OMAHA, Neb. - No. 20 Xavier women's soccer (11-2-4; 4-0-4 BIG EAST) remains on the road to wrap up a two-match road trip on Sunday, Oct. 22, taking on Creighton for the final road game of the regular season. The Musketeers and the Bluejays
get underway at 2:00 p.m. ET on FloSports.
The Musketeers were included in the NCAA Soccer Committee's Top 16 midseason ranking, announced Thursday evening, coming in at No. 13 based on matches through Oct. 17.
Xavier, which has two regular season matches remaining, sits in second place in the league standings with 16 points at 4-0-4, trailing first place Georgetown's 19 points at 5-0-4, with one conference match remaining for the Hoyas.
The Musketeers came in at No. 20 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll, and are also ranked in the top 25 by College Soccer News (No. 20) and Top Drawer Soccer (No. 22). The Musketeers also come in at No. 20 in the most recent RPI.
at Creighton
Sunday, Oct. 22 - 2:00 p.m. ET
Morrison Stadium - Omaha, Neb.
- The Bluejays are 4-7-5 overall and 2-5-1 in BIG EAST matches after playing DePaul to a draw on Thursday.
- Creighton was picked fifth in the preseason poll and currently sit in ninth with wins over Villanova and Seton Hall.
- Creighton went 8-4-8 overall and 4-3-3 in BIG EAST play last season, earning the No. 5 seed to the BIG EAST Championship. In the league tournament, the Bluejays played Butler to a 1-1 tie, advancing to the semifinals where they fell 1-0 to No. 1 seed Georgetown.
- The Musketeers are 9-5 all-time against Creighton, winning four of the last five and the last two with the Bluejays.
- Xavier took the 2-1 win over the Bluejays in Cincinnati last season. Chloe Netzel scored in the seventh minute and Molly McLaughlin added the eventual game-winner in the 33rd minute.
- Samantha Wiehe scored her team-high sixth goal, and fourth game-winner, at UConn. Combined with four assists, she leads Xavier with 16 points. Her four game-winners are tied for most in the BIG EAST and 14th in NCAA DI.
- Shelby Sallee has five goals and an assist on the season for 11 points.
- Kennedy Clark, who came in at No. 44 in Top Drawer Soccer's midseason Top 100 freshman list, has two goals and team-high five assists on the season for nine points.
- Sonia Vargas' second half goal at Seton Hall was her third of the season. She also picked up an assist, on Samantha Wiehe's game-winner at UConn, to give her seven points on the year.
- Regan Dancer has seven points on two goals and three assists.
- Madison Ayson added a third goal against St. John's, now sitting at seven points on three goals and an assist.
- Emma Flick has a goal and a pair assists for four points while Ella Rogers has four points on a goal and and two assists.
- Olivia Lawson and Grace Blumfeldt each scored a goal in Xavier's 3-0 Senior Day win over St. John's, both have three points on the season.
- Natalie Bain, Tyler Kaseta and Izzie Wallace each have a goal as well.
- Jane Olcott also has four assists on the season and Elise Le and Reese Slate each have an assist.
- Maria Galley has made 16 starts in-goal, collecting 47 saves with eight goals against, with a GAA stands of 0.48, which ranks 15th in NCAA DI and a save percentage of 0.855, which ranks 30th in NCAA DI. She has nine complete shutouts on the season, second most in the league and eighth most in the country.
- Xavier has a team GAA of 0.471, which ranks 10th in the country.
- Maddie Reed has made every start for the Xavier defense, with Natalie Bain making the start in 15 matches and Madison Ayson starting in a pair on the Xavier backline.
- Jane Olcott, Ella Rogers, Elise Le and Olivia Lawson have each started in all 17 matches for the Musketeers in the midfield, each playing over 1,045 minutes to help Xavier to 10 shutouts.
- Xavier's goal differential of 20 leads the BIG EAST and ranks in the top 50 in NCAA DI.
- The draw at Providence extended Xavier's unbeaten streak in BIG EAST regular season games to 26 matches, dating back to September 2021.
- The Musketeers hit the 10-win mark for the third-straight season and the fifth time in the last six seasons.
- Xavier remained unbeaten in BIG EAST play on Thursday, playing Providence to a 0-0 draw at Chapey Field.
- The Musketeers held the offensive edge in the first half, with a 9-2 advantage on shots, forcing the Providence to make six first-half saves to send the game into halftime scoreless.
- Providence created more offensive pressure in the second half, taking four shots, but the Musketeer defense limited the dangerous opportunities for the Friars, not allowing a look on frame.
- Xavier finished the second half with five shots, including three on-frame but the Friars' duo of goalkeepers, as well as a pair of team saves, combined for nine saves for the game, matching PC's season high.
- Xavier finished with a 14-6 advantage on shots overall and 9-0 advantage on shots on-goal.
- Regan Dancer had three shots, all on-frame, and Ella Rogers also finished with three looks, with a pair on-goal.
- Jane Olcott, Maddie Reed and Natalie Bain played the full 90 minutes, and Elise Le and Ella Rogers each played over 80 minutes, helping the Xavier defense to its 10th shutout of the season.
- Xavier held PC to a season low in shots, marking the first game this season the Friars didn't have a look on-frame.
- Maria Galley played the full time in-goal, picking up her ninth complete shutout of the season and her 20th as a Musketeer.
- After scoring the game-winner in Xavier's 3-0 win over St. John's, senior midfielder Olivia Lawson was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
- Lawson, originally from Louisville, Ky., scored the game-winner in the 17th minute, after getting the ball from Ella Rogers off a corner kick from Samantha Wiehe. The goal was her first as a Musketeer, and combined with an assist, gives her three points on the season.
- Lawson played 67 minutes in the backfield for the Musketeers in Xavier's lone match last week, helping limit the Red Storm to just three shots on goal as Xavier picked up its ninth shutout of the season.
- Xavier returns home to close out the regular season on Thursday, October 26, hosting Marquette at 7:00 p.m. on FloSports.
- The Golden Eagles, who were picked eighth in the BIG EAST preseason poll, are 5-8-4 overall and 2-4-2 in BIG EAST play, sitting in seventh place going in to the final week of the regular season.
- MU has BIG EAST wins over DePaul and Creighton, and draws with Villanova and UConn, with a match set for Sunday against St. John's.
- Marquette went 7-7-4 overall and 3-4-3 in BIG EAST play last season, finishing in seventh place in league standings.
- Xavier is 4-10-1 against Marquette, bringing a two-match unbeaten streak into this season's game.
- The Musketeers played the Golden Eagles to a 1-1 draw in Milwaukee last season, with Grace Blumfeldt scoring the equalizer in the 44th minute.
- Xavier is coming off a 14-4-5 season in 2022, going 6-0-4 in BIG EAST play to finish second in the league standings, marking the first unbeaten conference slate in program history.
- Xavier earned an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Championship for a second-straight season, the program's fifth NCAA bid overall.
- In the NCAA Tournament, Xavier advanced for the second time in program history with a 4-1 double overtime win at Tennessee in the first round.
- The Musketeers return 19 letterwinners in all from last season, and added a pair of transfers in addition to a 10-person freshman class for the 2023 season.
- Xavier returns a trio of all-conference honorees from last season, with goalkeeper Maria Galley and defender Natalie Bain earning All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-Freshman Team honors, and forward Regan Dancer picking up a nod to the All-Freshman squad.
- Bain and junior midfielder Ella Rogers were selected to the 2023 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
BIG EAST Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown 100 (10)
2. Xavier 89 (1)
3. St. John's 73
4. Butler 69
5. Creighton 67
6. UConn 63
7. Providence 47
8. Marquette 34
9. Villanova 33
10. DePaul 16
11. Seton Hall 14
Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Abby Isger, Butler, R-Sr., F
Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Julia Leas, Georgetown, Grad., D*
Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Allie Augur, Georgetown, Grad., GK*
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Abby Isger, Butler, R-Sr., F
Talia Sommer, Butler, So., F/M
Chioma Okafor, UConn, So., F
Lara Kazandjan, Creighton, Sr., M
Allie Augur, Georgetown, Grad., GK*
Julia Leas, Georgetown, Grad., D*
Eliza Turner, Georgetown, Jr., M
Meg Hughes, Providence, Sr., F
Jessica Garziano, St. John's, Grad., F
Natalie Bain, Xavier, So., D
Ella Rogers, Xavier, Jr., M
*unanimous selection
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