Women's Soccer Hosts No. 17 Michigan State on Sunday Afternoon

Sunday, August 31

Cincinnati, Ohio

1:00 PM

Xavier University

Michigan State

Women's Soccer Hosts No. 17 Michigan State on Sunday Afternoon

08.29.25 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream Live Stats

Musketeers and Spartans get underway at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer returns to Corcoran Field to host No. 17 Michigan State on Sunday, August 31. The Musketeers and the Spartans get underway at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

GAME DETAILS

vs. No. 17 Michigan State
Sunday, Aug. 31 - 1:00 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

The Spartans are 3-0-2 on the season after opening up with back to back draws, against Colorado and Dayton, and winning their last three against NC State, Milwaukee and Buffalo.
Michigan State was picked fourth in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll, with three Spartans, senior defender Maggie Illig, junior midfielder Bella Najera, and sophomore defender Julia Belli, being named "Players to Watch" by the league.
The Spartans went 14-3-5 overall and 7-1-3 in Big Ten play, earning the No. 4 seed in the league tournament. MSU fell to Rutgers in 2-1, in overtime in the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
Michigan State earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, advancing to the Round of 16 with a 3-1 win over Western Michigan and a 3-2 overtime win against No. 21 Texas. The Spartans fell, 2-0, to No. 1 Duke in the third round.
Xavier is 4-3-2 all-time against Michigan State, and 3-3-2 since MSU became a varsity program in 1986. The two teams met last season, with Xavier playing the then No. 4 Spartans to a 2-2 draw in East Lansing, marking the best road result in program history.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

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.
Following the match at IU, Xavier returns home for a pair of matches, hosting Chattanooga on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 5:00 p.m., and SEMO on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m.

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 pened up the home schedule with an offensive outburst, taking an 8-0 win over Murray State on Thursday evening at Corcoran Field. The Musketeers improved to 2-2 on the season, while Murray State moved to 2-3.
Xavier struck early, with Chelsea Loeser scoring from Natalie Bain to give Xavier the 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the match. In the 10th minute, Samantha Erbach served the ball to Elin Hansson in front of the net. Hansson finished with a header for the 2-0 lead. Xavier made it a 3-0 lead in the 21st minute when Emma Flick scored from Peyton Kohls, and Loeser struck again shortly after, scoring off passes from Reese Slater and Bain to take a 4-0 lead. The Musketeers out-shot the Racers 14-0 in the first half, with seven of those looks going on-frame.
Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Xavier made it a 5-0 lead, after Erbach scored from Regan Dancer, and less than a minute later the Musketeers struck again, with Hansson adding her second for the evening, again with a head from Erbach, to make it a 6-0 advantage. Erbach made it a 7-0 lead after connected on a penalty kick in the 61st minute, making her 2-2 for the season on PKs. Reese Sochacki capped off the scoring, with Sara Parker picking up the assist on the 78th minute goal to set the score at 8-0. Overall, the Musketeers finished with a 28-4 advantage on shots, with a 14-2 advantage on shots on-goal.
Samantha Erbach finished with a career-high six points on two goals and two assists. She leads the Musketeers with eight points and is 2-of-2 on the season on PKs.
Chelsea Loeser's goal in the second minute marked her first goal as a Musketeer, and her first collegiate game-winner. She finished with four points on two goals, marking her first multi-goal game of her college career.
Elin Hansson collected four points on a pair of goals, marking her first multi-goal game as a Musketeer. Her four points are also the most she's had in a game as a Musketeer and matches her collegiate record.
Emma Flick scored her second goal of the season, giving her four points for the year.
Reese Sochacki's tally in the 78th minute was her collegiate goal.
Natalie Bain collected a pair of assists to give her four points for the season.
Peyton Kohls, Reese Slater and Regan Dancer each picked up an assist.
Sara Parker also had an assist, marking the first point of her college career.
The Xavier's eight goals matches the Musketeers' 8-0 win at Valpo on Sept. 8, 2024 for the most goals in a game since 1992, when Xavier took a 10-0 win over Loyola Chicago. The eight-goal margin of victory also matches that game as the largest since 1992.
The 8-0 loss marked the largest loss and most goals allowed in Murray State soccer history.

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