Women's Soccer Opens Home Schedule with Murray State on Thursday

Thursday, August 28

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 PM

Xavier University

Murray State

Women's Soccer Opens Home Schedule with Murray State on Thursday

08.27.25 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream (Xavier+)Live Stats

Musketeers and Racers get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Xavier+

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer opens up the 2025 home schedule on Thursday, August 28, hosting Murray State at Corcoran Field. The Musketeers and the Racers are set to get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Xavier+.

GAME DETAILS

vs. Murray State
Thursday, Aug. 28 - 6:30 p.m.
Corcoran Field • Cincinnati, Ohio

BROADCAST INFO

Xavier will broadcast all nine home women's soccer matches on either Xavier+ or ESPN+.
The subscription cost of Xavier+ will be $10 per match or $49 for a fall season pass to watch all 19 home Xavier+ broadcasts (includes men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball). All purchases are subject to the customer's state sales tax.
A subscription to ESPN+ is required to view the four home women's soccer matches aired on ESPN+. An ESPN+ subscription will also include a number of road men's soccer contests (determined by the host institution).

OPPONENT INFO

Murray State is 2-2 on the season, picking up wins over Troy and Tennessee Tech, while falling to Lindenwood and Lipscomb.
A pair of Racers were named Preseason All-MVC, with senior forward Mary Hardy picking up First Team honors, while sophomore forward Breece Bass earned Honorable Mention.
The Racers finished 2024 at 5-8-5 overall with a 1-5-4 record in MVC play.
Xavier is 3-0 all-time against the Racers after taking a 2-1 win in Murray, Ky., last season.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Following the match against Murray State, Xavier remains at home to take on No. 17 Michigan State on Sunday, August 31, with a 1:00 p.m. start on ESPN+.
The Musketeers head back out on the road on Thursday, September 4, traveling to Indiana to take on the Hoosiers at 8:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network Plus.

WEEKLY AWARDS

Senior defender Natalie Bain earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league office announced on Monday.
Bain anchored the Xavier defense in the Musketeers' 3-0 shutout win at Cincinnati on Sunday, leading the Musketeers' field players with 83 minutes played. Bain also added an insurance goal in the first half, scoring off the rebound of a save to put the Musketeers up 2-0 in the 20th minute.
In two matches last week, Bain made two starts and played 135 minutes total, finishing with three shots, one on goal, and two points on her goal.

LAST TIME OUT

The Musketeers topped crosstown rivals Cincinnati, 3-0, on Sunday evening at Gettler Stadium. The Musketeers moved to 1-2 on the season with the win, while the Bearcats fell to 1-2-1.
Xavier's offense put pressure on the Cincinnati defense in the opening minutes of the match, creating a pair of looks before breaking through for the first goal of the season in the eighth minute, after a shot from Samantha Erbach came off the crossbar to Emma Flick in the box. Flick knocked the ball to the top center of the goal for the 1-0 lead.
Xavier added another goal to the lead in the 20th minute, after Peyton Kohls got a shot, a header, off a free kick from Erbach. After the save bounced off the Cincinnati keeper, Natalie Bain tapped the ball into the bottom left corner to make it a 2-0 Xavier advantage.
The Musketeers added another goal to the lead less than 15 minutes before halftime. After Flick was fouled in the box, Erbach connected on the penalty kick to make it 3-0 with Xavier taking that advantage into the half. The Musketeers held a 17-3 advantage on shots in the first half, with a 9-2 advantage on shots on frame.
The two teams combined for just six shots after the break, with Xavier taking four, with a pair on frame, and Cincinnati held to two. Neither team found the back of the net in the second half, setting the final score at 3-0 in favor of the Musketeers.
Emma Flick's goal, the game-winner, was her first of the season and the 12th of her college career. She's now up to four game-winners as a Musketeer. Flick led the Musketeers with a career-high matching six shots, with three going on-goal, also matching her career high.
Natalie Bain knocked in her first goal of the season and her seventh as a Musketeer. Bain finished with three shots in 83 minutes of action, leading the Musketeers' field players in minutes played.
Samantha Erbach's goal was her first of the season, and her 12th of her Xavier career. She finished with three shots, with two on-frame.
Xavier finished with a 21-5 advantage on shots overall, including an 11-2 advantage on shots on-goal, and had a 7-2 advantage on corners.
Maria Galley played the full 90 minutes in-goal, collecting two saves and picking up the clean sheet, bringing her school-record career total to 33 shutouts.
Xavier extended its win streak over Cincinnati to three matches and its unbeaten streak to five, now standing at 3-0-2 against the Bearcats since 2015.

BAIN NAMED PRESEASON BIG EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Natalie Bain, was selected as the 2025 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches, the conference announced on Tuesday, August 12. Bain also has been named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch list, the United Soccer Coaches Defenders to Watch list, and came in at No. 8 on Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Players to Watch list.
Bain earned 2024 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year after starting in all 21 matches last season, helping the Musketeer defense limit opposing teams to just 18 goals overall and just seven in BIG EAST play. Bain led the Musketeers' field players in minutes played at 1,845 and played the full time in 16 matches, including nine of 10 BIG EAST games. The native of Alexandria, Ky., helped Xavier's defense to 10 shutouts on the season.
On offense, Bain had a career-high three goals, and combined with an assist, finished the season with a career-best seven points in 2024. Among her goals were the game-winner in Xavier's 8-0 win at Valpo, one of two goals for the game, marking her first multi-goal game as a Musketeer.
In addition to earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Bain was a First Team All-BIG EAST selection for a second straight year, also earning Preseason Defensive Player of the Year ahead of the season.
Bain, a 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, also earned a spot on the USC All-America Second Team, becoming the first Musketeer in program history to earn USC All-American honors twice in her career.

RETURNING MUSKETEERS

Xavier returns 14 letterwinners, including seven starters, from 2024's 15-win team. The Musketeer returnees accounted for over 60 percent of Xavier's 51 goals scored last season, the most goals scored by the program since 1984.
Among the returnees are 2025 All-BIG EAST Preseason selections Natalie Bain, Samantha Erbach and Regan Dancer.
Erbach, the 2024 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and All-BIG EAST First Team selection, was named to the USC Forwards to Watch list and came in at No. 51 on the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Players to Watch list. Erbach started in all 21 matches for the Musketeers during her rookie season. She wrapped up last season with a team-high 11 goals and dished out five assists to finish with 27 points, second most on the team. Among her goals were a team-best four game-winning goals, including the game-winners in the Musketeers' win at Butler and in the win over DePaul in the BIG EAST Semifinals.
Dancer, a 2024 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection, started in all 21 matches for the Musketeers in 2024, finishing the season with a career-high 14 points on a career-high six goals and two assists, matching for third most goals on the team and fourth most points. Among her goals were three game-winners, including at BIG EAST opponents Villanova and Marquette, tying for third in the BIG EAST for game-winning goals.
2024 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Emma Flick, who was named to USC's Midfielders to Watch list, started all 21 matches for the Musketeers. She collected a career-high 20 points on six goals and a team high-matching eight assists, setting new career-highs for goals and assists. Among her six goals were three game-winners, tying her for third in the BIG EAST for game-winning goals last season. Flick's eight assists were tied for first in the BIG EAST and tied for 64th in NCAA DI following the 2024 season.
Senior goalkeeper Maria Galley was also a 2024 All-BIG EAST Second Team Selection after starting in all 21 matches in-goal for the Musketeers, finishing the campaign with 15 wins, the second most in a single season in school history. Galley's 15 wins in 2024 give her a school-record 43 wins for her Xavier career. Galley collected 51 saves and finished with nine complete shutouts, giving her a school-record 32 shutouts as a Musketeer. She ranked No.1 in the BIG EAST and 26^th in NCAA DI for shutouts following the 2024 season.

2024 SEASON

The 2024 Musketeers posted a 15-4-2 overall record, the third most wins in program history, in Dean Ward's first season as head coach.
In conference action, Xavier posted a 7-2-1 record in BIG EAST play, earning the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Championship.
The 2024 Musketeers also earned the highest-ranked road result in program history, at 2-2 draw at No. 4 Michigan State.
On offense, the Musketeers finished the season with 51 goals, the second most in program history and the most by a Xavier team since the 1984 season, and collected 139 points, the most by the Musketeers in over three decades.
The Musketeer defense collected 10 shutouts, only allowing 18 goals on the season.
Following the season, three Musketeers earned BIG EAST awards, with Natalie Bain being named Defender of the Year, Samantha Wiehe earning Midfielder of the Year, and Samantha Erbach picking up Freshman of the Year honors.
Bain and Wiehe were both named USC Second Team All-American, marking the first time in program history that two Musketeers earned All-America honors.

BIG EAST COACHES POLL

BIG EAST Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown - 100 (10)
2. Xavier - 87 (1)
3. UConn - 86
4. Butler - 72
5. Creighton - 64
6. Providence - 53
7. DePaul - 39
8. Villanova - 33
9. Marquette - 28
10. St. John's - 25
11. Seton Hall - 18

Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Chioma Okafor, UConn, Sr., F

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

Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Cara Martin, Georgetown, Sr., GK

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Amelie Darey, Butler, Sr., D
Talia Sommer, Butler, Sr., F/M
Maja Lardner, Georgetown, Gr., F
Cara Martin, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Natalie Means, Georgetown, Sr., F
Ella McBride, Providence, Sr., D
Anaya Johnson, UConn, Jr., M
Chioma Okafor, UConn, Sr., F
Natalie Bain, Xavier, Sr., D
Regan Dancer, Xavier, Sr., M
Samantha Erbach, Xavier, Sr., F