Women's Soccer Announces 2024 Fall Schedule - Xavier University Athletics (2024)

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's soccer announced the 2024 Fall schedule this week, with the Musketeers set to play 19 matches, including facing seven NCAA Tournament teams from 2023, in head coach Dean Ward's first season at the helm.

After pair of exhibition matches, the 2024 schedule officially gets underway on Thursday, August 15, when the Musketeers host Milwaukee in the first of nine home matches. The home slate also features Michigan, Cincinnati and Saint Louis in the non-conference portion of the schedule. Xavier plays the first of 10 road matches this season on Thursday, August 22 at Murray State, also traveling to Dayton, Chattanooga, Michigan State and Valparaisobefore heading into BIG EAST play.

The Musketeers open up conference action at home with DePaul onSunday, September 22, playing all 10 conference opponents ahead of the 2024 BIG EAST Championship, set to begin on Sunday, November 3, with the opening round held at campus sites. The Semifinals are set for Thursday, Nov. 7, and the Championship will be played on Sunday, Nov. 10 at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md.

The 2024 season marks Ward's first year leading the Musketeers after spending two seasons as head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C. During his time atLenoir-Rhyne, Wardled the Bears to 29 wins, two league titles, one conference tournament title and a pair of NCAA DII Women's Soccer Championship appearances.

Xavier is coming off a 2023 season where the Musketeers went 14-4-4 overall and went 6-0-4 in conference play to wina share of the BIG EAST Regular Season title and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament, where XU finished runners-up.

The 2023 Musketeers picked up an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament,marking the third at-large bid in program history and thesixth trip overallto the national tournament.Xavierearned a No. 4 seed, the best seeding in program history, and hosted the opening round of the of the tournament, the second NCAA home match in program history.

2024 SCHEDULE

* Denotes a BIG EAST Conference match

vs. Toledo (Exhibition)
Cincinnati, Ohio(Corcoran Field)
Wednesday, August 7 - 5:00 PM

• The Rockets went 7-9-2 last season with a 4-6-1 record in MAC play.
• Xavier is 3-2 all-time against the Rockets.
• The two programs last faced off in 2018, a 2-1 win for the Musketeers in Cincinnati.

at Kentucky (Exhibition)
Lexington, Ky.
Saturday, August 10 - 7:30 PM

• Kentucky went 9-4-6 overall last season and 3-3-4 in SEC matches. The Wildcats advanced to the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals, falling to Georgia.
• The Musketeers are 4-4-1 overall in the series against Kentucky, dating back to 1984.
• The last official match-up between the two programs came in Sept. 2000, a 6-0 win for UK in Lexington.

vs Milwaukee
Cincinnati, Ohio(Corcoran Field)
Thursday, August 15 - 7:00 PM

• The Panthers went 12-3-5 overall last season, with a 7-0-3 mark in Horizon League play, earning the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the league tournament.
• Milwaukee took a 5-0 win over Robert Morris and a 1-0 win over Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League Tournament to win the championship and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers fell to No. 12 Wisconsin in the NCAA First Round.
• Xavier is 6-2 all-time against the Panthers.
• The last match-up occurred during the 2021 NCAA Tournament FirstRound, a 1-0 loss for the Musketeers in Cincinnati.

vs Michigan
Cincinnati, Ohio(Corcoran Field)
Sunday, August 18 - 5:00 PM

• Michigan went 7-7-4 overall last season with a 3-5-2 record in Big 10 play.
• The Wolverines earned an at-large bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, falling to Princeton in the first round.
• Xavier is 0-1 in the lone match-up between the two program's, a 4-2 win for the Wolverines in the 1998 NCAA Tournament First Round in Ann Arbor.

at Murray State
Murray, Ky.
Thursday, August 22 - 4:00 PM

• Murray State went 6-8-6 overall last season, with a 3-2-5 record in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Racers advanced to the Quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament.
• Xavier is 2-0 all-time against Murray State, with the first match-up occurring in 2019.
• The two programs last faced off in 2021, a 2-1 win for the Musketeers in Cincinnati.

• The Flyers went 13-2-5 overall and 7-0-3 in Atlantic 10 play last season. Dayton advanced to the Semifinals of the A10 Championships, falling to La Salle.
• Xavier is 11-26-3 overall against the Flyers in a series dating back to 1984.
• The Musketeers enter this season's match on a two-match unbeaten streak, playing the Flyers to a 0-0 draw through double overtime in 2019 in Cincinnati, and taking a 2-0 win in Dayton in 2018

at Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Thursday, August 29 - 5:00 PM

• Chattanooga went 10-7-1 overall last season with a 4-4-1 record in SoCon play in 2023.
• The Mocs fell in the Quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament.
• This is the first match-up between the two programs.

at Michigan State
East Lansing, Mich.
Sunday, September 1 - 1:00 PM

• Michigan State went 14-5-3 overall and 7-1-2 in Big 10 play, winning the league's regular season title. The top-seeded Spartans fell to Iowa in the Big 10 Tournament Quarterfinals.
• The Spartans earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, taking wins over Ohio and Harvard to advance to the NCAA Third Round for the first time in program history beforefalling to No. 6 BYU.
• Xavier is 4-3-1 all-time against the Spartans, with the last match-up occurring in 1992, a 2-1 win for MSU.

at Valparaiso
Valparaiso, Ind.
Thursday, September 5 - 8:00 PM

• Valpo went 11-6-6 overall last season, with a 3-3-4 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• The Beacons took the MVC Tournament Championship to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, falling to No. 9 Notre Dame in the first round.
• This is the first match-up between the two programs.

vs Cincinnati

• Cincinnati went 4-8-7 overall last season, with a 2-3-5 record in Big 12 play. The Bearcatsfell to No. 5 Texas Tech in the Big 12 Quarterfinals.
• The Musketeers are 7-23-2 all-time against UC, and enter this season's match-up on with a three-match unbeaten streak.
• Xavier took a 1-0 win over the Bearcats in the last meeting in 2021, at Corcoran Field.

vs Saint Louis
Cincinnati, Ohio(Corcoran Field)
Thursday,September 12 - 7:00 PM

• The Billikens went 19-3-2 overall last season with a 9-0-1 record in Atlantic 10 play, winning the league's regular season and tournament titles, as well as the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
• Saint Louis advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history after taking wins over Indiana and Georgetown in the first two round, falling to Penn State in the round of 16.
• Xavier is 5-5 all-time against SLU after taking a 1-0 win in St. Louis last season.

vs DePaul *
Cincinnati, Ohio(Corcoran Field)
Sunday, September 22 - 1:00 PM

• The Blue Demons went 6-7-4 overall last season, with a 2-5-3 mark in BIG EAST play, finishing eighth in the league standings.
• Xavier is 6-4-2 all time against the Blue Demons, currently on a five-match winning streak and an eight-match unbeaten streak.
• The Musketeers took a 3-0 win over DePaul in Chicago last season.

vs Connecticut *

• The Huskies went 10-4-5 overall and 6-1-3 in the BIG EAST standings, earning the No. 3 seedin the league tournament.
• UConn topped Butler in the BIG EAST First Round before falling to Georgetown in the Semifinals.
• Xavier is 3-0 against the Huskies all-time after taking a 1-0 win in Storrs last season.

at Villanova *
Villanova, Pa.
Sunday, September 29 - 1:00 PM

• The Wildcats went 4-7-7 overall and 1-7-2 in the BIG EAST, finishing 11th in the league standings.
• The Musketeers are 7-4 all-time against Villanova, with a four-match winning streak entering the season.
• Xavier took last season's match, 1-0, in Cincinnati.

vs Creighton *
Cincinnati, Ohio(Corcoran Field)
Thursday, October 3 - 7:00 PM

• The Bluejays went 4-9-5 overall and 2-7-1 in BIG EAST play, finishing 10th in the conference standings.
• Xavier is 10-5 all-time against Creighton and have won the last three match-ups.
• Xavier took a 1-0 win in Omaha in 2023.

at Butler *
Indianapolis, Ind.
Sunday, October 6- 1:00 PM

• The Bulldogs went 6-8-6 overall with a 2-3-5 mark in league play, earning the No. 6 seed in the BIG EAST Championships.
• Butler fell to UConn in the first round of the 2023 BIG EAST Tournament.
• Xavier is 10-12-5 overall against the Bulldogs, currently on a three-match unbeaten streak.
• The Musketeers and the Bulldogs played to a 1-1 tie in Cincinnati last season.

vs Seton Hall *
Cincinnati, Ohio(Corcoran Field)
Sunday, October 13 - 1:00 PM

• The Pirates went 6-7-5 overall and 2-4-4 in BIG EAST play, finishing seventh in the league standings.
• The Musketeers are 7-1-2 all-time against SHU, entering 2024 with a six-match unbeaten streak.
• Xavier and Seton Hall played to a 1-1 draw in South Orange last year.

at St. Johns *
Queens, N.Y.
Thursday, October 17 - 7:00 PM

• The Red Storm went 10-6-3 overall and 5-4-1 in BIG EAST play, earning the No. 5 seed in the league tournament.
• SJU fell to Providence in the BIG EAST TournamentFirst Round.
• The Musketeers are 4-7-1 all-time against the Red Storm after taking a 3-0 win in Cincinnati last season.

vs Providence *
Cincinnati, Ohio(Corcoran Field)
Sunday, October 20 - 1:00 PM

• The Friars went 10-5-5 overall and 4-1-5 in league play to earn the No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament.
• Providence took a 3-1 win over St. John's in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament before fallingto Xavier, 2-0, in the Semifinals.
• PC earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, falling to Mississippi State, 1-0, in overtime in the first round.
• Xavier is 6-4-2 all-time against the Friars and enter the season with a seven-match unbeaten streak in the series after taking the BIG EAST Semifinal win, and playing to a 0-0 draw in the regular season last year.

at Marquette *
Milwaukee, Wis.
Sunday, October 27 - 2:00 PM

• Marquette went 5-10-4 overall with a 2-6-2 record in BIG EAST play to finish ninth in the league standings.
• Xavier is 5-10-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles.
• The Musketeers took a 3-0 win over MU last season in Cincinnati.

at Georgetown *
Washington, D.C.
Thursday, October 31 - 2:00 PM

• The Hoyas went 13-2-7 overall last season, sharing the league's regular season title with Xavier with a 6-0-4 record in BIG EAST play.
• Georgetown, the No. 2 seed in the league tournament, took wins over UConn in the Semis and the Musketeers in the Championship to take the tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
• The Hoyas advanced in the NCAA Championship with first round win over Old Dominion before falling to Saint Louis.
• Xavier is 1-10-3 all-time against the Hoyas after playing to a 0-0 draw in the regular season and falling 2-0 in the BIG EAST Championship match in 2023.