BOYDS, Md. - No. 17 Xavier women's soccer (14-2-4; 6-0-4 BIG EAST) returns to the BIG EAST Championship match, taking on second-seeded Georgetown on Sunday, Nov. 5. The Musketeers and the Hoyas are set to get underway at 1:30 p.m. on FS1.
Xavier won a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title and the No. 1 seed to the tournament, earning a bye to the semifinals and advancing to the Championship with a win over Providence on Thursday. Georgetown also won a share of the title, and a bye with the No. 2 seed, topping No. 3 seed UConn on Thursday.
The Musketeers came in at No. 17 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25, matching its season-high ranking in the poll. Xavier is also ranked in the top 25 by College Soccer News (No. 19) and Top Drawer Soccer (No. 20) and is ranked No. 22 in the most recent RPI. The Musketeers were also included in the NCAA Soccer Committee's Top 16 midseason ranking, coming in at No. 13 based on matches through Oct. 17.
vs No. 2 seed Georgetown
Sunday, Nov. 5 - 1:30 p.m.
Boyds, Md. - Maryland SoccerPlex
- The Hoyas (11-1-7), who are receiving votes in the USC poll, advanced to the Championship match with a 1-0 win over No. 3 seed UConn in the Semifinals.
- Georgetown, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, went 6-0-4 in BIG EAST play, earning a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title.
- The Hoyas feature BIG EAST Defender of the Year Julia Leas, and five other all-conference performers.
- Earlier this season, the Musketeers and Hoyas played to a 0-0 draw in Cincinnati.
- Xavier finished with a 18-7 advantage on shots overall and a 5-2 advantage on shots on-goal. Georgetown's seven shots and two shots on-goal were season lows for the Hoyas.
- With the draw earlier this season, Xavier is 1-9-3 all-time against the Hoyas.
- The Musketeers return to the BIG EAST Championship match for a second-straight season, and third time overall (2019, 2022).
- Xavier secured a share of the 2023 BIG EAST Regular Season Championship with a 3-0 win over Marquette, finishing with a 6-0-4 record in BIG EAST play to match Georgetown for the league title.
- Xavier picks up its third BIG EAST regular season title in five years, also taking the title in 2019 and 2021
- The 2023 championship marks the third regular season conference title in program history. Xavier has also won conference tournament titles in 1998, 2000 and 2019.
- The trip to the league tournament marks the third-straight season the Musketeers have made the six-team tournament, and the sixth time in head coach Nate Lie's seven-year tenure.
- Samantha Wiehe scored her team high-matching seventh goal, and fifth game-winner, against Marquette. Among those seven goals are five game winners, the most in the conference and 12th most in NCAA DI. She matches Kennedy Clark for team-high in assist (6) to lead Xavier with 20 points on the season.
- Shelby Sallee scored her team-high matching seventh goal of the season in the win over Providence in the BIG EAST Championship. Combined with an assist, she has 15 points on the season.
- Kennedy Clark, who came in at No. 44 in Top Drawer Soccer's midseason Top 100 freshman list, has three goals and team-high matching six assists after picking up one of each in Xavier's win over Marquette. He has 12 points on the season.
- Sonia Vargas' scored her fifth goal, and third game-winner in Xavier's 2-0 win over Providence. She also has a pair of assists to give her 12 points on the year.
- Regan Dancer has eight points on two goals and four assists.
- Madison Ayson added a third goal against St. John's, now sitting at seven points on three goals and an assist.
- Ella Rogers has five points on a goal and and three assists.
- Emma Flick has a goal and a pair assists for four points.
- 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, Reese Slatere has a pair and Elise Le has one helper so far this season.
- Maria Galley has made 19 starts in-goal, collecting 54 saves with eight goals against, for a GAA of 0.405 which ranks fifth in NCAA DI.
- Galley has 12 complete shutouts on the season, as well as a part of a combined shutout. The 12 clean sheets, is a Xavier single season record and third most in NCAA DI.
- Xavier has a team GAA of 0.400 for the season, best in the BIG EAST and third in NCAA DI.
- Maddie Reed has made every start for the Xavier defense, with Natalie Bain making the start in 18 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 19 matches for the Musketeers in the midfield, each playing over 1,220 minutes to help Xavier to 13 shutouts, matching the school record set in 2019.
- The Xavier defense hasn't allowed a goal in over 630 minute of play, with seven straight shutouts headed into the BIG EAST Championship match.
- Xavier's goal differential of 25 leads the BIG EAST and ranks in the top 50 in NCAA DI.
- Xavier advanced to the Championship match 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Maria Galley collected a pair of saves to earn her 12th complete shut out of the season, a new single season-school record.
- After winning a share of the BIG EAST Championship, Xavier women's soccer had six Musketeers earn All-BIG EAST honors, as voted on by the league coaches. Xavier's coaching staff, led by head coach Nate Lie, was also named the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
- Among Xavier's honorees are Natalie Bain, who earned First Team honors. Maria Galley, Maddie Reed, Ella Rogers and Samantha Wiehe were named to the Second Team, while Sonia Vargas earned Third Team All-BIG EAST.
- Head coach Nate Lie's coaching staff, including associate head coaches Katy Etelman and Tyler Smaha, director of goalkeeping Jacob Morrison, director of player performance Matt Tennyson, and athletic trainer Jordan Johnson, led Xavier to a share BIG EAST regular season title, wrapping up a second-straight unbeaten regular season conference slate at 6-0-4.
- Natalie Bain, a sophomore defender from Alexandria, Ky., was named to the First Team after playing a team-high 897 minutes on the Xavier back line in conference play, making all 10 starts and playing all but three minutes of BIG EAST action as the Musketeers posted an unbeaten record in conference play. Overall, Bain appeared in 17 matches in the regular season, starting in each, totaling 1,480 minutes for the Xavier defense which only allowed eight goals on the season. The Musketeers enter the postseason with a team GAA of 0.421 for the season, best in the BIG EAST and sixth in NCAA DI. The Musketeers lead the BIG EAST with 12 shutouts, with a shutout percentage of 0.632 to lead the conference, ranking 10th in the country.
- In BIG EAST play, the Musketeer defense only allowed two goals, posting a team GAA of 0.20, both marks that lead the conference. Xavier has eight shutouts in 10 conference matches, including picking up clean sheets in the last six games of the regular season.
- Maria Galley, a sophomore goalkeeper from South Windsor, Conn., earned Second Team honors after posting a goals against average of 0.43 overall, which ranks sixth in NCAA DI. In BIG EAST matches, Galley had a GAA of 0.20, the best mark in the conference after only allowing two goals in 10 BIG EAST matches.
- Galley had 11 complete shutouts in the regular season season, as well as a part of a combined shutout. The 11 clean sheets, which matches the school record for a single season, are the most in the BIG EAST and third most in NCAA DI. She has seven shutouts in BIG EAST play, leading the conference.
- Maddie Reed, a senior defender from Louisville, Ky., was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team after making all 10 starts on the Xavier backline in conference play, playing all but six minutes for a defense that allowed just two goals in BIG EAST action.
- Overall, Reed started in all 19 regular season matches, playing over 1,670 minutes for a Xavier defense that only allowed eight goals on the season, with a team GAA of 0.421 overall, which leads the BIG EAST and is sixth in NCAA DI. The Musketeers had a BIG EAST-best 12 shutouts in the regular season, with a shutout percentage of 0.632 to lead the conference and rank 10th in the country.
- In BIG EAST play, the Musketeer defense posted a team GAA of 0.20 to lead the conference. Xavier has eight shutouts in 10 conference matches, not allowing a goal in the last six games of the regular season.
- Ella Rogers, a junior midfielder from Granville, Ohio, earned Second Team honors after a making the start in all 19 matches this season, totaling over 1460 minutes of action for the Musketeers. Offensively, Rogers had four points in the regular season season, scoring the game-winner against Louisville, and collecting a pair of assists.
- Rogers has also helped the Xavier defense to a BIG EAST-leading 12 shutouts in the regular season season, including eight in conference play. Xavier's defense only allowed eight goals on the season, with a team GAA of 0.421 overall, which leads the BIG EAST and is sixth in NCAA DI.
- Samantha Wiehe, a junior midfielder from Northfield, Ohio, earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors after leading Xavier with 20 points on the season, with the team-highs in goals (7) and matching Kennedy Clark for team-high with assist (6). Among those seven goals are five game winners, the most in the conference and eight most in NCAA DI.
- In BIG EAST play, Wiehe leads Xavier with 10 points, third most in league play, on three goals with four assists, which ranks second in conference play. She knocked in a BIG EAST-leading three game-winners, at DePaul, at UConn and against Marquette.
- Sonia Vargas, a senior forward from Hilliard, Ohio, earned All-BIG EAST Third Team honors after playing in all 19 matches for the Musketeers, making 11 starts, collecting 10 points on four goals and two assists in the regular season.
- Among her goals were two game-winners, including the goal in the last five minutes of Xavier's 1-0 win at Creighton to keep the Musketeers in line for a share of the BIG EAST Championship. Vargas also scored the equalizer in Xavier's 1-1 draw at Seton Hall, helping keep Xavier unbeaten in BIG EAST play. She finished conference play with six points, on two goals and two assists, trailing only Samantha Wiehe in points in BIG EAST play for the Musketeers.
- After collecting three points in Xavier's match against Marquette, Kennedy Clark was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. Midfielder Samantha Wiehe and goalkeeper Maria Galley also earned spots on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after helping the Musketeers to a 3-0 win that helped clinch a share of the BIG EAST Championship.
- Clark, a midfielder from Crestview Hills, Ky., scored her third goal of the season in the second half of Xavier's win 3-0 win over Marquette on Thursday to help the Musketeers claim a share of the BIG EAST regular season title. Clark scored from Samantha Wiehe, returning the favor from earlier in the match when she also picked up an assist on Wiehe's game-winning goal, her team-high matching sixth of the season. Clark now has 12 points for her rookie season, third most on the team.
- Wiehe, a junior from Northfield, Ohio, collected three points in Xavier's win over Marquette, knocking in her team-high seventh goal of the season in the first 10 minutes of the match for her fifth game-winner of the season. She also picked up a team-high matching sixth assist for the season on Kennedy Clark's goal to give bring her team-high point total to 20 points.
- Galley, a sophomore from South Windsor, Conn., played the full time in-goal in Xavier's shutout win over Marquette. The sophomore collected two saves and to pick her 11th complete shutout of the season, matching the school single-season record, and her 22nd career shutout as a Musketeer, giving her the second-most career shutouts in program records.
- 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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