By: Isabel Smith ~Staff Writer~

As the regular season came to a close for the Xavier women’s soccer team, it played its last few games with this year’s seniors.

On Oct. 25 the Muskies headed to Chicago to face DePaul where they fell 1-0.
The Blue Demons entered the game undefeated and as the top ranked team in the Big East.
Xavier started the match with a powerful defense and did not allow a goal in the first half for the seventh of eight Big East games.

Sophomore Tori Doss had an impressive offensive attack and took two shots on goal, both of which were saved by DePaul’s keeper Alejandria Godinez. The score stood at 0-0 at the half.
When the teams returned to action, the Blue Demons scored the lone goal of the game. Senior Amber Paul’s corner kick went to freshman Alexa Ben, who scored her eighth goal of the season in the 58th minute of play.

Xavier keeper senior Katie Markesbery had a season-high 12 saves and shut out DePaul’s offense for the remainder of the game.

The Muskies’ match with conference leader DePaul marks only the second time in Big East play that the Blue Demons have scored less than two goals.

Xavier returned home for its final regular season game and senior night.

The team hosted the Creighton Blue Jays on a chilly Halloween night. Before play commenced, Xavier honored keeper Markesbery, midfielder Margaret Woods, defender Alyssa Tindal, midfielder Katie Schweer and defender Meredith Gleichert as part of senior night.

The Musketeers put forth a strong offense in the first half. Woods had two shots on goal and freshman Kenadie Carlson also made a shot. Danielle Rice, the Creighton goalkeeper, stopped all three attempts.

Creighton entered the match only having scored once since Oct. 5. Xavier’s defense held a strong front against the Blue Jays and sent the game to half time with a score of 0-0.
In less than five minutes after returning from the half, Creighton had a blitz of offensive power and Madelyn Buckner directed a corner kick from Angela Benson directly into the goal.
Xavier couldn’t answer the goal before time was up and concluded the game with a 1-0 loss.
Markesbery completed the match with an inspiring feat. She had seven saves, bringing her career total to 481 saves, a Xavier record.

The Muskies ended the season with a 3-13-3 record, 0-8-1 in the Big East.