Women's Soccer Heads to No. 3/2 Vanderbilt for Sunday Evening Match-Up

Sunday, September 6

Nashville, Tenn.

7:00 PM ET

Xavier University

Vanderbilt

Women's Soccer Heads to No. 3/2 Vanderbilt for Sunday Evening Match-Up

09.04.26 | Women's Soccer

Live Stream Live Stats

Musketeers and Dores get underway at 7 PM ET on SEC Network +

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer heads to Nashville to take on No. 3/2 Vanderbilt on Sunday, Sept. 6. The Musketeers and the Commodores get underway at 7:00 p.m ET on SEC Network +.

Xavier is 2-1 on the year, coming off a 3-2 win over Indiana at Corcoran Field on Wednesday, August 26.

GAME DETAILS

at No. 3/2 Vanderbilt
Sunday, Sept. 6 - 7 PM ET / 6 PM ET
Vanderbilt Soccer Complex - Nashville, Tenn.

OPPONENT INFO

The Commodores enter the match at 6-0, coming in at No. 3 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll, and No. 2 in the Top Drawer Soccer poll. Vandy has topped SMU, ETSU, No. 21/20 Memphis, Rice, Houston and most recently took a 7-0 win over Tennessee Tech.
Vanderbilt was picked first in the 2026 SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, returning 80 percent of of the goals and assists production from last season's squad that advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals. Among the returnees are SEC Forward of the Year Sydney Watts and All-SEC midfielder Courtney Jones.
The Commodores went 18-4-2 overall and 7-2-1 in SEC play in 2025, earning the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Dores played LSU to a 1-1 draw in the SEC Championship match, earning the league title on PKs (8-7).
Vanderbilt earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Quarterfinals with wins over Tennessee Tech (2-0), Clemson (3-2, 2OT), and LSU (1-0) before falling to No. 5 TCU, 2-1, in overtime in the Elite Eight.
Xavier is 4-5 all-time against Vandy, with the last match-up occurring in 1995.

MUSKETEER NOTABLES

Brooklyn O'Brien has four points on two goals after scoring her second of the season in the first half against IU, putting the Musketeers ahead 2-0. Her first goal of the season, in the opening minutes of the match against Miami, marked her first game-winner as a Musketeer.
Kieran Bradley matches O'Brien for team-high with four points on two goals after scoring a pair against Miami (Ohio) in the home opener.
Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, Peyton Kohls, collected three points in Xavier's win over Indiana, scoring the opener in the first 10 minutes with the Hoosiers, her first of the season, and picking up an assist on Sara Parker's game-winner.
Sara Parker knocked in the game-winner in the second half of Xavier's 3-2 win over Indiana, her first of the season and her first game-winner as a Musketeer.
Regan Dancer picked up her 18th career assist, and her first of the season, on O'Brien's game-winner against Miami.
Breanna Dardano picked up an assist on Peyton Kohls' first-half goal against IU, her first point as a Musketeer.
Maria Tapia's assist on Brooklyn O'Brien's goal against Indiana marked her first point as a Musketeer.
McKinley Berry and Alexis Morrison each had their first assist of the season and second as a Musketeer on Bradley's first goal in the win over Miami.
Frances Reuland earned her first collegiate point on an assist on Bradley's second goal against the RedHawks.
Nastassja Garrett leads the Musketeers in minutes play with 257, starting in every match this season. Elizabeth Powell has 255 minutes on the Xavier backline, also making the start in Xavier's three official matches.
Taylor Thomas has made a pair of starts in-goal, collecting eight saves with four goals against in 180 minutes of action.
Sami Lipcon made her first appearance as a Musketeer against Miami, playing the full 90 minutes with four saves and no goals against to earn the shutout, her first as a Musketeer and second complete shutout in her collegiate career.
Head coach Katy Etelman picked up her first career win on Sunday, August 16, topping her alma mater Miami (Ohio), 2-0, at Corcoran Field.

2026 SCHEDULE

After the trip to Nashville, Xavier hosts Dayton at Corcoran Field on Thursday, September 10, set for a 6:30 p.m. start.
The Musketeers remain at home to host Western Michigan on Sunday, Sept. 13, set for a 1:00 p.m. start at Corcoran Field.
Xavier is set to face teams from six different conferences before starting the 10-game BIG EAST schedule, and will face five teams that took part in the 2025 NCAA Championship, including a pair of Quarterfinalists in Michigan State and Vanderbilt.

HEAD COACH KATY ETELMAN

The 2026 season marks the first season at the helm for head coach Katy Etelman, who joined the Xavier staff in 2021. Etelman became the program's 10th head coach in February, following Dean Ward's departure to Iowa, after serving as associate head coach since 2023.
During her time with the program, Etelman has helped lead the Musketeers to 75 wins, two BIG EAST Regular Season Championships, a BIG EAST Tournament title, and four bids to the NCAA Championships in the last five seasons. Xavier's 75 wins are the seventh most in Division I over that span.
In the last two seasons, as part of Ward's staff, Etelman helped lead the Musketeers to 31 wins, the most wins in a two-year period in program history. During that time, Xavier earned four All-American honors, five BIG EAST postseason awards, and 15 total All-BIG EAST selections
Etelman added Cory Herchenroeder to her staff as associate head coach. Herchenroeder came to Xavier from Missouri State where he joined the staff as an assistant coach in 2022 and was promoted to associate head coach in August of 2023.
Mikayla Krzeczowski also joined Etelman's staff as assistant coach with goalkeeper oversight. Krzeczowski, one of the top goalkeepers in NCAA DI history, came to Xavier from Appalachian State where she had served as part of the women's soccer staff since January 2022.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST HONORS

Forward Peyton Kohls was named the Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, as voted on by the league coaches. Kohls was also a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, and was joined on the preseason all-conference squad by defender Brooklynn Miltenberger.
Kohls, a redshirt junior from Loveland, Ohio, started in all 22 matches for the Musketeers in 2025, collecting a career-best 20 points on six goals on and eight assists for the season. Her assist total ranked fourth in the BIG EAST and 35th in NCAA DI at the conclusion of the regular season. She started in all 10 matches in BIG EAST play last season finishing conference action with 10 points on three goals, including the game winner at DePaul, and four assists.
Kohls recorded her first collegiate goal and had a pair of assists in Xavier's 5-2 win over No. 17 Michigan State. She also posted her first career multi-goal game in Xavier's 6-0 win over Southeast Missouri State, also picking up an assist against SEMO for a career-high five points.
Kohls earned a spot on the 2025 All-BIG EAST Third Team and was named CSC Academic All-District following the season.
Miltenberger, a senior from Middletown, Ohio, played in 17 matches in 2025, making 15 starts for a Musketeer defense that only allowed 22 goals and had 12 shutouts on the season. She played in nine matches in BIG EAST play, starting in eight, with the Musketeers going 8-0-1, collecting five shutouts, and only allowing five goals in the conference matches in which she played.
For the season, Miltenberger played 964 minutes for the Xavier backline, playing the full 90 minutes in three matches before her season ended due to injury.
Miltenberger earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Third Team following the season.

The 2026 Roster

Xavier returns 18 letterwinners from the 2025 squad that finished 16-4-2, winning the BIG EAST Tournament Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Second Round.
The returning Musketeers include a trio of all-conference performers from 2025, preseason all-conference selections Peyton Kohls and Brooklynn Miltenberger, as well as Regan Dancer, who recently re-joined the roster for a fifth year.
The Musketeers returning account for 75 points on 24 goals and 27 assists in last season's record-setting offense.
Xavier brings in four transfers, Sami Lipcon (UCF), Fiona Skwierawski (Kansas), Alivia Stott (Tennessee) and Abby Unkraut (Georgia) and added seven freshmen to the roster.
The Musketeers come from 14 different states as well as New Zealand: Ohio (8), Michigan (4), California (2), Kansas (2), Kentucky (2), North Carolina (2), Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.
Five Musketeers are originally from the Greater Cincinnati area, Peyton Kohls (Loveland, Ohio), Brooklynn Miltenberger (Middletown, Ohio), Gianna Mlynek (Anderson Township, Ohio), Presley Pennekamp (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Abby Unkraut (Burlington, Ky.).

2025 SEASON NOTES

Xavier is coming off a 2025 season where the Musketeers won the program's second BIG EAST Championship title, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
The Musketeers earned a home match in the NCAA Tournament, hosting Dayton in the first round. Xavier's 2-0 win over the Flyers was the first home NCAA Tournament win in program history, and marked the third time Xavier advanced in the tournament.
The 2025 Musketeers also set a new program record with a 15-match unbeaten streak, going 13-0-2 during that stretch, and the Musketeer offense set a new single season program records with 71 goals, 210 points and 68 assists.
Xavier set new program records for goals (71), assists (68) and points (210) during the 2025 campaign.The previous records for goals (67) and points (165) had stood since the first year of the program in 1984. The prior assists record (47) was from 1997.
The Musketeers finished with 16 wins, tied for second most in program history.
Following the season, two players, Natalie Bain and Samantha Erbach, were named All-Americans, the second time in program history multiple Musketeers earned All-American honors.
Nine Musketeers earned All-BIG EAST honorees, the most in program history.

BIG EAST COACHES POLL

BIG EAST Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes)
1. Georgetown, 98 (8)
2. UConn, 89 (2)
3. Xavier, 78 (1)
4. Creighton, 73
5. Villanova, 66
6. Providence, 60
7. Marquette, 40
8. Butler, 39
9. St. John's, 28
10. DePaul, 19
11. Seton Hall, 15

Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Peyton Kohls, Xavier, Sr., F

Preseason BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Lizzie Heller, Georgetown, Jr., M

Preseason BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Kaya Hanson, Georgetown, Sr., D

Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Hannah Dickinson, Villanova, Sr., GK

Preseason All-BIG EAST Team *
Jocelyn Leigh, Marquette, Jr., F
Courtnee Pickles, Providence, So., F
Se-Hanna Mars, UConn, R-So., F
Avrie Nelsen, Villanova, So., F
Peyton Kohls, Xavier, Sr., F ^
Chloe Brecht, Butler, Jr., M
Lizzie Heller, Georgetown, Jr., M
Thaea Mouratidis, Providence, Gr., M
Anaya Johnson, UConn, Sr., M ^
Gabby Koluch, Villanova, Sr., M
Kaya Hanson, Georgetown, Sr., D
Brooklynn Miltenberger, Xavier, Sr., D
Hannah Dickinson, Villanova, Sr., GK

^ unanimous selection
* Due to a tie in voting, there are 13 members on the preseason team

XAVIER HOME BROADCAST INFO

Xavier Athletics announced that 21 fall home sporting events will be broadcast live via Xavier+. The men's and women's soccer and volleyball broadcasts will be available through a subscription on GoXavier.com.
All 32 home fall sporting events for men's and women's soccer and volleyball will be broadcast on either ESPN+ or Xavier+.
The subscription cost of Xavier+ will be $10 per event or $145 for a fall season pass to watch all 21 home events. All purchases are subject to the customer's state sales tax.
A subscription to ESPN+ is required to view the 11 home men's and women's soccer and volleyball broadcasts. An ESPN+ subscription will also include a number of road men's and women's soccer and volleyball contests (determined by the host institution).
A detailed broadcasting list of each home and away men's and women's soccer and volleyball contest is available on the sport specific schedule pages at GoXavier.com.
Four women's soccer matches will be available on XAVIER+ with the remaining games being streamed on ESPN+.