Pirates Meet Creighton, Xavier in Pair of BEDN Matches
10/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
| Match 13 | |
| Seton Hall (2-8-2, 1-2-0 BIG EAST) vs. Creighton (9-5-0, 1-2-0 BIG EAST) | |
| Date | Thursday, Oct. 8 | 7 p.m. ET |
| Location | Owen T. Carroll Field | South Orange, N.J. |
| Links | |  |
| Match 14 | |
| Seton Hall (2-8-2, 1-2-0 BIG EAST) at Xavier (5-5-1, 0-2-0 BIG EAST) | |
| Date | Sunday, Oct. 11 | 1 p.m. ET |
| Location | XU Soccer Complex | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Links | Live Stats | |
| Weekend Notes | Seton Hall Notes |
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall women's soccer team placed itself in the midst of the early postseason race with a win over Marquette last week and the Pirates will return to Owen T. Carroll Field on Thursday night to open the weekend slate against Creighton.
The Hall (2-8-2, 1-2-0 BIG EAST) is one of four conference teams that enter the week on three points and gets a crack at a Bluejays side that also sits on three points before traveling to take on Xavier in Cincinnati on Sunday.
Junior goalkeeper Illissa Blackshear (West Orange, N.J.) allowed just one goal in a pair of contests against the Golden Eagles and DePaul last week; stopping 14 of the 15 shots she faced. The effort earned her a second BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week award in a three-week span and the announcement made her just the fourth keeper in program history to be recognized twice in the same season.
Blackshear and a Seton Hall defense anchored by junior Cathy Chukuka (Marlboro, N.J.), freshman Emily Rimdzius (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and senior co-captains D'Yonna Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.) and Emily Hansinger (Mount Laurel, N.J.) have not allowed a goal in the last 258 minutes of soccer at Owen T. Carroll Field - a stretch that includes a double-overtime win over Albany as well as the recent landmark victory against Marquette.
The Hall allowed just one score in a pair of draws with Creighton and Xavier a season ago as senior Amanda Gulli (Toms River, N.J.) converted from the penalty spot and Blackshear matched a career-high with eight saves during a 1-1 draw in Omaha followed by a scoreless affair against the Musketeers at home.
The matches were two of the 13 matches in which head coach Rick Stainton's side surrendered one goal or less and since Blackshear's return to action against Cornell, the Pirates have returned to form by holding the opposition to at most a single goal in four of the last five contests.
Creighton (9-5-0, 1-2-0 BIG EAST) is coming off a 3-1 victory against Villanova but dropped its first two conference matches to Marquette and DePaul by a combined score of 9-to-1. Lauren Sullivan ranks among the top-four scorers in the league with 15 points (7 G, 1 A) while Ylenia Salchau - who scored CU's lone goal in last year's meeting - ranks second on the team with five goals.
Only one of the Bluejays' nine wins has come away from home this season - a 1-0 result at Montana on September 13.
Following the clash with Creighton, Seton Hall will head back on the road to take on a Xavier (5-5-1, 0-2-0 BIG EAST) squad that is searching for its first conference win after falling to DePaul and Providence to open up its league slate. Samantha Dewey and Kenadie Carlson have combined for 10 of the team's 21 goals but the Musketeers have scored just one goal in their last four outings.
XU has recorded four of its five victories on the year via a shutout so looks at goal may be at a premium on Sunday.
Both Seton Hall contests this week can be seen live on the BIG EAST Digital Network and FOX Sports GO. Kick-off against Creighton is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET while the Pirates and Musketeers will get started at 1:05 p.m. ET
