No. 25 Women's Soccer Travels to Marquette for Sunday Afternoon Match

Sunday, October 27

Milwaukee, Wis.

2:00 PM

Xavier University

Marquette

No. 25 Women's Soccer Travels to Marquette for Sunday Afternoon Match

10.26.24 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream Live Stats

Musketeers take on the Golden Eagles at 1:00 p.m. on FloSports

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 25 Xavier women's soccer heads to Milwaukee, Wisc., to face Marquette on Sunday, October 27. The Musketeers and the Golden Eagles are set for a 2:00 PM ET start on FloSports.

The Musketeers are 13-2-2 overall with a 6-1-1 record in BIG EAST play, and came in at No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, No. 21 in this week's Top Drawer Soccer poll, and currently sit at No. 25 in the RPI.

Xavier is currently in second place in the BIG EAST standings with 19 points and two regular season matches remaining, trailing Georgetown's 22 points. The two teams will face off in the Hoyas' only remaining regular season match on Thursday, Oct. 31. The Musketeers have already clinched a spot in the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament, and is looking to secure a bye to the Semifinals in Boyds, Maryland with the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

BIG EAST STANDINGS

SCHOOL	CONF	PTS.	OVERALL	STREAK
Georgetown	7-1-1	22	11-2-4	W3
Xavier	6-1-1	19	13-2-2	L1
Creighton	5-3	15	8-5-1	W4
Butler	4-2-2	14	9-4-3	W3
UConn	3-3-3	12	9-4-4	W1
Villanova	2-2-4	10	5-6-5	L1
DePaul	2-3-3	9	4-7-5	L2
Providence	3-5	9	6-9-1	L1
Marquette	2-5-1	7	5-10-3	W1
Seton Hall	1-5-2	5	4-10-3	L4
St. John's	0-5-3	3	5-6-5	L2

GAME DETAILS

at Marquette
Sunday, Oct. 27 - 2:00 p.m. ET
Milwaukee, Wisc. - Valley Fields

OPPONENT INFO

The Golden Eagles, who were picked T-9th in the BIG EAST preseason poll, are currently 5-10-3 overall with a 2-5-1 record in BIG EAST play, standing in ninth place in the league standings.
Marquette went 5-10-4 overall last season with a 2-6-2 record in conference play to finish ninth in the league standings.
Xavier is 5-10-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles, in a series that dates back to 1989 in the Xavier record books, and 4-9-1 head-to-head since Marquette became a varsity program in 1993.
Xavier enters this season's match on a three-game unbeaten streak against the Golden Eagles, going 2-0-1 in the last three seasons.
The Musketeers most recently took a 3-0 win last season in Cincinnati, with Samantha Wiehe scoring the game winner in the first 10 minutes of the match.

OFFENSE Notables

In 17 matches this season, 13 Musketeers have recorded points, including 10 who have scored goals. Among Xavier's 10 goal scorers, eight have notched multiple tallies this season, led by nine each for Samantha Wiehe and Samantha Erbach, and six from Emma Flick.
Wiehe, who has seven assists to go with her nine goals, leads Xavier and is second in the BIG EAST with 25 points, 24th most in NCAA DI. She remained perfect on penalty kicks at 6-for-6 with the make against St. John's, and is the only player in the country with six made PKs so far this season. Her seven assists trail only Emma Flick among BIG EAST players.
Erbach has 22 points on nine goals and four assists for the season, with six of those goals coming in BIG EAST action, tying Samantha Wiehe and GU's Maja Lardner for the most goals among league players in conference games.
Flick has 20 points on the season, with her six goals combining with her BIG EAST-leading eight assists, the 14th most total assists in NCAA DI. Flick's assists per game (0.47 - 25th in DI) also leads the conference.
Regan Dancer leads the BIG EAST and ranks 14th in NCAA DI with a 0.647 shot accuracy, with 22 of her 34 shots going on-frame. She has five goals for the season.
As a squad, Xavier leads the BIG EAST and are No. 6 in NCAA DI with 46 total goals on the season.
The Musketeers lead the BIG EAST and are No. 8 in the country in goal differential (33), rank 8th in the country in scoring offense (2.71 goals per game) and are 9th in the country in total points (125).
The Musketeers are also in the top 30 in NCAA DI and lead the BIG EAST in points per game, ranking 11th with 7.35 ppg, and total assists, ranking 30th with 33 assists on the season.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Xavier freshman forward Samantha Erbach picked up her fourth-straight BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honor, the league office announced on Monday.
Erbach, originally from Lebanon, Ohio, scored a pair of goals last week, giving her a team-high matching nine goals for the season. She scored an insurance goal in the 25th minute against St. John's, putting the Musketeers up 2-0 in the eventual 3-0 win over the Red Storm.
On Sunday, Erbach scored in the first 10 minutes of the Musketeers' match against Providence, giving Xavier the early lead. Her nine goals combine with four assists to give her 22 points for her freshman season.
This marks the fourth-straight, and fifth time overall this season, that Erbach has earned the honor.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Xavier wraps up the regular season on Thursday, Oct. 31 with a trip to No. 23 Georgetown to potentially decided the BIG EAST Regular Season Champions. The Musketeers and the Hoyas are set for a 2:00 p.m. start on FloSports.
The Hoyas, who were picked to win the league in the coaches preseason poll, are 11-2-4 with a 7-1-1 record in BIG EAST play to stand in first place in the standings with 22 points. The Hoyas, who have Sunday off, only have the match with the Musketeers remaining on the regular season schedule.
The Hoyas went 13-2-7 overall last season, sharing the league's regular season title with Xavier with a 6-0-4 record in BIG EAST play.
Georgetown, the No. 2 seed in the league tournament, took wins over UConn in the Semis and the Musketeers in the Championship to take the tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Hoyas advanced in the NCAA Championship with first round win over Old Dominion before falling to Saint Louis.
Xavier is 1-10-3 all-time against the Hoyas after playing to a 0-0 draw in the regular season and falling 2-0 in the BIG EAST Championship match in 2023.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier fell, 2-1, to Providence on Sunday afternoon at Corcoran Field. The Musketeers took the early lead, with Samantha Erbach scoring off the pass from Samantha Wiehe in the eight minute to give the Musketeers the 1-0 advantage. The Musketeer took the lead into the break, holding a 6-1 advantage on shots, with Maria Galley collecting the lone Friar shot for a save.
Xavier played a player down for most of the second half after a red card less than 10 minutes into the second half. Providence tied the match in the 70th minute on a penalty kick, then took a 2-1 lead less than three minutes later on a goal from Marryn Gruhn.
After Providence took the lead, Xavier had a 5-0 advantage on shots over the final 17 minutes, but were unable to score the equalizer, setting the final score at 2-1 in favor of Providence.
Samantha Erbach's first half goal was her ninth of the season, matching for team-high. Combined with four assists, she has 22 points.
Samantha Wiehe picked up her seventh assist of the season on Erbach's goal, combining with nine goals for a team-leading 25 points.
The Musketeers finished with a 15-4 advantage on shots, led by six for Erbach and four for Elin Hansson.
Natalie Bain and Zoé Van de Cloot played the full match for the Xavier defense and Maria Galley played the full 90 minutes in-goal, finishing with a save.

TOP DRAWER SOCCER TOP 100

Four Musketeers earned spots on Top Drawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100 lists, released in early October. Two Musketeers were ranked in the top 50 of TDS' Midseason Top 100 players list, with defender Natalie Bain coming in at No. 21, the highest ranked player among BIG EAST squads. Midfielder Samantha Wiehe came in at No. 44. Xavier was the only BIG EAST school to have two players on the list.
Forward Samantha Erbach came in at No. 40 on TDS's Midseason Top 100 Freshman list. Defender McKinley Berry also earned a spot in the Top 50 of the Top 100 Freshman list, coming in at No. 44. Xavier was also the only team in the conference with two players in the Top 100 Freshmen.

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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