Musketeers Play Host to Northwestern

Saturday, September 6

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

Northwestern

09.04.25 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats ESPN+

First touch is set for 6:30 p.m. from Corcoran Field

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer returns to Corcoran Field on Saturday, Sept. 6 vs Big Ten foe Northwestern. First touch is set for 6:30 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (1-1) vs NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (2-1-1)
Game Info - Saturday, Sept. 6 - 6:30 PM ET - Corcoran Field (1,000)
Live Stats - bit.ly/4nbAN3F
Watch Live (ESPN+) - bit.ly/4nbAJRt

PROMOTIONS

TFA Night

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN

2025 Record: 2-1-1
2024 Record: 9-7-1 (3-6-1 Big Ten)
2024 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 2-4-2
Last Meeting: Xavier 1, Northwestern 0 (Sept. 12, 2021)

NOTABLES
• Northwestern was picked to finish 11th in the Big Ten Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• The Wildcats had three players named to the Big Ten Men's Soccer Players to Watch List: Jason Gajadhar (Sr., MF), Nigel Prince (Sr., D) and Fritz Volmar (Jr., D).
• Joe Suchecki leads the Wildcats in points this season with seven (three goals, one assist). Alejandro Martinez Santamaria has added a team-leading four assists. Peter Riesz has added two goals.
• Rafael Ponce De León (2-1-1) has posted a 1.25 goals against average with seven saves and one shutout.

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier trails the all-time series with Northwestern, 2-4-2. The Musketeers won the last meeting between the two schools, 1-0, at Corcoran Field on Sept. 12, 2021.
Xavier is 1-1 all-time vs the Wildcats when playing at Corcoran Field.
The Musketeers first win over the Wildcats was on Sept. 24, 1993 in Evanston, Ill. (W, 7-4).

BIG EAST WEEKLY AWARDS

Aug. 25 - Jonny Mennell - Goalkeeper of the Week

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier dropped a 3-1 match at Bellarmine on Aug. 30. The Musketeers held a 21-9 advantage in shots and took five more shots on goal (10-5) than the Knights.
Cooper Forcellini scored his fifth career goal vs the Knights. He now has 14 career points (five goals, four assists). Forcellini leads the team in goals this season with two.
A total of 12 Musketeers took a shot. Cristiano Fitzgerald, Cooper Forcellini and Nathan Trickett paced Xavier with three shots each.

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.

NOTABLES

Jonny Mennell has a 14-13-11 career record with 17 shutouts (tied for second in school history) and a 0.98 goals against average (fourth in school history).
Xavier ranks first in the BIG EAST and eighth in the NCAA in shots per game (19.50). The Musketeers also lead the BIG EAST in shots on goal per game (9.50), while ranking fifth in the NCAA.
Cooper Forcellini ranks fourth in the BIG EAST and 50th in the NCAA in total goals (2).
John Higgins has posted a 23-14-18 (8-7-11 BIG EAST) record in four seasons at Xavier. His teams have posted 25 shutouts in 55 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.

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 continues non-conference action at Evansville on Wednesday, Sept. 10. First touch is set for 8 p.m. ET from Arad McCutchan 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).