Xavier University Athletics

No. 17 Women's Soccer Takes 2-0 Win Over Providence to Advance to BIG EAST Championship Match
11.02.23 | Women's Soccer
Xavier will face No. 2 seed Georgetown on Sunday afternoon on FS1
BOYDS, Md. - No. 17 Xavier women's soccer, the top seed in the 2023 BIG EAST Championship, will play for the title on Sunday after taking a 2-0 win over No. 4 seed Providence at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Thursday afternoon.
The match was scoreless for the first 40 minutes, with Providence challenging the Musketeers early holding a 7-6 advantage on shots in the first 40 minutes of the match before Xavier broke through in final five minutes before halftime. In the 43rd minute, a corner kick from Reese Slater set Sonia Vargas up for the eventual game-winner, giving Xavier the 1-0 lead at the half.
Xavier held the advantage on offense in the second half, holding a 4-1 advantage on shots and a 3-0 advantage on shots on goal. Midway through the second half, Xavier added an insurance goal, with Shelby Sallee scoring from Ella Rogers to take a 2-0 lead into the the final 20 minutes of the match.
Xavier defense picked up its seventh straight shutout, and 13th of the season, with goalkeeper Maria Galley earning her 12th complete clean sheet.
The Musketeers advance to play in the BIG EAST Championship match on Sunday, November 5, taking on No. 2 seed Georgetown at 1:30 p.m. on FS1. The Hoyas advanced to the Championship after taking a 1-0 win over UConn on Thursday evening.
The two teams shared the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship after going 6-0-4 in conference play. They faced off in Cincinnati during the regular season, playing to a 0-0 draw.
43' | XAVIER | Reese Slater served the ball in front of the net on a corner kick from the left side of the field. The ball bounced into the scrum in front of the goal where Sonia Vargas found it and tapped it in for the 1-0 lead.
69' | XAVIER | Off a free kick near midfield, Ella Rogers served the ball to the edge of the box where Shelby Sallee used a header to send the ball over the reach of the PC goalkeeper to put the Musketeers ahead 2-0.
Women's Soccer vs. Providence (BIG EAST Semifinals) by Xavier Musketeers on Exposure
The match was scoreless for the first 40 minutes, with Providence challenging the Musketeers early holding a 7-6 advantage on shots in the first 40 minutes of the match before Xavier broke through in final five minutes before halftime. In the 43rd minute, a corner kick from Reese Slater set Sonia Vargas up for the eventual game-winner, giving Xavier the 1-0 lead at the half.
Xavier held the advantage on offense in the second half, holding a 4-1 advantage on shots and a 3-0 advantage on shots on goal. Midway through the second half, Xavier added an insurance goal, with Shelby Sallee scoring from Ella Rogers to take a 2-0 lead into the the final 20 minutes of the match.
Xavier defense picked up its seventh straight shutout, and 13th of the season, with goalkeeper Maria Galley earning her 12th complete clean sheet.
The Musketeers advance to play in the BIG EAST Championship match on Sunday, November 5, taking on No. 2 seed Georgetown at 1:30 p.m. on FS1. The Hoyas advanced to the Championship after taking a 1-0 win over UConn on Thursday evening.
The two teams shared the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship after going 6-0-4 in conference play. They faced off in Cincinnati during the regular season, playing to a 0-0 draw.
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SCORING RECAP |
43' | XAVIER | Reese Slater served the ball in front of the net on a corner kick from the left side of the field. The ball bounced into the scrum in front of the goal where Sonia Vargas found it and tapped it in for the 1-0 lead.
69' | XAVIER | Off a free kick near midfield, Ella Rogers served the ball to the edge of the box where Shelby Sallee used a header to send the ball over the reach of the PC goalkeeper to put the Musketeers ahead 2-0.
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NOTABLE |
- Sonia Vargas' first half goal is her fifth of the season and her third game-winner. Vargas has a pair of assists as well to bring her season total to 12 points.
- Shelby Sallee's goal was her team-high matching seventh of the season. With an assist, she has 15 points.
- Reese Slater picked up an assist on Vargas' goal, her second of the season.
- Ella Rogers picked up an assist on Sallee's goal, her third of the season. Combined with a goal, Rogers has five points on the season.
- After going into halftime matched 7-7 on shots, Xavier finished with a 11-8 advantage on shots on goal, with a 6-2 advantage on shots on goal.
- Xavier's two goals mark only the third time this season Providence has allowed multiple goals.
- Maddie Reed, Natalie Bain and Ella Rogers played the full 90 minutes on Xavier's defense, helping limit PC to just two shots on goal.
- The Musketeer defense picked up its school record-matching 13th shutout of the season, set in 2019. Xavier hasn't allowed a goal in seven-straight matches, totaling over 630 minutes straight without allowing a goal.
- The shutout marks only the fourth time this season PC has been shutout this season, and the second time against a BIG EAST school, with Xavier also pick up the clean sheet in the regular season match up.
- Maria Galley collected a pair of saves to earn her 12th complete shut out of the season, a new single season-school record.
- This is Xavier's second-straight appearance in the BIG EAST Championship match, and third overall (2019, 2022).
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VIDEO |
Hear from Nate Lie after Xavier advances to the BIG EAST Championship match with a 2-0 win over Providence!#LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/m4FwQWuQAx
— Xavier Women's Soccer (@XavierWSOC) November 3, 2023
Hear from one of the @XavierWSOC goal-scorers @shelbysallee_ ⚽️
— BIG EAST Conference (@BIGEAST) November 2, 2023
Shoutout to the Sallee family 👏 pic.twitter.com/x9F2aUorLw
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PHOTOS |
Women's Soccer vs. Providence (BIG EAST Semifinals) by Xavier Musketeers on Exposure
Team Stats
Prov
XU
Goals
0
2
Shots
8
11
Shots on Goal
2
6
Saves
4
2
Corners
2
3
Fouls
13
7
Scoring Plays

Sonia Vargas (5)
Assisted By: Reese Slater
GOAL by XU Vargas, Sonia Assist by Slater, Reese.
42:54

Shelby Sallee (7)
Assisted By: Ella Rogers
GOAL by XU Sallee, Shelby Assist by Rogers, Ella.
68:56
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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