By Will Pembroke, Show Manager

Xavier men’s soccer impressed this past weekend in its two games, with a win against Ohio State University (OSU) and a narrow loss to Indiana, the top ranked team in the country.

Match one occurred on Friday in Bloomington, Indiana at Bill Armstrong Stadium versus OSU Xavier had an incredibly strong performance, winning 2-1 in a closely contested matchup. In terms of shots, the two teams were nearly even. The Musketeers ended with one less total shot than the Buckeyes, but they had a higher percentage of them coming on goal than OSU. Xavier also played a cleaner game, finishing with six fouls compared to Ohio State’s 11. Junior forward Karsen Henderlong secured the Musketeers’ first goal, unassisted in the 73^rd minute of the game. Sophomore midfielder Jerome Jolly scored just three minutes later to push Xavier ahead in the match, coming in the 76^th minute.

The second contest of the weekend came at the same place on Labor Day, with Xavier going up against the top ranked Indiana Hoosiers.The game was close despite ending in a 1-0 defeat for Xavier. Defensively, the Musketeers played well, allowing only one goal and five shots for Indiana. Penalties were a problem for Xavier however, recording 11 fouls and two yellow cards. Following the game, Xavier moved to 3-1 on the season.

Looking ahead, Xavier has two home games this weekend with one at 6:00 p.m. against Chicago State on Friday and one at 6:00 PM on Sunday against Northwestern. The following Wednesday at 2:00 p.m., the Musketeers will travel to play Robert Morris in Pennsylvania.