Women's Soccer Travels to Butler for Sunday Afternoon Match

Sunday, October 6

Indianapolis, Ind.

1:00 PM

Xavier University

Butler

Women's Soccer Travels to Butler for Sunday Afternoon Match

10.05.24 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream Live Stats

Musketeers take on Bulldogs at 1:00 p.m. on FloSports

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer (10-1-2; 3-0-1 BIG EAST) heads to Indianapolis to face Butler on Sunday, Oct. 6. The Musketeers and the Bulldogs are set to get underway at 1:00 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 32 matches with the win over the Bluejays on Thursday evening. The Musketeers now have 10 points in the conference standings, matching Georgetown for first place after the Hoyas played Butler to a 1-1 draw in their last match.

BIG EAST STANDINGS

SCHOOL	CONF	PTS.	OVERALL	PCT.	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL	STREAK
Georgetown	3-0-1	10	7-1-4	.750	5-1-2	2-0-2	0-0	T1
Xavier	3-0-1	10	10-1-2	.846	5-1-1	5-0-1	0-0	W2
Providence	2-1	6	5-5-1	.500	5-1-1	0-4	0-0	L1
UConn	1-1-2	5	7-2-3	.708	5-2-1	2-0-2	0-0	W1
Butler	1-1-2	5	6-3-3	.625	3-1-2	3-2-1	0-0	T1
Villanova	1-1-2	5	4-5-3	.458	2-4-1	2-1-2	0-0	T1
Marquette	1-2	3	4-7-2	.385	3-2-2	1-5	0-0	W1
Creighton	1-3	3	4-5-1	.450	2-1-1	2-4	0-0	L1
DePaul	0-1-2	2	2-5-4	.364	1-2-3	1-3-1	0-0	T2
Seton Hall	0-1-2	2	3-6-3	.375	2-2-1	1-4-2	0-0	T1
St. John's	0-2-2	2	5-3-4	.583	4-1-3	1-2-1	0-0	L1

GAME DETAILS

at Butler
Sunday, Oct. 6 - 1:00 p.m.
Indianapolis, Ind. - Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl

OPPONENT INFO

The Bulldogs, who were picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll, are 6-3-3 overall and 1-1-2 in conference play, and currently stand in a three-way tie for fourth place in the league standings after playing No. 20 Georgetown to a 1-1 draw on Thursday evening.
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.

OFFENSE Notables

Thirteen 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 seven for Samantha Wiehe and six from Emma Flick. Both lead the Musketeers with 18 points.
Samantha Wiehe remained perfect on penalty kicks at 5-for-5 with the make against Creighton, and is the only player in the country with five made PKs so far this season.
Flick has a team-high six assists, most in the BIG EAST and the 15th most total assists in NCAA DI. Flick's assists per game (0.46 - 42nd) also leads the BIG EAST
As a squad, Xavier leads the BIG EAST and are No. 4 in NCAA DI with 36 total goals on the season.
The Musketeers lead the BIG EAST and are No. 6 in the country in goal differential (25) and rank 10th in the country in scoring offense (2.77 goals per game) and total points (97).
The Musketeers are also in the top 35 in NCAA DI and lead the BIG EAST in points per game, ranking 18th with 7.46 points per game, and total assists, ranking 35th with 25 assists on the season.

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 has a bye next Thursday, returning to action on Sunday, Oct. 13 when the Musketeers host Seton Hall, set for a 1:00 p.m. start.
The Pirates are 3-6-3 overall and 0-1-2 in BIG EAST play, currently tied for ninth in the league standings with two points. SHU will face Providence on Sunday.
Seton Hall went 6-7-5 overall and 2-4-4 in BIG EAST play last season, finishing seventh in the league standings.
The Musketeers are 7-1-2 all-time against SHU, entering 2024 with a six-match unbeaten streak.
Xavier and Seton Hall played to a 1-1 draw in South Orange last year.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier used a pair of second half goals to erase a Creighton lead and take a 2-1 win over the Bluejays on Thursday evening at Corcoran Field. Xavier moved to 10-1-2 on the season and 3-0-1 in BIG EAST play.
The teams went into halftime scoreless, with the Bluejays holding a 3-1 advantage on shots in the first half. After a scoreless first half, the offense started quickly in the second half, with Creighton striking first to take a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into period.
The Musketeers responded less than five minutes later, with Samantha Wiehe remaining perfect on penalty kicks after a Creighton handball in the box, tying the match at 1-1. The draw held into the 71st minute when Emma Flick put the Musketeers in front, 2-1, after a CU turnover at the edge of their penalty box.
Xavier's defense only allowed three Creighton shots after the Bluejay goal, with only one look going on frame, to set the final score at 2-1 in favor of the Musketeers.
Samantha Wiehe's penalty kick was her team-leading seventh goal of the season. She has 18 points to match for team high on her seven goals and four assists.
Wiehe is 5-of-5 on penalty kicks for the season, remaining perfect for her collegiate career at 8-of-8 (7-of-7 at Xavier, 1-1 at Houston).
Emma Flick's goal was her sixth of the season and team-high third game-winner. Combined with six assists, she matches Wiehe for team-high with 18 points.
The Musketeers finished with a 14-7 advantage on shots, led by three each for Flick and Toni Fiocco-Mizer.
Natalie Bain, Maddie Reed, Zoé Van de Cloot, as well as Flick and Wiehe, played the full 90 minutes, helping limit the Bluejays to just three shots on goal.
Maria Galley played the full time in frame, collecting a pair of saves.

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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