Men's Soccer Travels to St. Thomas on Sunday

Sunday, September 13

St. Paul, Minn.

2 p.m. ET

Xavier University

St. Thomas

09.12.26 | Men's Soccer

Live Stats Watch Live

First touch is set for 2 p.m. ET from South Soccer Field

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer continues non-conference action at St. Thomas on Sunday, Sept. 13. First touch is set for 2 p.m. ET from South Soccer Field.

GAME INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (3-0-1) at ST. THOMAS TOMMIES (3-2-2)
Game Info - Sunday, Sept. 13 - 2 PM ET - South Soccer Field (800)
Live Stats - tommiesports.com
Watch Live (Midco Sports Plus) - midcosportsplus.com

ABOUT ST. THOMAS

2026 Record: 1-3
2025 Record: 7-5-5 (1-3-2 Summit League)
2025 Postseason: None
Series History: First Meeting

NOTABLES
• St. Thomas was picked to finish tied for fifth in the Preseason Summit League Coaches' Poll. Senior goalkeeper Moritz Krenc and junior midfielder Merrick Schaefer were both named to the Preseason Summit League Players to Watch List.
• Six different players have scored a goal this season for the Tommies. Jacob Nokken leads the team in points with six (two goals, two assists). Lorenzo Jacon and Ednilson Voiles have both added two goals this season.
• Moritz Krenc (3-2) has a 1.00 goals against average, 14 saves and two shutouts. Damian Climent (0-0-2) has made four saves in 180 minutes of action with a 1.00 goals against average.
• The Tommies are 2-1-1 in home matches this season. St. Thomas is coming off a 2-0 road loss at BIG EAST member Marquette on Sept. 9.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 2-0 win vs Bowling Green on Sept. 4 at Corcoran Field.
Jose Pedro scored both goals in the win, coming in the 78th and 90th minute. His goal at 89:57 is the latest goal in a game for the Musketeers since Jerome Jolly's goal with eight seconds left in regulation (89:52) at Northern Kentucky on Sept. 12, 2022 (W, 3-1).
Xavier finished with a 16-8 advantage on shots after out-shooting BGSU 12-3 in the second half.
Ely Detty led the Musketeers with three shots. Jose Pedro and Alejandro Silvestrini both recorded two shots on-goal. Four more Musketeers recorded a pair of shots.
Jonny Mennell (3-0-1) made two saves with no goals against in 90 minutes of action, earning his second shutout of the season and adding to his school-record career total, now at 21.
Xavier remained unbeaten at 3-0-1, the longest unbeaten streak to start the season since 2022, when the Musketeers started the season at 9-0-5.

MENNELL - XAVIER SCHOOL RECORDS

Jonny Mennell has a 19-17-15 career record with 21 shutouts and a 1.06 goals against average (fourth in school history). His 19 career wins rank fifth in school history (He is one win away from moving into a tie for third place).
Jonny Mennell has program-best 21 career shutouts.
Jonny Mennell has 167 career saves, ranking eighth all-time at Xavier. He is 35 saves away from moving into seventh place with Mark Armstrong (1984-86).

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

Sept. 8 - Ekene Okeke - Weekly Honor Roll
Aug. 31 - Ekene Okeke - Weekly Honor Roll

NOTABLES

Five different players have scored a goal this season for the Musketeers, paced by Ekene Okeke and Jose Pedro who both have two goals. Six different players have recorded an assist, paced by Alejandro Silvestrini who has two assists.
The Musketeers rank third in the BIG EAST and 27th in the NCAA in goals against average (0.75). Jonny Mennell ranks third in the BIG EAST and 33rd in the NCAA in goals against average (0.75).
Xavier ranks third in the BIG EAST and 11th in the NCAA in corner kicks per game (7.50).
The Musketeers have only allowed three goals this season, the third fewest goals allowed by a BIG EAST team this season. Xavier is also one of three BIG EAST teams without a loss this season: Arkon (3-0-1) and Creighton (5-0-2) are the other two teams.
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 30-19-23 (9-11-14 BIG EAST) record in five seasons at Xavier. His teams have posted 30 shutouts in 72 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).