No. 24 Women's Soccer Returns to Corcoran Field to Host Villanova

Thursday, September 28

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 PM

Xavier University

Villanova

No. 24 Women's Soccer Returns to Corcoran Field to Host Villanova

09.27.23 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream Live Stats

Musketeers and Wildcats set to play at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 24 Xavier women's soccer (8-2-1; 1-0-1 BIG EAST) returns home to host the Villanova Wildcats on Thursday evening at Corcoran Field. The match with VU is set for a 7:00 p.m. start on FloSports.

The Musketeers returned to the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 this week, coming in at No. 24 after opening up BIG EAST play with an unbeaten week, playing Butler to a 1-1 draw before taking a 3-0 win at DePaul. Xavier is also ranked in the top 25 by College Soccer News (No. 20) and comes in at 29 in the most recent RPI.

GAME DETAILS

vs. Villanova
Thursday, Sept 28 - 7:00 p.m.
Corcoran Field - Cincinnati, Ohio

OPPONENT INFO

The Wildcats wrapped up an unbeaten non-conference schedule at 3-0-5, and before opening BIG EAST play with a 2-1 win over Seton Hall,
VU also 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 at Villanova last season, with Molly McLaughlin scoring the game winner in the 21^st minute.

BIG EAST STANDINGS


SCHOOL	CONF	PTS.	OVERALL	STREAK
Georgetown	2-0	6	6-1-3	W2
UConn	2-0	6	5-2-2	W2
Xavier	1-0-1	4	8-2-1	W1
Butler	1-0-1	4	5-4-2	W1
Providence	1-0	3	6-2	W1
Villanova	1-0	3	4-0-5	W1
Marquette	1-1	3	4-5-2	L1
St. John's	0-2	0	5-3-2	L2
DePaul	0-2	0	4-4-1	L2
Seton Hall	0-2	0	4-5-1	L2
Creighton	0-2	0	2-4-4	L2

XAVIER STATS

Samantha Wiehe added a team high matching fifth goal, and third game-winner, on Sunday at DePaul. Combined with three assists, she lead Xavier with 13 points.
Shelby Sallee also has a team-high matching five goals on the season, scoring in four of the last six 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 six other Musketeers have recorded a tally so far this season.
Jane Olcott leads the Musketeers with four assists.
Emma Flick has a goal and a pair assists for four points
Maria Galley has made all 11 starts in-goal, collecting 35 saves with seven goals against. Her GAA stands at 0.65 and she has five shutouts on the season.
Maddie Reed has made every start for the Xavier defense, with Natalie Bain making the start in nine matches and Madison Ayson starting in a pair.
Ella Rogers, Elise Le and Olivia Lawson have each started in all 11 matches for the Musketeers in the midfield all playing over 640 minutes to help Xavier to five shutouts.
Xavier enters the match at Villanova with a 20-match unbeaten streak in BIG EAST regular season matches. The streak dates back to September 2021.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier opened up BIG EAST road play with a win, topping DePaul 3-0 on Sunday afternoon in Chicago.
Samantha Wiehe connected on a penalty kick in the first 10 minutes to give Xavier the early 1-0 lead. The Musketeers took the one-goal lead into the half, holding a 9-4 advantage on shots in the first half.
The Musketeers turned up the offensive pressure after halftime, holding a 17-1 advantage on shots in the second period. Xavier added two more goals, from Shelby Sallee, scoring off a pass from Regan Dancer, and Natalie Bain, who scored on a set piece from Reese Slater, to set the final score at 3-0.
The Blue Demons were limited to just five shots total for the match, with the Musketeer defense earning its fifth shutout of the season.
Samantha Wiehe scored her team-high matching fifth goal of the season, and her third game-winner. She leads Xavier with 13 points.
Shelby Sallee's second-half goal also brings her season total to five goals to match Wiehe for team-high. She has 10 points for the season.
Natalie Bain's second-half goal was her first of the season.
Regan Dancer picked up an assist on Sallee's goal, giving her six points on two goals and two assists.
Reese Slater was also credited with an assist, her first of the season.
Maria Galley played the full time in goal, finishing with a save and no goals against to pick up her fifth shutout of the season.
Maddie Reed and Natalie Bain both played over 80 minutes for the Xavier defense, helping limit DePaul to just five shots with one on-goal.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Sophomore defender Natalie Bain was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Musketeers to an unbeaten weekend to open conference play, the league office announced on Monday.
Bain, who is originally from Alexandria, Ky., played the full 90 minutes on the Xavier backline in both matches last weekend as went Xavier 1-0-1 to open BIG EAST play.
Against Butler on Thursday, she helped limit Butler to just four shots on-goal to keep the 1-1 draw intact, extending Xavier's unbeaten streak in BIG EAST regular season matches that stretches back to Sept. 2021.
At DePaul on Sunday, Bain and the Musketeer defense didn't allow a single shot on-goal, earning the fifth shutout of the season. Bain also added a goal, her first of the season, in Xavier's 3-0 win over the Blue Demons, scoring in the 66th minute off a free kick.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Xavier heads back out on the road this weekend, traveling to Seton Hall on Sunday, Oct. 1. The Pirates and the Musketeers will get underway at 1:00 p.m. on FloSports.
The Pirates, who were picked to finish 11th in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll, are 4-5-1 overall and 0-2-0 in BIG EAST play, falling to Providence and Villanova in the opening weekend of conference play.
SHU has collected wins over Central Connecticut State, Binghamton, Rider and Le Moyne, and played Marist to a draw.
The Pirates went 5-10-3 last season with a 1-8-1 record in BIG EAST play.
The Musketeers are 7-1-1 all-time against SHU and are currently on a five-match winning streak against the Pirates.
Xavier won 2-0 in Cincinnati in 2022, with Regan Dancer scoring the game-winner in the 31^st minute and Molly McLaughlin adding a goal shortly after halftime.

2022 SEASON

Xavier, currently ranked No. 24 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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