Xavier, St. John's Set for BIG EAST Opener on Friday Night

Friday, September 19

Queens, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Xavier University

St. John's

Tickets

Xavier, St. John's Set for BIG EAST Opener on Friday Night

09.17.25 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats ESPN+

First touch is set for 7 p.m. from Belson Stadium

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer opens BIG EAST action on Friday, Sept. 19 at St. John's. First touch is set for 7 p.m. from Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (2-2-1, 0-0-0) vs ST. JOHN'S RED STORM (4-2-2, 0-0-0)
Game Info - Friday, Sept. 19 - 7 PM ET - Cox Family Field at Belson Stadium (2,168)
Live Stats - bit.ly/4n8DH9O
Watch Live (ESPN+) - bit.ly/41Vb47o

ABOUT ST. JOHN's

2025 Record: 4-2-2 (0-0-0 BIG EAST)
2024 Record: 9-6-5 (5-1-2 BIG EAST)
2024 Postseason: None
Series History: Tied at 4-4-3
Last Meeting: Xavier 1, St. John's 0 (Sept. 20, 2024 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• St. John's was picked to finish third in the east division of the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. Defender Antonio Biggs was named to the preseason all-conference team.
• Guilherme Gomes leads the team with eight goals. Seven other Red Storm players have one goal on the season.
• Alec McLachlan (2-1-2) has a 0.77 goals against average with three shutouts and 11 saves in 469 minutes of action. Nicholas Bezama (2-1) has a 0.72 goals against average with one save and one shutout in 251 minutes of action.
• St. John's ranks 39th in the NCAA and third in the BIG EAST in team goals against average (0.75).

SERIES HISTORY

The series between Xavier and St. John's is tied at 4-4-3. The Musketeers are 1-3-2 in road matches vs the Red Storm.
Xavier is visiting Queens for the first time since the 2022 season (T, 0-0 on Oct. 5). Xavier's lone win at St. John's was on Oct. 19, 2013 (W, 2-1 in OT).
Xavier won last year's meeting, 1-0, at Corcoran Field on Sept. 20. Cooper Forcellini scored the game-winning goal in the 17th minute.

BIG EAST PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Cooper Forcellini and Gabriel Kuffel earned BIG EAST Weekly Honors on Monday, Sept. 15. Forcellini was named the Offensive Player of the Week, while Kuffel was named Goalkeeper of the Week.
Both players helped Xavier post a 1-0-1 record last week (3-3 draw at Evansville on Sept. 10; 6-0 win vs Siena on Sept. 14). Forcellini scored two goals at Evansville and one goal vs Siena. The Olathe, Kan., native took five shots (four shots on goal). The midfielder leads Xavier with five goals on the year, while ranking second in the BIG EAST and 12th in the NCAA.
Kuffel made his first career start in the 6-0 win vs Siena. The Blaine, Minn., native made three saves in 90 minutes of action and posted his first career shutout.

BIG EAST WEEKLY AWARDS

Aug. 25 - Jonny Mennell - Goalkeeper of the Week
Sept. 15 - Cooper Forcellini - Offensive Player of the Week
Sept. 15 - Gabriel Kuffel - Goalkeeper of the Week

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 6-0 win vs Siena on Sept. 14. The six goals were the most in a match for the Musketeers since Feb. 28, 2021 (defeated Chicago State, 10-0, at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Ind.).
Xavier took one more shot (15-14) than Siena and recorded 10 more shots on goal (13-3). The 13 shots on goal are a season high for the Musketeers.
A total of 10 Musketeers took a shot in the match, paced by Cooper Forcellini (three shots, two on goal). Gun Ha Lee, Shogo Haraikawa and George Waites each added two shots.
Gabriel Kuffel (1-0) made his first career start in goal, recording three saves and posting the shutout. He has a 0.93 goals against average in three matches (98 total minutes) during his career.

NOTABLES

Jonny Mennell has a 14-14-12 career record with 17 shutouts (tied for second in school history) and a 1.03 goals against average (fourth in school history).
Xavier ranks third in the BIG EAST and 26th in the NCAA in shots per game (15.40). The Musketeers also lead the BIG EAST in shots on goal per game (8.2), while ranking fifth in the NCAA.
Cooper Forcellini ranks second in the BIG EAST and 13th in the NCAA in total goals (5). He also ranks first in the BIG EAST in shots on goal per match (2.0), while ranking fifth nationally.
Xavier has out shot its opponents, 77-53, on the year and taken 16 more shots on goals (41-25).
Xavier has scored three or more goals in a match three times this season. The Musketeers have 13 goals in five matches on the year (only had 14 goals in 17 matches last season). Four of Xavier's 13 goals have come via penalty kick.
John Higgins has posted a 24-15-19 (8-7-11 BIG EAST) record in four seasons at Xavier. His teams have posted 26 shutouts in 58 matches.
In 2024, the defense post a 1.12 team goals against average, ranking ninth in single-season school history and 57th in the NCAA. Xavier also posted seven shutouts, ranking tied for eighth in single-season school history and tied for 33rd in the NCAA.
Matthew Senanou was selected by the Colorado Rapids in the MLS SuperDraft 2025 on Dec. 20 as the sixth overall pick (first round) in the draft, becoming the highest MLS Draft pick in program history.
The Musketeers defeated No. 2 Marshall, 2-0, at Corcoran Field on Aug. 29 - only one of two losses during the season for the national runner-up Thundering Herd. Xavier also had one player earn All-BIG EAST Honors and four players named to the 2024 CSC Academic All-District® Team.
Xavier returns standout goalkeeper, Jonny Mennell. He had seven shutouts during the 2024 season, the fifth most in single-season school history. Mennell posted a 1.06 goals against average, ranking 10th in single-season school history
Jonny Mennell entered the 2025 season ranked third all-time at Xavier in career shutouts (16) and tied for sixth in career wins (13). He also finished the year with a 0.95 career goals against average, ranking fourth in school history.
Danny Flores was named an assistant coach on Aug. 12. He joins the Musketeers from Lawrence North HS (Indiana) where he was the program's head coach from 2022-24.

COACH HIGGINS

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.

SCHEDULE NOTES

Xavier will play seven matches at Corcoran Field this fall, including the team's season opener on Aug. 21 vs Saint Francis.
The Musketeers will play three teams that finished the 2024 season ranked in the top-25 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll: Western Michigan (No. 20), Akron (No. 21) and Georgetown (No. 25).
The Musketeers play four teams that participated in the 2024 NCAA Tournament: Western Michigan (Aug. 15), Providence (Sept. 27), Akron (Oct. 25) and Georgetown (Nov. 1).
Xavier plays teams from six different conferences during non-conference action: Big Ten, NEC, ASUN, MVC, MAAC and Horizon (2).
BIG EAST action begins on Sept. 19 at St. John's. Xavier also travels to Marquette (Oct. 3), Creighton (Oct. 11) and Georgetown (Nov. 1) during conference action.
The Musketeers open home BIG EAST action on Sept. 27 vs Providence. Xavier also plays Butler (Oct. 17), Akron (Oct. 25) and DePaul (Nov. 7) at Corcoran Field during conference action.
The BIG EAST Championships returns to the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md., on Nov. 13-16.

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

East Division
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown (10) - 65
2. Providence (2) - 56
3. St. John's - 45
4. Connecticut - 34
5. Seton Hall - 30
6. Villanova - 16

Midwest Division
(first-place votes)
1. Akron (10) - 65
2. Creighton (2) - 57
3. Xavier - 41
4. Marquette - 34
5. DePaul - 26
6. Butler - 23

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in five of the last 15 seasons. The Musketeers have also won 10 or more matches in seven of the last 15 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 12 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 12 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 all but one 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.
Seven Xavier players have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last 13 years.

XAVIER MLS HISTORY

2024 - Matthew Senanou - 1st Round (6th) - Colorado Rapids
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

UP NEXT

Xavier returns to action at Northern Kentucky on Tuesday, Sept. 23. First touch is set for 7 p.m. from the NKU Soccer Stadium.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Xavier will broadcast all seven home 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 men'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).