No. 23 Women's Soccer Travels to DePaul to Open BIG EAST Play

Saturday, September 20

Chicago, Ill.

2:00 PM ET

Xavier University

DePaul

No. 23 Women's Soccer Travels to DePaul to Open BIG EAST Play

09.19.25 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream (Marquee Sports Network)Live Stats

Musketeers and Blue Demons set for 2:00 p.m. ET game time

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 23 Xavier women's soccer heads to Chicago to open up BIG EAST play, taking on DePaul on Saturday, September 20. The Musketeers and the Blue Demons are set to get underway at 2:00 p.m. ET on the Marquee Sport Network.

GAME DETAILS

at DePaul
Saturday, Sept. 20 - 2:00 p.m. ET
Wish Field • Chicago, Ill.

OPPONENT INFO

DePaul, who was picked to finish seventh in the league's preseason poll, wrapped up non-conference play at 3-5, taking wins over Chicago State, Purdue, and Eastern Michigan.
The Blue Demons went 5-8-7 overall and 3-3-4 in BIG EAST play, finishing sixth in the conference standings.
DePaul played Butler to a 3-3 draw in the BIG EAST First Round and advanced on PKS, 8-7. Xavier took a 2-0 win over the Blue Demons in the Semifinals.
The Musketeers moved to 8-4-2 all-time against the Blue Demons after picking up a pair of wins over DePaul last season, taking a 3-0 win in the regular season match in Cincinnati, and a 2-0 win in the BIG EAST Semifinals in Boyds, Md.
Last season's results stretched Xavier's win streak against the Blue Demons to seven matches, and the Musketeers' unbeaten streak against DePaul to 10 matches.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Xavier remains on the road for its next match, traveling to UConn to take on the Huskies on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 7:00 p.m.
The Musketeers return to Corcoran Field on Saturday, Sept. 27, hosting Villanova at 1:00 p.m. Xavier will celebrate Senior Day prior to the match.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After helping Xavier women's soccer take a 2-0 win over Chattanooga, a pair of Musketeers, midfielder Chelsea Loeser and defender Brooklynn Miltenberger, were named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, the league office announce on Monday.
Loeser, a sophomore from Mission Viejo, Calif., scored the game-winner in the first half of Xavier's win over Chattanooga, extending Xavier's unbeaten streak to five matches. The goal was her third of the season, and her second game-winner, giving her six points on the season.
Miltenberger, a junior from Middletown, Ohio, played 46 minutes on the back line of Xavier's win over Chattanooga, helping the Musketeers pick up their third shutout of the season. Xavier finished with a 25-3 advantage on shots overall, a season low for the Mocs, and a 7-2 advantage on shots on-frame.

XAVIER NOTABLES

Xavier currently stands at 5-2-1 after extending its unbeaten streak to six matches with a 6-0 win over SEMO on Wednesday.
The Musketeers moved back into the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 this week, coming in at No. 23 after receiving votes last week.
Xavier has gone 5-0-1 over the past six matches, outscoring opponents 26-4 over that stretch.
Xavier leads the BIG EAST and ranks in the Top 10 in the country for points per game (9.38 – 6^th in DI) and scoring offense (3.25 – 6^th in DI).
The Musketeers' offense also leads the conference and ranks in the Top 20 in NCAA DI for total goals (26 – 11^th in DI), total points (75 – 11^th in DI), assists per game (2.88 – 13^th in DI), goal differential (17 – 16^th in DI), and total assists (23 – 18^th in DI).
After posting an hat trick and picking up an assist in Xavier's win over SEMO, Samantha Erbach has six goals and a team-high six assists for the season, giving her a team-leading 18 points. Erbach leads the BIG EAST and ranks in the top 10 in NCAA DI for points per game (2.25 - 6th in DI) and total points (18 - 9th in DI). Her six goals trail only teammate Elin Hansson in the conference and rank No 29 in NCAA DI. Her assist total and her assists per game (0.75) both lead the BIG EAST and rank No. 11 in NCAA DI. Erbach is also 2-2 on PKs for the season, one of 31 players in the country with two or more made PKs on the season.
Elin Hansson leads the Musketeers with seven goals, after scoring in four straight matches. She also picked up a pair of assists in Xavier's win over SEMO to give her 16 points for the season. Hansson leads the nation with .788 percent shot accuracy. Her total goals lead the BIG EAST and rank No. 11 in NCAA DI, and her goals per game (0.88) lead the league and rank No. 11 in NCAA DI. She ranks in the top 20 in NCAA DI, and trails only Erbach among BIG EAST players for points per game (2.00 - 14 in DI) and total points (16 - 29 in DI).
Xavier has seven different goal scorers so far this season, with five Hansson, Erbach, Emma Flick, Peyton Kohls and Chelsea Loeser, knocking in multiple goals.
Nine Musketeers have also dished out assists.

LAST TIME OUT

Samantha Erbach finished with a hat trick, Peyton Kohls scored a pair and Emma Flick had the game-winner as No. 23 Xavier women's soccer took a 6-0 win over SEMO at Corcoran Field on Wednesday evening. Xavier extended its unbeaten streak to six matches, and wrapped up non-conference play at 5-2-1.
Xavier took the lead in the first five minutes of the match, with Emma Flick scoring from Peyton Kohls and Elin Hansson. Kohls made it a 2-0 lead in the 20th minute after getting the ball from Samantha Erbach and driving past the Redhawk defense. Erbach extended the lead to 3-0 with a shot from the corner of the box in the 26th minute.
The Musketeers had a 21-0 advantage on shots in the first half, with 11 of those looks going on frame. Flick, Erbach and Natalie Bain each had three shots overall and two on-goal in the first 45 minutes.
Kohls added her second tally of the night shortly after halftime, scoring off the pass from Hansson to make it a 4-0 lead. Erbach scored her second goal of the game, off a pass from Sara Parker, to make it a five-goal advantage, and then added a third tally off a pass from Presley Pennekamp in the 74th minute to set the final score at 6-0 in favor of the Musketeers.
Xavier finished with 37 shots overall and 21 shots on-goal, both season highs, while the Musketeer defense held SEMO to just two shots, a season-low for a Xavier opponent.
Erbach finished with a career-best seven points for the game after posting her first collegiate hat trick, and picking up an assist on Peyton Kohls' first-half goal. She leads the Musketeers with 18 points on the season on six goals and six assists. Her hat trick marks her second-multi goal game of the season and third as a Musketeer, and matches Elin Hansson's three-goal outing against Michigan State earlier this season for the most goals by a Musketeer in a match since Samantha Dewey's four-goal performance against Murray State on August 22, 2019.
Peyton Kohls finished with a career-high five points a pair of goals and and an assist on Emma Flick's game-winner. The two-goal outing also marked her first multi-goal game as a Musketeer. She has 10 points on three goals and four assists for the season.
Emma Flick's goal was her fourth of the season and second game-winner. Combined with an assist, she has nine points for the campaign.
Elin Hansson finished with a pair of assists, helping on Flick's game-winner and Kohls' second-half goal. Combined with seven goals on the season, she has 16 points.
Sara Parker picked up an assist on Erbach's second goal, her second helper of the season.
Presley Pennekamp had her first collegiate assist on Erbach's third goal.
Xavier's defense held the Redhawks to a just a pair of shots, a season-low for a Xavier opponent and matching SEMO's season low. The Musketeer defense has not allowed a goal in over 200 minutes of game time.
Maria Galley made the start in goal, playing 45 minutes. Taylor Thomas played the second half, collecting a pair of saves to preserve the shutout, Xavier's fourth of the season.

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