Xavier Continues Homestand on Sunday vs Cal State Fullerton

Sunday, August 25

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Cal State Fullerton

Xavier Continues Homestand on Sunday vs Cal State Fullerton

08.23.24 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats Watch Live (FloSports)

First touch is set for 7 p.m. from Corcoran Field

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer continues its five-match homestand on Sunday, Aug. 25 vs Cal State Fullerton. First touch is set for 7 p.m. from Corcoran Field.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (0-0-1) vs CAL STATE FULLERTON TITANS (0-1-0)
Game Info - Sunday, Aug. 25 - 7 p.m. ET - Corcoran Field (1,000)
Live Stats - bit.ly/3Miy6wL
Watch Live (FloSports) - flosports.link/3dUulj6

ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON

2024 Record: 0-1-0
2023 Record: 12-5-3 (6-2-1 Big West)
2023 Postseason: None
Series History: First Meeting

NOTABLES
• Cal State Fullerton dropped its season opener, 3-0, at No. 8 Marshall on Aug. 22. The Thundering Herd held a 17-4 advantage in shots.
• The Titans were picked to finish second in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll on Aug. 29. Cal State Fullerton received three, first-place votes.
• Sulaiman Bah, Roberto Ordonez and Erick Serrano earned preseason all-conference honors. Ordonez led the team and the conference in points in 2023 with 28 (nine goals, 10 assists), while Bah ranked second on the team in points with 18 (eight goals, two assists). Serrano added 16 points (four goals, eight assists).
• Cal State Fullerton is led by George Kuntz who enters his 10th season. He was named the 2023 Big West Coach of the Year. All told, he has led the Titans to seven Big West Tournament Titles and six Big West Regular Season Championships.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier played Northern Kentucky to a scoreless draw in the season opener for both teams on Thursday, Aug. 22 at Corcoran Field.
The Musketeers held a 7-3 advantage in shots and had one more shot on goal (2-1). The three shots is the fewest allowed during the Coach Higgins Era and the fewest allowed by a Xavier defense since Sept. 15, 2021 at Robert Morris (W, 1-0; only allowed one shot).
Jonny Mennell (0-0-1) posted his 10th career shutout and lowered his career goals against average to 0.80. The junior goalkeeper made one save in the match.
Xavier has posted 18 shutouts in 38 matches coached by John Higgins.

KROPP - PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

Dylan Kropp was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Men's Soccer Team on Aug. 19. All-BIG EAST honors and preseason polls were decided by a vote of the league's head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team or players.
Kropp and the defensive back line only allowed 16 goals last season, ranking second in the BIG EAST and 20th in the NCAA. The defender led all Xavier field players in minutes played with 1,633. The Musketeers finished the season with a 0.83 goals against average, ranking second in the BIG EAST.
The Columbus, Ohio, native was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team in 2023 and the All-BIG EAST Third Team in 2022.

KROPP - PRESEASON TDS Top-100

Dylan Kropp was ranked 94th in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Top-100 Players List on Aug. 21.
A total of 10 BIG EAST players from six different schools earned the honors. Akron (4) and Georgetown (2) had multiple players represented on the list.

SCHEDULE NOTES

Xavier will play 10 matches at Corcoran Field this fall, including five straight home matches to open the season.
The Musketeers will play two teams that finished the 2023 season ranked in the top-10 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll: Marshall (No. 8) and Western Michigan (No. 12).
The Musketeers play two teams that participated in the 2023 NCAA Tournament: Western Michigan (Aug. 11) and Marshall (Aug. 29).
Xavier plays teams from seven different conferences during non-conference action: Sun Belt, Horizon (2), Big West, A-10, MVC (2), Big Ten and MAAC.
BIG EAST action begins on Sept. 20 vs St. John's at Corcoran Field. Xavier's remaining three home conference opponents are Creighton (Oct. 12), Marquette (Oct. 19) and Seton Hall (Oct. 26).
The Musketeers travel to DePaul (Sept. 28), Akron (Oct. 4), Butler (Oct. 23) and Providence (Nov. 2) in BIG EAST action.
The BIG EAST Championships returns to the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md., on Nov. 14-17.
Xavier has posted a 53-28-17 (.628) non-conference record since 2013. The Musketeers have recorded an 29-8-7 (.739) record at home in those matches.
Xavier is 75-31-19 (.676) at Corcoran Field since the start of the 2010 season.

ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS

The Musketeers won the program's first BIG EAST Championship in 2023 - defeating No. 3 Georgetown in the tournament championship via penalty kicks to earn the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Xavier advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in school history and the first time since 2014. The Musketeers also had two top-25 wins during the season.
The Musketeers had two players earn All-BIG EAST honors in 2023: Dylan Kropp and Makel Rasheed. Rasheed was also named to the USC All-East Region Team.
Dylan Kropp and the defensive back line only allowed 16 goals last season, ranking second in the BIG EAST and 20th in the NCAA. The defender led all Xavier field players in minutes played with 1,633.
Jonny Mennell finished the season ranked second in the BIG EAST and 27th in the NCAA in goals against average (0.83). The goalkeeper also finished the year with a conference leading nine shutouts, ranking seventh in the NCAA.
Xavier's team goals against average (0.832) in 2023 ranks first in program history.
Offensively, the Musketeers return Taylor Rhinehart who recorded nine points (three goals, three assists). Fabrizio Bernal de la Garza also returns from an injury that sidelined the forward three matches into the season. He led the squad in points with nine (four goals, one assist) during the 2022 season.

JOHN HIGGINS - HEAD COACH

John Higgins was named the new men's soccer coach in March of 2022. He joined the Musketeers from the University of Indianapolis where he compiled a 150-56-29 overall record in 12 seasons with the Greyhounds. He now has a 168-62-43 overall record in 15 seasons as a head coach.
John Higgins was named the seventh men's soccer head coach in program history on March 28, 2022. Higgins joined the Musketeers from the University of Indianapolis where he compiled a 150-56-29 overall record in 12 seasons with the Greyhounds.
In 2023, Higgins led the Musketeers to the program's first BIG EAST Championship - defeating No. 3 Georgetown in the tournament championship via penalty kicks to earn the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Xavier advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in school history and the first time since 2014. The Musketeers also had two top-25 wins during the season.
The 2022 season was highlighted by two players being taken in the MLS SuperDraft 2023: Cole Jensen and Makel Rasheed. Xavier had two players taken in the same draft for the first time in program history. Jensen was taken as the 18th overall pick (first round) by Inter Miami CF, the second highest draft pick in school history. Jensen was also named the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year and was named a United Soccer Coaches All-American, becoming only the second player in program history to earn All-American honors.
In 2022, the Musketeers also had a 14-match unbeaten streak during the regular season - matching the program record for longest unbeaten streak. Xavier also climbed to as high as No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches' Poll, matching the highest ranking in school history. The Musketeers also advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since 2018.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in five of the last 14 seasons. The Musketeers have also won 10 or more matches in seven of the last 14 seasons.
Xavier was the only program in the nation with five consecutive major conference awards from 2012-16, including 2016 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Cory Brown.
Xavier has qualified for eight of the last 11 BIG EAST Championships, including trips to the title game in 2014, 2017 and 2023.
Xavier has been ranked in the nation's top-10 four times in the last 11 years by the United Soccer Coaches. The Musketeers have been nationally-ranked in at least one major college soccer poll (United Soccer Coaches, Top Drawer Soccer, College Soccer News, Soccer America) in every season since 2011.
Xavier was ranked as high as No. 9 on Oct. 19, 2022 - matching the highest ranking in program history (was also ranked No. 9 on Oct. 28, 2014).
In 2015, Xavier knocked off the national No. 1 (Creighton) and No. 2 (Notre Dame) on the road. The Musketeers are widely believed to be the first program to ever knock off both a No. 1 and a No. 2 on the road in the same season.
Six Xavier players have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last 12 years, including Cole Jensen and Makel Rasheed in 2022.

XAVIER MLS DRAFT HISTORY

2022 - Cole Jensen - GK - 1st Round (18th) - Inter Miami CF
2022 - Makel Rasheed - D - 3rd Round (65th) - Nashville FC
2018 - Cory Brown - D - 3rd Round (62nd) - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2017 - Jalen Brown - MF/F - 2nd Round (38th) - NYC FC
2014 - Nick Hagglund - D - 1st Round (10th) - Toronto FC
2013 - Luke Spencer - F - 1st Round (23rd) - New England Revolution

2024 PRESEASON COACEHS' POLL

EAST DIVISION
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown (11) - 66
2. Providence (1) - 55
3. St. John's - 42
4. Connecticut - 38
5. Seton Hall - 28
6. Villanova - 17

MIDWEST DIVISION
(first-place votes)
1. Akron (7) - 62
2. Xavier (4) - 56
3. Creighton (1) - 50
4. Butler - 35
5. Marquette - 25
6. DePaul - 18

UP NEXT