By Charlie Gainor, Staff Writer

Xavier women’s soccer entered this season with a lot of questions on how they could stay on the level at which they finished last season. Heading into the middle of September however, the only question on the minds of fans is how far can this team go.

Last week, the Muskies closed out their arduous five-game road trip with a stop in Indiana to take on the reigning Missouri Valley Conference champion Valparaiso University before they returned to Corcoran to host the maligned University of Cincinnati Bearcats.

Remaining firm at No. 15 following their dramatic 2-2 draw on the road against No. 4 Michigan State University, the Musketeers wasted no time cashing in their momentum against Valparaiso in a historic offensive onslaught. A header by junior defender Natalie Bain off their first corner kick of the match would set the tone less than five minutes into the game. 

Within a span of 22 minutes, the Musketeers scored five more times, with Bain scoring a second goal alongside first-year defender McKinley Berry, first-year forward Samantha Erbach, sophomore forward Olivia Baca and graduate defender Olivia Lawson. When the halftime whistle blew, Xavier led Valparaiso 6-0 and junior goalkeeper Maria Galley, who faced just one shot in the half, was pulled for the rest of the game.

Xavier scored two more times off the bat at the beginning of the second half, with junior forwards Regan Dancer and Emma Flick both netting goals of their own. Across the 22 players that saw the pitch in that match, the Muskies finished outshooting Valpo 35-1 en route to an 8-0 victory. The eight goals are the most scored in a single match since October 1992, when Xavier defeated Loyola University Chicago 10-0.

Though the scoresheet was not nearly as lopsided, in their next game, the Musketeers followed the same song and dance against their crosstown rivals the Cincinnati Bearcats. Not a single moment passed where the Muskies weren’t in complete control of possession and tempo, with Samantha Erbach scoring the only goal Xavier needed in the first half and the Muskies taking the 1-0 victory to extend their unbeaten streak to eight games.

“We’ve talked about winning games in different ways and how to break teams down in different ways,” Coach Dean Ward said after the game. “[The Bearcats] are disciplined and well coached, but I thought we were able to kind of chip away and control the game, not get frantic, be patient in our attack and ultimately come out with a win.”

Xavier held Cincinnati to just one shot in the entire match – their second straight holding an opponent to one shot – and outshot the Bearcats 16-1 with a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks. Before this week, Xavier had not held an opponent to only one shot since 2019. Maria Galley picked up her 35th win in net to extend her record as well as her 26th career clean sheet with the Musketeers, which ties the school record set by Kelcey Ervick in 1993.

After their 2-0 week, Xavier moved down one place to No. 16 on the United Soccer Coaches Poll. They remain the only undefeated team in the Big East so far in non-conference play.

Natalie Bain was selected as the Big East Defender of the Week thanks to her two goals against Valparaiso and her defensive work to hold both opponents faced to a combined two shots with one shot on goal. Samantha Erbach was named Big East Freshman of the Week with her goal against Valpo and the game-winning goal against Cincinnati, and she currently leads the Musketeers in points with 14. Emma Flick was also tabbed to the Big East Honor Roll for her five point week, where she scored one goal and collected three assists.

The Musketeers close out non-conference play on Thursday against program rival Saint Louis University before welcoming DePaul University to Corcoran Field on Sunday to begin conference play.