No. 19 Xavier Closes Non-Conference Action at Evansville

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer concludes non-conference action vs Evansville on Tuesday, Sept. 20. First touch is set for 7 p.m. ET from Arad McCutchan Stadium.

THE MATCHUP VS EVANSVILLE

NO. 19 XAVIER MUSKETEERS (5-0-2) at EVANSVILLE PURPLE ACES (3-0-2)
Game Info - Tuesday, Sept. 20 - 7 p.m. ET - Arad McCutchan Stadium (2,500)
Live Stats - bit.ly/3RSiX6u
Watch Live (ESPN+) - es.pn/3dpsMtL

ABOUT EVANSVILLE

2022 Record: 3-0-2
Series History: Xavier trails, 3-18-3
Last Meeting: XU 3, UE 1 (Aug. 26, 2016 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Nacho Diaz leads the MVC in total goals (6), while ranking tied for fourth in the NCAA. He has two game-winning goals this season and has taken a conference-leading 11 shots on goal.
• Evansville was picked to finish fifth in the Preseason MVC Coaches' Poll after posting a 4-14-2 (3-6-1 MVC) record last season. the Purple Aces return two MVC All-Freshman Team honorees in Jose Vivas and Jon Varela. Vivas was also named the MVC Freshman of the Year.
• The Purple Aces have scored two or more goals in four of their five matches this season. Evansville is coming off a 2-0 win vs SIUE on Sept. 17.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Evansville, 3-18-3. The Musketeers won the last meeting between the two schools, 3-1, on Aug. 26, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

• Xavier travels to Evansville for the first time since Sept. 17, 2010. The two teams played to a scoreless drawn in two overtimes.

XU IN THE TOP-25

• Xavier ranks No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll as announced on Sept. 20. 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 is the only BIG EAST team ranked in the poll this week, while Creighton is receiving votes.

BIG EAST HONOREES

• Cameron Wheeler was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon. He scored one goal and recorded one assist vs Seton Hall on Sept. 12.

2022 BIG EAST HONOREES
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 2-2 tie vs Seton Hall in the team's BIG EAST opener on Sept. 12.

• Cameron Wheeler scored his first goal of the season and the second goal of his career in the 37th minute to put the Musketeers on the scoreboard. He became the seventh different Xavier player to score a goal this season.

• Fabrizio Bernal De La Garza was credited with an assist on the Cameron Wheeler goal, the first assist of his career. He added the team's second goal in the 79th minute, his third goal of the season. The midfielder now has a team-high seven points (three goals, one assist).

• Makel Rasheed and Cameron Wheeler were both credited with an assist on the Fabrizio Bernal De La Garza goal. Rasheed and Wheeler both have two assists on the year (seventh career assist for Rasheed; fourth career assist for Wheeler).

• Cole Jensen (5-0-2) made six saves, increasing his season total to 29 saves. He now has a 0.57 goals against average. Jensen and the Musketeers allowed more than one goal in a match for the first time this season.

• Seton Hall held a 14-6 advantage in shots and took three more shots on goal (8-5). The Pirates committed one more foul (16-15) and took one more corner kick (3-2).

• The match featured 31 fouls and eight yellow cards (four on each team).

NOTABLES

• Xavier has had seven different players score a goal this season, paced by Fabrizio Bernal De La Garza and Jerome Jolly who each have three goals. The Musketeers rank tied for third in the BIG EAST for number of goal scorers (Creighton leads with nine different goal scorers; Georgetown ranks second with eight; Xavier/Marquette/Providence each have seven).

• The Musketeers have been unbeaten through seven matches for the first time since the 2018 season (started the year 3-0-4).

• Xavier is the only men's soccer team in the BIG EAST without a loss this season. The Musketeers are one of 23 teams in the country without a loss this season.

BIG EAST STATS

• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in goals against average (0.57), saves percentage (0.87) and shutouts (4).

• Cole Jensen ranks tied for 18th in the NCAA in goals against average (0.57) and 11th in saves percentage (0.87). His four shutouts also rank tied for fourth 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 69-29-12 (.682) 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 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

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 BIG EAST action on Saturday, Sept. 24 vs Marquette. First touch is set for 7 p.m. ET from Corcoran Field.

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