Men’s soccer continues to dominatethe

By: Isabel Smith ~Staff Writer~

The Xavier men’s soccer team earned a spectacular road win against the Seton Hall Pirates.
The team played its Big East Conference rivals on Oct. 11 at Owen T. Carroll Field on the Pirates’ home turf, South Orange, N.J.

The Musketeers won 3-1, extending their unbeaten streak to six games.
Xavier’s six-match unbeaten run is the team’s longest since its six-match win streak from Oct. 9 to Nov. 2 in the 2013 season.

The Musketeers started the game with a pair of shots by junior Alex Ridsdale and redshirt senior Will Walker within the first ten minutes.

Ridsdale had another shot blocked in the twelfth minute before teammate redshirt freshman Walker Androit returned the ball to the goal.

This resulted in a save by Seton Hall keeper Julian Spindler.
Xavier’s first goal came from freshman Cory Brown, a New Zealand native, in the 17th minute.
The goal was set up by a shot from Ridsdale, a fellow New Zealander, which was headed toward the middle of the box by senior Garrett Halfhill.

Brown was there to seal the deal and produced his second goal of the season following his goal vs. Cornell on Sept. 7.

The Musketeers outshot Seton Hall 5-0 in the first 20 minutes of play. The Pirates found and took their first opportunity with a corner kick in the 22nd minute. Bolu Akinyode completed the shot, tying the game at 1.

Xavier took its permanent lead in the 32nd minute.

Seton Hall took down Brown in the box and Walker took the Muskie’s first penalty kick of the season.

The kick was the first attempted or converted by Xavier since Oct. 12, 2012, when Luke Spencer converted a penalty kick.

The shot went to the top left corner and earned Walker his third goal of the season and marked the 20th of his Xavier career.

In the first half the Musketeers outshot the Pirates 7-4 with a 4-3 advantage in corners.
Freshman Matt Vasquenza topped off the Muskie win late in Men’s soccer continues to dominatethe game with a ball from senior Owen Steinwall in the 81st minute of play, making the score 3-1.

Vasquenza’s goal put him in the team lead with four goals on the season.
In the conclusion of the match, XU outshot the Pirates 11-9 and had a 7-3 edge in corner kicks.
Xavier’s senior keeper Eric Osswald extended his personal record with three saves.
He has had nine consecutive unbeaten starts.

The Musketeers’ 3-1 win moves the team into a tie with Georgetown for first place in Big East play with a 2-0-1 conference record.

The Musketeers look to continue their win streak and stay atop the conference as the season continues.