No. 24 Women's Soccer Continues BIG EAST Play at UConn

Wednesday, September 24

Storrs, Conn.

7:00 PM

Xavier University

Connecticut

No. 24 Women's Soccer Continues BIG EAST Play at UConn

09.23.25 | Women's Soccer

Watch Live Live Stats

Musketeers and Huskies set for 7:00 p.m. start on ESPN+

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 24 Xavier women's soccer continues its road trip to open BIG EAST play, heading to Connecticut on Wednesday, Sept. 24. The Musketeers and the Huskies get underway at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

GAME DETAILS

at UConn
Wednesday, Sept. 24 - 7:00 p.m.
Storrs, Conn. • Joseph J. Morrone Stadium

OPPONENT INFO

The Huskies are 5-2-1 overall and 1-0 in BIG EAST play after opening up the conference schedule with a 2-0 win over St. John's. They enter the match on a four-game win streak and five-game unbeaten streak.
UConn was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST preseason poll and feature Chioma Okafor, a senior forward who was the league's pick for Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, and Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Anaya Johnson, a junior midfielder.
The Huskies went 12-5-4 in 2024, with a 4-3-3 mark in BIG EAST play to finish fifth in the league standings.
UConn took a 2-0 win at Creighton to advance to the BIG EAST Semifinals and moved on to the Championship match with a 2-0 win over No. 1 seed Georgetown. Connecticut took the league title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship with a 2-1 win in double overtime against Xavier.
The Huskies advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship with a 2-1 win over Rutgers before falling to Stanford in the second round.
Xavier played UConn to a 1-1 draw in Cincinnati in last season's regular season match-up before falling 2-1 in double overtime in the BIG EAST Championship match, moving Xavier's record to 3-1-1 all-time against the Huskies.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Musketeers return to Corcoran Field on Saturday, Sept. 27, hosting Villanova at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+. Xavier will celebrate Senior Day prior to the match.
Following the match with the Wildcats, Xavier heads to Omaha, Neb., to face Creighton on Wednesday, Oct. 1, set for an 8:00 p.m. ET start.

WEEKLY AWARDS

After helping No. 23 Xavier women's soccer go 2-0 and open league play with a win last week, forward Peyton Kohls earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors, the conference office announced on Monday. Defender Natalie Bain also earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
Kohls, a redshirt sophomore from Loveland, Ohio, matched Samantha Erbach for team-high with seven points on three goals and an assist in a 2-0 week for the Musketeers. In Xavier's 6-0 win over SEMO, she finished with a single game career high five points a pair of goals, as well as an assist on Emma Flick's game-winner. The two-goal outing also marked her first multi-goal game as a Musketeer. In Xavier's BIG EAST opener at DePaul, Kohls knocked in the game-winner in the first 10 minutes of the 3-0 win, marking her first collegiate game-winner. She now has a career-high 12 points for the season on four goals and four assists.
Bain, a senior from Alexandria, Ky., played 118 minutes for the Xavier defense last week, helping the Musketeers to a pair of shutout wins. She played 45 minutes in Xavier's 6-0 win over SEMO to wrap up non-conference play, recording three shots, including two on goal. She then helped Xavier open up BIG EAST play with a shutout win at DePaul, playing 73 minutes. The Musketeer defense has collected three-straight shutouts, not allowing a goal in over 290 minutes of action.

XAVIER NOTABLES

Xavier currently stands at 6-2-1 overall and 1-0 in BIG EAST play, extending its unbeaten streak to seven matches with a 3-0 win over DePaul on Saturday.
The Musketeers remain in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 this week, coming in at No. 24 this week. Xavier has gone 6-0-1 over the past seven matches, outscoring opponents 29-4 over that stretch.
The Musketeer defense has picked up three-straight shutouts, not allowing a goal in the last 297 minutes of action. Overall, Xavier has five shutouts on the season, with the Musketeers' shutout percentage of 0.556 ranking second in the BIG EAST and 36^th in NCAA DI.
Xavier leads the BIG EAST and ranks in the Top 10 in the country for total goals (29 – 4^th in DI), scoring offense (3.22 – 6^th in DI), total points (82 – 8^th in DI) and points per game (9.11 – 7^th in DI).
The Musketeers' offense also leads the conference and ranks in the Top 25 in NCAA DI for goal differential (20 – 11^th in DI) and total assists (24 – 21^st in DI).
Samantha Erbach, who earned a spot on Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week honorable mention list after posting a hat trick against SEMO last week, has six goals and a team-high six assists for the season, giving her 18 points to match for team high.
Erbach matches Elin Hansson to lead the BIG EAST for total points and points per game (2.00), with both marks ranking No. 10 in NCAA DI. Her six goals trail only teammate Elin Hansson in the conference and rank No. 40 in NCAA DI.
Erbach's assist total leads the conference and ranks 13^th in the country, and her assists per game (0.76) leads the league and ranks 15th in NCAA DI. Erbach is also 2-2 on PKs for the season, one of 38 players in the country with two or more made PKs on the season.
Elin Hansson leads the Musketeers with eight goals, scoring in five of the last six matches. Combined with a pair of assists, she matches Samantha Erbach for team-high with 18 points. Hansson and Erbach both lead the BIG EAST for total points and points per game (2.00), with both marks ranking No. 10 in NCAA DI. Her total goals and goals per game (0.89) both lead the BIG EAST and rank No. 6 in NCAA DI.
Hansson ranks No. 1 in the country with .773 percent shot accuracy.
Xavier has eight 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

Xavier opened up BIG EAST play with a 3-0 win over DePaul on Saturday afternoon at Wish Field in Chicago.
After the start of the match was delayed approximately 50 minutes due to weather, Xavier took the lead in opening minutes off a goal from Peyton Kohls, who has scored back-to-back matches. Reese Slater added another tally less than five minutes later to give Xavier a 2-0 just over 10 minutes into the match.
In the first half, Xavier out-shot the Blue Demons 18-1, led by four shots each for Kohls and Samantha Erbach. The Musketeer defense did not allow a DePaul shot on-goal in the first 45 minutes, with Xavier taking the 2-0 lead into the break.
Less than 10 minute into the second half, Elin Hansson added to her team-high goal total, scoring from Emma Flick, to make it a 3-0 Musketeer lead.
Xavier finished with a 21 shots in the second half, creating 13 corner kicks after the break, while the Musketeer defense limited DePaul to just one shot after halftime on the way to the 3-0 shutout win.
Peyton Kohls scored her fourth goal of the season, and her first collegiate game-winner. Combined with four assists, she has 12 points for the season.
Reese Slater's first-half goal marked her first as a Musketeer. She has four points on the season on today's goal and a pair of assists.
Elin Hansson's goal brings her BIG EAST-leading goal total to eight for the season. Combined with a pair of assists, she matches Samantha Erbach for team-high with 18 points.
Emma Flick picked up her second assist of the season on Hansson's goal, combining with four goals to give her 10 points.
The Musketeers had a season-high 39 shots, led by nine for Samantha Erbach, with 10 Xavier looks going on-frame. Xavier's shots and shots on-goal are both the most allowed by the DePaul defense this season.
Xavier's defense held DePaul to just two shots overall and just one look on-frame, a season-low for a Xavier opponent. Both marks are season lows for the Blue Demons.
Maria Galley played the full 90 minute in-goal, collecting a save to pick up the win and her second complete shutout of the season.
The Musketeers picked up their fifth shutout of the season, and third-straight clean sheet, not allowing a goal in the last 297 minutes of action.
The result stretches Xavier's win streak against the Blue Demons to eight matches, and the Musketeers' unbeaten streak against DePaul to 11 matches.
The Musketeers have now won each of their last six BIG EAST openers.

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