 2017 - XU 3, SHU 2 (OT) (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Oct. 29, 2016 - SHU 2, XU 1 (South Orange, N.J.)

XU IN THE TOP-25

• Xavier ranks No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll as announced on Sept. 13. The Musketeers entered the poll this season on Sept. 6 (as No. 25), the team's first time being ranked since Sept. 17, 2019.

• Two BIG EAST teams are in the USC Poll: Butler (No. 20) and Xavier (No. 25), while Creighton and Georgetown are both receiving votes.

BIG EAST HONOREES

• Makel Rasheed and Cole Jensen were named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Sept. 12. Rasheed earns the honors for the first time this season, while Jensen picks up the accolades for the third time in as many weeks.

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 3-1 win at Northern Kentucky on Monday, Sept. 12.

• Jerome Jolly scored two goals in the match, his first career multi-goal game. The midfielder now has a team-high three goals on the year, increasing his career total to seven goals. The Garstang, England, native is the second Musketeer to have a two-goal performance this season as Fabrizio Bernal De La Garza tallied two goals in the win over Robert Morris on Sept. 4 (W, 3-0).

• Eli Dulle scored his second goal of the season in the 82nd minute. The UIndy transfer now has six career goals (four game-winning goals).

• Alejandro Steinwascher was credited with an assist on the final goal, his team-leading second assist of the season. The forward now has 27 career assists.

• Cole Jensen (5-0-1) made three saves in 90 minutes of action. He allowed only his second goal of the season, snapping a streak of 292 scoreless minutes between the two goals. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native now has a 0.33 goals against average on the year.

• Xavier took a season-high 20 shots and a season-high 11 shots on goal. Jerome Jolly led six Musketeers with multiple shots with a match-high seven shots (three on goal). Xavier's defense limited the Norse to only five shots (four on goal).

• Xavier also took four more corner kicks (6-2) than Northern Kentucky, while the Norse committed three more fouls (4-1).

BIG EAST STATS

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in goals against average (0.33), saves percentage (0.920) and shutouts (4).

• Cole Jensen ranks tied for ninth in the NCAA in goals against average (0.33) and tied for eighth in saves percentage (0.920). His four shutouts also rank tied for first in the NCAA.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier has posted a 49-26-14 (.629) 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