Musketeers Play Host to No. 2 Marshall on Thursday

Thursday, August 29

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Marshall

Musketeers Play Host to No. 2 Marshall on Thursday

08.27.24 | 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 Thursday, Aug. 29 vs No. 2 Marshall. First touch is set for 7 p.m. from Corcoran Field.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (1-0-1) vs No. 2 MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD (1-0)
Game Info - Thursday, Aug. 29 - 7 p.m. ET - Corcoran Field (1,000)
Live Stats - bit.ly/4e40qPv
Watch Live (FloSports) - flosports.link/3dUulj6

ABOUT MARSHALL

2024 Record: 1-0
2023 Record: 18-3 (7-2 Sun Belt)
2023 Postseason: NCAA Second Round
Series History: Xavier leads, 5-4-2
Last Meeting: Marshall 3, Xavier 0 (Sept. 1, 2023 - Huntington, W.Va.)

NOTABLES
• Marshall was picked to finish first (eight, first-place votes) in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll. Three players earned preseason all-conference honors: Forward Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos and midfielders Taimu Okiyoshi and Marco Silva.
• Chris Grassie enters his eighth season at the helm of the program. The two-time C-USA Coach of the Year has a 87-35-17 record at Marshall and led the Thundering Herd to the first NCAA National Championships in program history in 2020. Marshall has competed in five straight NCAA Tournaments.
• Marshall opened the season with a 3-0 win over Cal State Fullerton on Aug. 22. The shutout was the 13th clean sheet in the team's last 22 matches. The defense allowed just one shot in the match.
• Marshall had two players taken in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. Matthew Bell was taken in the first round with the 16th overall pick by Real Salt Lake and Morris Duggan was taken with the 67th overall pick in the third round by Minnesota United FC.

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier leads the all-time series with the Thundering Herd, 5-4-2. The Musketeers are 3-1-1 in home matches vs the Thundering Herd.
Xavier won the last meeting at Corcoran Field, 1-0, on Sept. 2, 2011. The Musketeers have won three straight home matches vs Marshall.
No. 5 Marshall won the last meeting between the two schools, 3-0, on Sept. 1, 2023 in Huntington, W.Va. Marshall held a 17-3 advantage in shots and took one more shot on goal (4-3) than the Musketeers.

XAVIER VS THE TOP-25

Xavier has faced 46 United Soccer Coaches-ranked opponents since the start of the 2010 season, posting a 13-23-10 record in those matches. The Musketeers are 8-6-4 against USC Top-10 teams since 2010, including wins at No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 1 Creighton in 2015.
Xavier went 1-2-2 vs top-25 teams during the 2023 season.
Xavier's last win over a ranked team was on Nov. 4, 2023 vs No. 21 Akron at Corcoran Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 2 Marshall is the highest ranked opponent to visit Corcoran Field since No. 2 Georgetown on Oct. 23, 2021 (L, 3-1).
A win on Thursday vs the Thundering Herd would match Xavier's highest ranked win over an opponent at Corcoran Field since Aug. 31, 2019 vs No. 2 Akron (W, 2-0).

LAST TIME OUT

The Musketeers defeated Cal State Fullerton, 4-1, on Aug. 25 at Corcoran Field. Xavier scored three, first-half goals for the first time since Feb. 28, 2021. The Musketeers scored seven, first-half goals vs Chicago State en route to a 10-0 victory.
The Musketeers scored four goals vs the Titans on Sunday night, the first time Xavier has scored four goals in a match since Oct. 28, 2023 (W, 4-0 at UConn).
Taylor Rhinehart scored his first goal of the season in the third minute, the quickest Xavier goal since Oct. 30, 2021 at UConn (Bryce Curran scored with 4:44 on the clock). The senior forward now has five career goals.
Ernest Mensah Jr. scored his first career goal in the 24th minute. The junior defender now has five career points (one goal, three assists).
Michael Rogalski had two assists in the win, increasing his career total to six. The senior defender now has nine career points (one goal, seven assists).
Matthew Senanou scored his second career goal, while George Waites picked up his fifth career assist. Guilherme Vivaldini recorded his third career assist.
Xavier took three more shots (15-12) than the Titans and committed four fewer fouls (23-19). Cal State Fullerton had one more shot on goal (9-8) and took two more corner kicks (7-5) than the Musketeers. The Titans also had one more yellow card (3-2) than Xavier.
Freshman Mason Cooper, in his Musketeer debut, paced the squad with three shots (two on goal). He logged 11 minutes of action off the bench.
Nine different Musketeers took a shot in the match. A total of 23 Musketeers saw action in the match.
Jonny Mennell (1-0-1) made seven saves the match, matching his career high (also has seven vs No. 3 Georgetown on Nov. 12, 2023). He has now a career record of 10-4-7 in goal with a 0.81 goals against average and 71 saves.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

Jonny Mennell was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, Aug. 26. He helped the Musketeers post a 1-0-1 record to open the 2024 season.
The junior goalkeeper earns the honors for the third time time in his career. He has also earned player of the week honors once.
Mennell posted a 0.50 goals against average in two matches, allowing only one goal in two matches with one shutout.

2024 BIG EAST HONOREES
Aug. 26 - Jonny Mennell - BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

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 54-28-17 (.631) non-conference record since 2013. The Musketeers have recorded an 30-8-7 (.744) record at home in those matches.
Xavier is 76-31-19 (.678) 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 169-62-43 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

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