Men's Soccer Travels to Northwestern

Monday, August 31

Evanston, Ill.

7:30 p.m. ET

Xavier University

Northwestern

08.30.26 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats Watch Live

First touch is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday night

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer continues non-conference action at Northwestern on Monday, Aug. 31. First touch is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (1-0-1) at NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (2-0-1)
Game Info - Monday, Aug. 31 - 7:30 PM ET - Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium (12,023)
Live Stats - bit.ly/4qPD5IW
Watch Live (B1G+) - bit.ly/3T85sFD

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN

2026 Record: 2-0-1
2025 Record: 8-6-3 (3-5-2 Big Ten)
2025 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier is 2-5-2 vs Northwestern
Last Meeting: Northwestern 1, Xavier 0 (Sept. 6, 2025 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Northwestern was picked to finish eighth in the Preseason Big Ten Coaches' Poll. Andrew Millar (MF), Aaron O'Reilly (F) and Fritz Volmar (D) were named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List.
• The Wildcats have scored six goals in three matches this season (six different goal scorers). Bryant Mayer and Marco Silva pace the team in assists with two assists each.
• Dominic Pereira (2-0-0) has seven saves and a 1.00 goals against average. Gino Cervoni (0-0-1) has made two saves with a 1.00 goals against average.

SERIES HISTORY

Xavier trails the all-time series with Northwestern, 2-5-2. The Wildcats won the last meeting between the two schools, 1-0, on Sept. 6, 2025 in Cincinnati.
Xavier is 1-1-2 in road games at Northwestern. The last time the Musketeers traveled to Northwestern was on Aug. 26, 2018 (T, 0-0 in 2OT).
The Musketeers lone road win over the Wildcats was on Sept. 24, 1993 in Evanston, Ill. (W, 7-4).

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a scoreless draw vs Bellarmine on Aug. 25 in Cincinnati.
Jonny Mennell (1-0-1) earned his 20th career shutout vs the Knights, a new school record. The senior goalkeeper now has a career record of 17-17-15 in 49 matches played with a 1.06 goals against average (fourth in school history) and 161 saves (ninth in school history). His 17 wins also rank fifth in program history.
Xavier limited Bellarmine to only two shots (zero shots on goal). The two shots allowed are the fewest allowed by the Xavier defense in a match since Sept. 1, 2024 (allowed two shots in a 1-0 loss vs Duquesne at Corcoran Field). The last time Xavier held a team without a shot on goal was on Sept. 15, 2021 (The Musketeers held Robert Morris without a shot on goal in a 1-0 Xavier win in Moon Township, Pa.).
The Musketeers held a 4-2 advantage in shots. Neither team recorded a shot on goal.
Ely Detty placed the Musketeers with two shots. Ekene Okeke and Osi Onwudiwe both added a shot for Xavier.

MENNELL - XAVIER SCHOOL RECORDS

Jonny Mennell has a 17-17-15 career record with 29 shutouts and a 1.06 goals against average (fourth in school history). His 17 career wins rank fifth in school history (He is three wins away from moving into a tie for third place).
Jonny Mennell has program-best 20 career shutouts.
Jonny Mennell has 161 career saves, ranking ninth all-time at Xavier. He is three saves away from moving into eighth place with Adam Sokolowski (2005-08).

NOTABLES

Nolan Brice and Gerard Lorente each have one goal for the Musketeers this season. Ely Detty and Alejandro Silvestrini have both added an assist.
Xavier ranks tied for third in the BIG EAST in fewest goals allowed (1). The Musketeers have only allowed 10 shots, the fewest shots allowed by a BIG EAST team this season. Xavier has only allowed six shots on goal, the third fewest shots on goal allowed by a BIG EAST team this season.
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.
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 welcomed 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 28-19-23 (9-11-14 BIG EAST) record in five seasons at Xavier. His teams have posted 29 shutouts in 70 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 played two matches during preseason. The Musketeers played host to Western Michigan on Aug. 8 and traveled to IU Indy on Aug. 15 (Xavier won both matches).
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).