Xavier, Wright State Set for Tuesday Night Match

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's soccer continues non-conference action vs Wright State on Tuesday, Sept. 22. First touch is set for 6:30 p.m. from Corcoran Field.

MATCH INFORMATION

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (4-0-2) vs WRIGHT STATE RAIDERS (3-4-1)
Game Info - Tuesday, Sept. 22 - 6:30 PM - Corcoran Field (1,000)
Live Stats - xavier.statbroadcast.com
XAVIER+ - goxavier.com/watch

ABOUT WRIGHT STATE

2026 Record: 3-4-1
2025 Record: 2-13-1
2025 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier is 9-14-6 all-time vs Wright State
Last Meeting: Xavier 2, Wright State 0 (Oct. 7, 2025 - Dayton, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• Wright State was picked to finish 11th in the Preseason Horizon League Coaches' Poll.
• The Raiders are 2-3 in road matches this season. Wright State is coming off a 1-0 loss at Purdue Fort Wayne on Sept. 19.
• A total of 10 Wright State players have scored a goal this season, paced by Brian Burkett and Cairo Duarte who both have two goals. The Raiders rank tied for second in the Horizon League in assists (12) and fourth in goals (12).
• Wright State has allowed 20 goals this season, the most goals allowed by a Horizon League team this season. The Raiders have not posted a shutout this season.
• Alex Normandeau (3-2-1) has a 1.50 goals against average with 22 saves in 540 minutes of action. Ben Schultheis (0-2-0) has a 5.50 goals against average with nine saves in 180 minutes of action.

SERIES HISTORY

The Musketeers are 9-14-6 all-time vs Wright State.
Xavier is 3-0-1 in the last four meetings vs Wright State. The Musketeers are 2-1-2 in their last five meetings vs the Raiders at Corcoran Field.
Xavier won the last meeting between the two schools, 2-0, in Dayton on Oct. 7, 2025.
The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in the last meeting at Corcoran Field on Aug. 24, 2023.

LAST TIME OUT

Xavier is coming off a 1-1 draw on Sept. 18 at DePaul in the BIG EAST opener for both teams.
Senior forward Gun Ha Lee scored his first goal of the season via penalty kick in the 61st minute, becoming the seventh Musketeer to score a goal this season. He has three points on the year (one goal, one assist) and 10 career points in a Xavier uniform (four goals, two assists).
DePaul held a 19-15 advantage in shots and took two more shots on goal (7-5). The Blue Demons also committed three more fouls (12-9). Both teams were issued yellow cards.
Xavier allowed its first goal since Aug. 31 at Northwestern at the 80:50 mark. The DePaul goal snapped a streak of nearly 278 minutes without allowing a goal (277:35).
Jonny Mennell (4-0-2) made a season-high six saves and allowed one goal. He now has a 0.67 goals against average on the year with 17 saves.
Jonny Mennell has a career record of 20-17-16 in goal for the Musketeers with 173 career saves, ranking eighth in program history. His career 1.04 goals against average ranks fourth in school history.
Xavier and DePaul have now played to a draw in three straight meetings.
Xavier remains unbeaten at 4-0-2, 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 20-17-16 career record with 22 shutouts and a 1.04 goals against average (fourth in school history). His 20 career wins rank third in school history (He is five wins away from moving into a tie for third second place with Eric Osswald).
Jonny Mennell has program-best 22 career shutouts.
Jonny Mennell has 173 career saves, ranking eighth all-time at Xavier. He is 29 saves away from moving into seventh place with Mark Armstrong (1984-86).

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

Sept. 14 - Ekene Okeke - Weekly Honor Roll
Sept. 8 - Ekene Okeke - Weekly Honor Roll
Aug. 31 - Ekene Okeke - Weekly Honor Roll

NOTABLES

Seven 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 Gerard Lorente and Alejandro Silvestrini who both have two assists.
The Musketeers rank second in the BIG EAST and 16th in the NCAA in goals against average (0.667). Jonny Mennell ranks second in the BIG EAST and 21st in the NCAA in goals against average (0.667).
Xavier ranks first in the BIG EAST and eighth in the NCAA in corner kicks per game (7.83).
The Musketeers have only allowed four goals this season, the second 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 (4-0-2) and Creighton (7-0-2) are the other two teams.
Xavier ranks 27th in the NCAA in toughest schedule this season. The Musketeers previous opponents are 20-11-9 on the year.
Xavier checks in at No. 15 in the first release of the NCAA Men's Soccer RPI (thru games on Sept. 20).
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).

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