Sports
By Charlie Gainor, Staff Writer
The white-hot Xavier Musketeers women’s soccer team continued their blazing run of dominance to end September, coming off of their first three conference matches undefeated with two wins and a draw.
After a tough loss to No. 20 Saint Louis University at home put an end to their eight-game unbeaten streak. Coach Dean Ward’s squad picked up right where they left off after a week-long recess.
In the conference home opener against the DePaul University Blue Demons, Xavier took the lead in the opening 15 minutes after junior forward Emma Flick redirected a header from sophomore forward Olivia Baca past the goalkeeper. In a match where the Muskies would outshoot the Demons 17-4, senior midfielder Samantha Wiehe converted on her third penalty kick of the year and graduate defender Olivia Lawson scored off a pass from sophomore midfielder Reese Slater.
“Winning isn’t easy,” Ward said after the game. “There’s things to work on, but a shutout is a shutout. It starts from the front, but the defense plays a massive part in that.”
The Muskies then welcomed the University of Connecticut Huskies, whose preseason rankings made them an unexpected competition in the title race among Xavier and Georgetown University. In one of the most high-octane duels of the year, the Huskies became the first team to outshoot the Musketeers this season, winning the advantage 18-15 with 11 shots on goal against Xavier’s five. Junior goalkeeper Maria Galley stood up to the challenge as she notched a career high 10 saves, eight of which came in the second half.
Xavier women’s soccer has had a strong start to Big East play, with two wins and a tie currently under their belt.
A goal by freshman forward Samantha Erbach put Xavier ahead in the 66th minute, but a penalty in the final ten minutes allowed UConn to equalize and close out a thrilling draw.
Last Sunday, Xavier got right back on track in a dominant showing out east at Villanova University. Accumulating another 24 shots against the Wildcats’ nine, the Muskies handed them a 3-0 beatdown. Junior forward Regan Dancer set the tone early as she flipped a shot from near the back line over the head of the goalkeeper in the third minute. A late brace by Wiehe in the second half would decisively put the game out of reach for Villanova.
The effort against the Wildcats is the 10th of 12 matches played this season where Xavier had 15 shots and four with at least 20. With an average of 19 shots and 9.08 shots on goal per game, Xavier has resoundingly established themselves as an aggressive squad in Division One, sitting in the top 20 for shots per match and top 12 in shots on goal per match.
With her brace on Sunday, Wiehe now leads the Musketeers with six goals on the season, accompanied by a perfect four-for-four conversion rate on penalty kicks. Flick, Dancer and Lawson each have five on the year, with Flick leading the team on assists with six.
Last week, Galley collected her second Big East Goalkeeper of the Year award for her performance during the shutout against DePaul. Galley holds the program record for both wins (37) and shutouts (28). This week, Erbach was named as Big East Freshman of the Week for the second time this season, picking up her fourth goal and third assist on the year.
Xavier moved up two spots on the United Soccer Coaches poll this week to No. 21, remaining the only top 25 team in the Big East. In conference play, the Muskies sit in second place behind conference rival Georgetown, who has a perfect record of 3-0 to start their slate of conference games.
The Musketeers return home this Thursday to host the Creighton University Bluejays before hitting the road on Sunday to take on the Butler University Bulldogs.
