Women's Soccer Travels to DePaul for First BIG EAST Road Match

Women's Soccer Travels to DePaul for First BIG EAST Road Match

09.23.23 | Women's Soccer

Musketeers and Blue Demons set to play at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer (7-2-1; 0-0-1 BIG EAST) heads out on the road to face DePaul on Sunday afternoon in Chicago. The match with the Blue Demons set for a 2:00 p.m. ET start on FloSports.

Xavier wrapped up non-conference play at 7-2 after splitting games in Texas last weekend before opening up BIG EAST play with a 1-1 draw against Butler. The Musketeers are receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll after having a season-high ranking of No. 17 last week. Xavier is ranked in the top 25 in the Top Drawer Soccer (#23) and College Soccer News (#22) polls.

GAME DETAILS

at DePaul
Sunday, Sept 24 - 2:00 p.m.
Wish Field - Chicago

OPPONENT INFO

The Blue Demons are 4-3-1 overall, going 4-2-1 in non-conference play, with wins over Samford, EKU, UIC and Northern Illinois, and playing Green Bay to a draw. DePaul opened up BIG EAST play Thursday evening, falling 2-1 to Marquette.
DePaul, which went 3-12-1 overall last season with a 1-7-1 record in BIG EAST play, was picked to finish 10th in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Musketeers are 5-4-2 all-time against DePaul, bringing a seven-match unbeaten streak and a four-match winning streak in the 2023 match-up.
Xavier won last season's match, 2-1, in Cincinnati, with Natalie Bain and Emma Marcus each scoring a goal.

XAVIER STATS

Samantha Wiehe leads the Musketeers with 11 points, matching for team high with four goals and dishing out three assists. Among her goals are a pair of game-winners.
Shelby Sallee also has a team-high matching four goals on the season, all coming in the last four matches.
Kennedy Clark has two goals and three assists on the season for seven points.
Regan Dancer and Sonia Vargas each have pair of goals and five other Musketeers have recorded a tally so far this season.
Jane Olcott leads the Musketeers with four assists. Emma Flick also has a pair of assists.
Maria Galley has made all 10 starts in-goal, collecting 35 saves with seven goals against. Her GAA stands at 0.71 and she has four shutouts on the season.
Maddie Reed has made every start for the Xavier defense, with Natalie Bain making the start in eight matches and Madison Ayson starting in a pair.
Ella Rogers, Elise Le and Olivia Lawson have each started in all nine matches for the Musketeers in the midfield all playing over 580 minutes to help Xavier to four shutouts.

LAST TIME OUT

The Musketeers opened up BIG EAST play with a 1-1 draw at Corcoran Field on Thursday evening.
Xavier took the lead in the 16th minute on a goal from Emma Flick, scoring off a corner kick from Samantha Wiehe. The Musketeer took the 1-0 lead into halftime, leading the Bulldogs 11-2 on shots in the first 45 minutes.
Butler's Alexei Wittaker scored to tie the match early in the second half. The Bulldogs finished the second half with a 7-3 advantage on shots, but neither team was able to find the go-ahead goal in the final 40 minutes, setting the final score at 1-1.
Xavier finished with a 14-9 advantage on shots overall, but the Bulldogs finished with a 4-2 advantage on shots on goal.
Emma Flick's first half goal was her first of the season. Combined with a pair of assists, she has four points.
Samantha Wiehe picked up an assist on Flick's goal, her third helper of the season. With four goals, she has a team-high 11 points for the season.
Xavier finished with 14 shots, with five from Wiehe and three from Kennedy Clark.
Maria Galley collected three saves with one goal against.
Natalie Bain and Maddie Reed played the full 90 minutes for the Xavier defense.
The match extends Xavier's unbeaten streak in regular season BIG EAST matches to 19 games, a streak stretching back to September 2021.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Xavier returns home to host Villanova on Thursday, Sept. 28, set for a 7:00 p.m. start at Corcoran Field.
The Wildcats wrapped up an unbeaten non-conference schedule at 3-0-5, and will open BIG EAST play on Sunday against Seton Hall.
VU has picked up wins over Marist, Temple and George Mason this season, with draws against Lehigh, Bucknell, West Virginia, Penn and Cornell.
The Wildcats, who went 4-8-4 overall last season with a 3-5-2 mark in BIG EAST play, were picked ninth in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll.
The Musketeers are 6-4 all-time against the Wildcats, and enter the 2023 match with a three-game winning streak over VU.
Xavier took the 1-0 win in Villanova last season, with Molly McLaughlin scoring the game winner in the 21^st minute.

2022 SEASON

Xavier, which is currently receiving votes in the USC Poll, is coming off a 14-4-5 season in 2022.
The Musketeers went 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 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

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 COACHES POLL

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

XAVIER SOCCER ON FLOSPORTS

Fans can sign up now to watch Xavier Athletics on FloSports! Men's and women's soccer and volleyball air on the streaming platform this fall, while women's basketball and baseball will be available later this academic year.
Xavier will broadcast every home soccer and volleyball match that isn't produced by the BIG EAST Digital Network. Both broadcasts will be available for fans to watch on FloSports.

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