Men's Soccer Opens 2026 Season on Thursday vs Purdue Fort Wayne

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer opens the 2026 season on Thursday, Aug. 20 vs Purdue Fort Wayne. First touch is set for 7 p.m. from Corcoran Field.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (0-0) vs PURDUE FORT WAYNE MASTODONS (0-0)
Game Info - Thursday, Aug. 20 - 7 PM ET - Corcoran Field (1,000)
Live Stats - statb.us/b/668573
Watch Live - bit.ly/4x98nMX

ABOUT PURDUE FORT WAYNE

2026 Record: 0-0
2025 Record: 8-3-6 (5-2-2)
2025 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads the series, 3-0
Last Meeting: Xavier 2, Purdue Fort Wayne 0 (Sept. 22, 2015 - Corcoran Field)

NOTABLES
• Purdue Fort Wayne was picked to finish fourth in the 2026 Horizon League Preseason Poll behind Cleveland State (111), Green Bay (95) and Northern Illinois (92).
• The Mastodons advanced to the Horizon League Championship match for the first time in school history in 2025, falling at Cleveland State in extra time in the championship match.
• Purdue Fort Wayne returns goalkeeper Sep Habibi (2025 Horizon League Second Team) and midfielder Jonny Hernandez (2025 Horizon League Third Team).

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier leads the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne, 3-0. The Musketeers are 2-0 vs the Mastodons when playing at Corcoran Field.
Xavier won the last meeting between the two schools, 2-0, on Sept. 22, 2015 at Corcoran Field.

ALL-TIME RESULTS
Sept. 13, 2011 - Xavier 5, Purdue Fort Wayne 0 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Sept. 18, 2012 - Xavier 2, Purdue Fort Wayne 0 (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Sept. 22, 2015 - Xavier 2, Purdue Fort Wayne 0 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

MENNELL - XAVIER SCHOOL RECORDS

Jonny Mennell has a 16-17-14 career record with 19 shutouts and a 1.09 goals against average (sixth in school history). His 16 career wins ranks tied for fifth all-time with Paul Wesseling (1997-00). He is three wins away from moving into a tie for third place with Matthew Rosenberg (2019-21) and Brian Schaeper (2001-04).
Jonny Mennell is tied with Justin Marshall (2009-12) for the most shutouts in school history (19).
Jonny Mennell has 156 career saves, ranking ninth all-time at Xavier. He is eight saves away from moving into eighth place with Adam Sokolowski (2005-08).

NOTABLES

Jabari De Coteau and Cooper Forcellini were taken in the MLS SuperDraft 2026. A total of nine Musketeers have been taken all-time in the MLS Draft, including five under head coach John Higgins.
Forcellini was taken in the second round (43rd overall pick) by St. Louis CITY SC. The 2025 All-BIG EAST First Team selection finished the year ranked fifth in the BIG EAST and 51st in the NCAA in total points (22). The midfielder was named to the 2025 United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Third Team and was selected to participate in the 2025 MLS College Showcase.
De Coteau was taken in the third round (86th overall pick) by the Colorado Rapids. He played in 38 matches in three seasons for the Musketeers with one goal and one assist. The defender helped the team post 20 shutouts in three seasons. In 2023, the defense posted a school record 0.83 goals against average with nine shutouts (tied for third in school history).
In 2025, Xavier scored 24 goals in 15 matches - an increase of 10 goals from the 2024 season (had 14 goals in 17 matches).
Cooper Forcellini, Jonny Mennell, Alejandro Silvestrini and Ezra Widman were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team in November of 2025.
Xavier returns standout goalkeeper, Jonny Mennell. He enters the 2026 season ranked tied for first all-time at Xavier in career shutouts (19) and tied for fifth in career wins (16). Mennell also ranks sixth in career goals against average (1.09) and ninth in career saves (156).
All told, the Musketeers return 12 letterwinners from last season. Offensively, Harun Bakaran and Gun Ha Lee both scored three goals and recorded one assist.
Xavier welcomes 14 newcomers to the roster in the fall of 2026.

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.
John Higgins has posted a 27-19-22 (9-11-14 BIG EAST) record in four seasons at Xavier. His teams have posted 28 shutouts in 68 matches.
John Higgins had two players taken in the MLS SuperDraft 2026. Five of the nine MLS Draft Picks in school history have come under Coach Higgins.
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.
In 2022, the Musketeers 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 11 matches at Corcoran Field this fall, including the team's season opener on Aug. 20 vs Purdue Fort Wayne.
The Musketeers will play three teams that finished the 2025 season ranked in the top-25 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll: Georgetown (No. 5), Akron (No. 12) and UConn (No. 24).
Xavier will play two matches during preseason. The Musketeers play host to Western Michigan on Aug. 8 and travel to IU Indy on Aug. 15.
The Musketeers play four teams that participated in the 2025 NCAA Tournament: Western Michigan (Aug. 8), Seton Hall (Oct. 10), Akron (Oct. 24) and UConn (Oct. 31).
Xavier plays teams from four different conferences during non-conference action: ASUN, Big Ten, Horizon (3) and MVC.
BIG EAST action begins on Sept. 18 at DePaul. Xavier also travels to Seton Hall (Oct. 10), Akron (Oct. 24) and Butler (Nov. 6) during conference action.
The Musketeers open home BIG EAST action on Sept. 26 vs Villanova. Xavier also plays Marquette (Oct. 2), Creighton (Oct. 15) and UConn (Oct. 31) at Corcoran Field during conference action.
The BIG EAST Championships returns to the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md., on Nov. 12-15.

BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL

East Division
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown - 66 (11)
2. UConn - 46
3. Providence45 (1)
4. St. John's - 37
5. Seton Hall - 36
6. Villanova - 16

Midwest Division
(first-place votes)
1. Akron - 66 (11)
2. Creighton - 56 (1)
3. Xavier - 43
4. Marquette - 34
5. DePaul - 27
6. Butler - 20

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in five of the last 16 seasons. The Musketeers have also won 10 or more matches in seven of the last 16 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 13 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 13 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 two seasons 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.
Nine Xavier players have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last 14 years.

XAVIER MLS HISTORY

2025 - Jabari De Coteau - 3rd Round (86th) - Colorado Rapids
2025 - Cooper Forcellini - 2nd Round (43rd) - St. Louis CITY SC
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

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Xavier will broadcast all 10 home matches on either Xavier+ or ESPN+.
The subscription cost of Xavier+ will be $10 per match or $45 for a fall men's soccer season pass to watch all six home Xavier+ broadcasts. 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).

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