Photo courtesy of goxavier.com | Women’s soccer team during a team huddle at the XU Soccer Complex.
The women’s soccer team split a pair last week, defeating Cleveland State 3-2 on Aug. 18 and losing 3-1 to No. 12 Duke on Aug. 20.
The win against Cleveland State marked the first victory for rookie head coach Nate Lie.
Junior Samantha Dewey opened the scoring in the 62nd minute after taking a pass from junior Jessica Miller across the penalty box before putting the shot in the bottom left corner. Dewey, took a pass eight minutes later from junior Emma Westwater, collecting her second goal of the match.
Xavier got an insurance goal two minutes after that when freshman Sydney Schembri added another to the tally.
The Musketeers emerged victorious even though Cleveland State scored goals in the 78th and 84th minutes.
Just two days later, Xavier traveled to Durham, N.C. to take on the 12th ranked Duke Blue Devils. Xavier was able to strike first, with redshirt senior Tori Doss scoring just 13 minutes into the contest. Duke pulled even in the 16th minute, however, and the score remained 1-1 until the 73rd minute, when the Blue Devils pulled ahead for good on a penalty kick.
They added another goal in the 89th minute to seal the deal, and Xavier fell 3-1.
Defense against Duke was a problem for Xavier, as the team allowed 23 shots, with 13 being on goal. They were also stifled on the attack, only managing two shots on goal.
Xavier returns home this Friday to face Ball State, with the kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. It also faces Drake at home on Sunday at 1 p.m.
By: Doonie Menke ~Staff Writer~