Women's Soccer Hosts Creighton on Thursday Evening

Thursday, October 3

Cincinnati, Ohio

7:00 PM

Xavier University

Creighton

Women's Soccer Hosts Creighton on Thursday Evening

10.02.24 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream Live Stats

Musketeers take on Bluejays at 7:00 p.m. on FloSports

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer (9-1-2; 2-0-1 BIG EAST) returns home to host Creighton on Thursday, Oct. 3 at Corcoran Field. The Musketeers and the Bluejays are set to get underway at 7:00 p.m., streamed live on FloSports.

The Musketeers received votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll and came in at No. 19 in this week's Top Drawer Soccer poll after playing UConn to a 1-1 draw and then taking a 3-0 win at Villanova last week.

Xavier extended its unbeaten streak in BIG EAST regular season play to 31 matches with the win over the Wildcats, and currently stand in second place in the league standings with seven points, trailing Georgetown's nine points.

BIG EAST STANDINGS

SCHOOL	CONF	PTS.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Georgetown	3-0	9	7-1-3	.773	W4
Xavier	2-0-1	7	9-1-2	.833	W1
Providence	2-0	6	5-4-1	.550	W2
Butler	1-1-1	4	6-3-2	.636	L1
Villanova	1-1-1	4	4-5-2	.455	L1
Creighton	1-2	3	4-4-1	.500	W1
UConn	0-1-2	2	6-2-3	.682	L1
St. John's	0-1-2	2	5-2-4	.636	T1
Seton Hall	0-1-2	2	3-6-3	.375	T1
DePaul	0-1-1	1	2-5-3	.350	T1
Marquette	0-2	0	3-7-2	.333	L2

GAME DETAILS

vs. Creighton
Sunday, Oct. 3 - 7:00 p.m.
Cincinnati, Ohio - Corcoran Field

OPPONENT INFO

Creighton, which was picked seventh in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll, is 4-4-1 overall with a 1-2 record in BIG EAST play, picking up a win over Marquette and falling to Georgetown and Villanova.
The Bluejays went 4-9-5 overall and 2-7-1 in BIG EAST play, finishing 10th in the conference standings.
Xavier is 10-5 all-time against Creighton and have won the last three match-ups.
Xavier took a 1-0 win in Omaha in 2023.

OFFENSE Notables

Twelve games into the season, 12 Musketeers have recorded points, including nine who have scored goals.
Among Xavier's nine goal scorers, eight have notched multiple tallies this season, led by six for Samantha Wiehe and five each from Emma Flick, Olivia Lawson and Regan Dancer.
Samantha Wiehe remained perfect on penalty kicks at 4-for-4, one of only two players in the country with four made PKs on the season, joining UConn's
Chioma Okafor.
Samantha Erbach has four goals while Olivia Baca has three goals on the season
Flick has a team-high six assists, most in the BIG EAST and the 14th most total assists in NCAA D. Flick's assists per game (0.50 - 32th) also leads the BIG EAST
As a squad, Xavier leads the BIG EAST and are No. 4 in NCAA DI with 34 total goals on the season.
The Musketeers lead the BIG EAST are No. 5 in the country in goal differential (24) and rank 8th in the country in scoring offense (2.83 goals per game).
The Musketeers are also in the top 25 in NCAA DI in total points, ranking 13th with 93 points for the season, and points per game, ranking 16th with 7.75 points per game. Both marks are the best in the BIG EAST.
Xavier ranks in the top 50 of NCAA DI teams for total assists (No. 31 - 25) and assists per game (No. 40 - 2.08).

WEEKLY AWARDS

Xavier freshman forward Samantha Erbach picked up the second BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honor of her rookie campaign after helping Xavier remain unbeaten in conference play last week, the league office announced on Monday.
On Thursday against UConn, Erbach scored her fourth goal of the season after getting behind the Huskies' defense and pulling the Connecticut goalkeeper off her line to score on an empty net. The goal helped the Musketeers to a 1-1 draw, keeping the Musketeers unbeaten in conference play.
During Xavier's 3-0 win at Villanova on Sunday, Erbach picked up an assist on Regan Dancer's game-winner in the opening minutes of the match, her third helper of the season. Combined with her four goals, she has 11 points on the year.
Erbach, who is originally from Lebanon, Ohio, was also named Freshman of the Week for the week of 9/9/24.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Xavier will head out on the road to face Butler on Sunday, Oct. 6, set for a 1 PM start on FloSports.
The Bulldogs, who were picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll, 6-3-2 overall and 1-1-1 in conference play, standing in fourth in the league standings. Butler will face No. 20 Georgetown on Thursday.
The Bulldogs went 6-8-6 overall with a 2-3-5 mark in league play, earning the No. 6 seed in the BIG EAST Championships.
Butler fell to UConn in the first round of the 2023 BIG EAST Tournament.
Xavier is 10-12-5 overall against the Bulldogs, currently on a three-match unbeaten streak.
The Musketeers and the Bulldogs played to a 1-1 tie in Cincinnati last season.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier remained unbeaten in BIG EAST play with a 3-0 win at Villanova on Sunday afternoon.
The Musketeers got on the board early, with Samantha Erbach setting up Regan Dancer for the goal in the third minute to give Xavier the 1-0 lead. The Musketeers held the advantage into halftime, pressuring the Wildcats' defense for the first 45 minutes, taking a 14-3 advantage on shots into the break.
Villanova put more pressure on the Xavier defense coming out of halftime, holding a 4-2 advantage on shots in the first 25 minutes of the second half, but the Musketeer's third look of the half found the back of the net, with Toni Fiocco-Mizer finding Samantha Wiehe, who scored for the 2-0 lead in the 71st minute.
The Musketeers added another tally less than 10 minutes later, on a penalty kick from Samantha Wiehe, while the Xavier defense limited the Wildcats to just three shots on-goal to pick up the sixth shutout of the season.
Regan Dancer's first-half goal was her fifth of the season, and went down as her second game-winner, now matching three others for team-high. Combined with an assist, she has 11 points.
Samantha Wiehe recorded her first multi-goal game of her collegiate career, finishing with a pair of tallies to give her a team-high six for the season. Combined with four assists, she matches Emma Flick to lead the Musketeers with 16 points.
Wiehe remained perfect on penalty kicks as a Musketeer, now 4-for-4 for the season and 6-for-6 during her time at Xavier.
Samantha Erbach's assist on Dancer's goal gives her three for the season to go with four goals for 11 points.
After picking up the assist on Wiehe's first goal, Toni Fiocco-Mizer now has a pair for the season.
Olivia Lawson, Natalie Bain and Brooklynn Miltenberger all played the full 90 minutes for the Xavier defense, limiting the Wildcats to just three shots on-frame on the way to Xavier's sixth shutout of the season.
Maria Galley played the full time in-goal, collecting a pair of saves to earn her fifth complete shutout of the season.
Xavier's unbeaten streak in BIG EAST regular season play now stands at 31 matches, stretching back over three years to September 2021.
The Musketeers remained unbeaten on the road this season at 5-0-1.

BAIN NAMED TO HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST

Defender Natalie Bain was named one of the 44 NCAA Division Women's Division I college soccer players named to the 2024 Hermann Trophy Watch List, announced by the United Soccer Coaches on Thursday, August 15.
Bain, a junior from Alexandria, Ky., was a United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American and First Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2023 and was selected as the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year ahead of the 2024 season.
The defender made 20 starts for the Musketeers in 2023, playing 1,770 minutes for a Xavier defense that allowed only 11 goals for the season, winning a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Bain played the full time in 17 matches on the Xavier backline in 2023, helping the Xavier defense finished the season with 13 shutouts, matching the school record set in 2019. Offensively, Bain finished with two points on a goal, scored in Xavier's 3-0 win at DePaul. She had 14 shots on the season, with eight on-frame.
The Hermann Trophy is presented annually by the Missouri Athletic Club and is the nation's highest individual honor recognizing the National Player of the Year as determined by voting of Division I head coaches who are members of United Soccer Coaches.

2023 season

Xavier is coming off a 2023 season where the Musketeers went 14-4-4 overall and went 6-0-4 in conference play to win a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament, where XU finished runners-up.
The 2023 Musketeers picked up an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking the third at-large bid in program history and the sixth trip overall to the national tournament.
Xavier earned a No. 4 seed, the best seeding in program history, and hosted the opening round of the of the tournament, the second NCAA home match in program history.

THE 2024 MUSKETEERS

The Musketeers returned 15 letterwinners in all from last season, and added six transfers in addition to an eight-person freshman class for Dean Ward's first year leading Xavier.
Ward took over the program in December 2023, coming to Xavier from Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C., where he led the Bears to 29 wins, two league titles, one conference tournament title and a pair of NCAA DII Women's Soccer Championship appearances in two seasons as head coach.
Xavier returns four of all-conference honorees from last season, led by USC Second Team All-American Natalie Bain, who was selected as the league's Preseason Defender of the Year after earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team last season.
Goalkeeper Maria Galley, an All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree in 2023, was also selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
Xavier also returns Maddie Reed and Samantha Wiehe were selected to the All-BIG EAST Second Team in 2023.
Wiehe led the Musketeers in points last season, finishing with 20 after matching for team high in goals (7) and assists (6).
Reed anchored Xavier's backline last year, starting all 22 matches and playing 1,950 minutes for a Xavier defense that limited opponents to just 11 goals for the season.

BIG EAST COACHES POLL

BIG EAST Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown – 100 (10)
2. UConn – 91 (1)
3. Xavier – 72
4. Butler – 70
5. Providence – 66
6. St. John's – 57
7. Creighton – 44
8. Seton Hall – 43
T9. Marquette – 22
T9. Villanova – 22
11. DePaul – 19

Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Natalie Tavana, Seton Hall, Sr., F

Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Natalie Bain, Xavier, Jr., D

Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Kaitlyn Mahoney, UConn, Gr., GK

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Abigail Isger, Butler, Gr., F
Caitlin O'Malley, Butler, Gr., D
Talia Sommer, Butler, Jr., M/F
Azumi Manriki, Creighton, Sr., M
Natalie Means, Georgetown, Jr., F
Eliza Turner, Georgetown, Sr., MF
Kayla Briggs, Providence, So., F
Natalie Tavana, Seton Hall, Sr., F
Lucy Cappadona, UConn, Gr., D
Kaitlyn Mahoney, UConn, Gr., GK
Chioma Okafor, UConn, Jr., F
Natalie Bain, Xavier, Jr., D
Maria Galley, Xavier, Jr., GK

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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