University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, September 19
Milwaukee, Wis. / Valley Fields
5:00 p.m. Central
at
Marquette
Photo by: Orney Walker
Women’s Soccer wraps non-conference schedule with game at Marquette
9/18/2024 2:24:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The Tommies are coming into their game with the Golden Eagles as winners of four of their last five.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Thomas women's soccer (4-3-1 overall) took care of the Western Illinois Leathernecks with a 2-0 home victory last week. The Tommies climbed above the .500 mark for the first time since August 25, 2023. They are winners in four of their last five games and have outscored opponents 13-4 during that stretch. With nine games still to play, the Tommies have already surpassed their win total from the 2023 season.
The Purple scored two goals in the first 18 minutes against the Leathernecks. Olivia Rowe and the defense ensured the pair of scores would be enough as they authored their third shutout of the season. Rowe needed to make just one save as the Tommies outshot WIU 22-2 in a dominant showcase at South Field.
Sophia Barjesteh scored her first career goal and Camryn Rintoul added her first goal since August 25, 2023. That Rintoul score last season contributed to a 4-0 win over Portland State that marked the last time the Purple climbed above .500 at 2-1.
The Marquette Golden Eagles (2-5-2 overall) are the final non-conference opponent on the schedule for St. Thomas. The Tommies are ranked 183 in the latest RPI rankings, seven spots above Marquette at 190. The Golden Eagles are unbeaten in their last two with a 4-0 win over Mercyhurst and 1-1 draw with Milwaukee.
Marquette has never lost to St. Thomas with two wins and a tie against the Toms over the last three seasons. Mariah Nguyen scored the Purple's only goal in last season's 1-1 tie in Milwaukee.
Off to a fast start
The Tommies have been scoring early and often to begin the 2024 season and it has led to a strong list of non-conference results. 12 of the Purple's 16 goals have come before the halftime whistle (they scored just 17 goals all of last season). They have only allowed 13 goals this year, five of those were given up in the first half.
When scoring first this season, the Purple are 4-0-1. They are 0-3-0 when conceding the game's first goal.
As previously mentioned, the Tommies scored just 17 goals in 15 games last season and were led by Mariah Nguyen who scored five while starting in every game. Lexi Huber has already scored five goals with eight games down and nine to play.
Five goals in one season are currently the St. Thomas Division I program record set by Nguyen in 2021, matched by Nguyen in 2022, and now matched by Huber in 2024.
The Tommies have scored 68 goals since making the move to Division I in 2021. Of those 68 goals, Mariah Nguyen (10) and Lexi Huber (12) have scored nearly 1/3 of them (32.3%).
Where to Watch
The Tommies' game against the Marquette Golden Eagles can be viewed with a subscription to FloSports. Click HERE to watch.
Fans can also follow along via the live stats HERE.
All St. Thomas Women's Soccer home games and away Summit League contests can be viewed on the Summit League Network with a Midco Sports Plus subscription.
Live stats for all St. Thomas home games can be viewed on Tommiesports.com with links available on the Tommie Women's Soccer team's schedule page.
Tommies' Summit League ranks
March to the Summit
The Tommies were picked to finish eighth out of the nine teams in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll after their 1-5-2 conference record in 2023.
Last season's regular season conference champion Denver Pioneers were voted to the top of the poll edging out challenger South Dakota State by two points (61-59). The Purple finished with 15 votes, placing them between North Dakota State (24) and North Dakota (14).
Both Mariah Nguyen and Olivia Rowe were named Players to Watch by the conference office.
Nguyen led the Purple in goals (five), points (12), and shots on goal (13) last season while Olivia Rowe started every game between the posts in 2023 and earned five shutouts.
Nice to meet you
The Tommies head into the 2024 season with eight newcomers
Getting to Work
The Tommie Women's Soccer coaching staff welcomed a new face into the fold during the offseason with the addition of Jean Viardin.
Viardin holds a US Soccer Senior A license and has over 20 years of coaching experience at youth clubs, high school teams, the WPSL, and the UPSL.
Coach McGill said of Viardin, "We are incredibly excited to welcome Jean to our team! He brings his experience and knowledge to the program and will make an immediate impact in our games and training. He has a positive yet straightforward mindset and will help our players to develop and succeed both individually and as a whole."
Viardin also served as the General Manager for the National Women's Soccer League's FC Kansas City from 2016-2018. His most recent experience came as the Executive Director & Director of Coaching/Player Development at Maplebrook SC, where he has been since 2011.
Follow Along
For any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas Women's Soccer team, follow along on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) at @TommieWSoccer.
The Purple scored two goals in the first 18 minutes against the Leathernecks. Olivia Rowe and the defense ensured the pair of scores would be enough as they authored their third shutout of the season. Rowe needed to make just one save as the Tommies outshot WIU 22-2 in a dominant showcase at South Field.
Sophia Barjesteh scored her first career goal and Camryn Rintoul added her first goal since August 25, 2023. That Rintoul score last season contributed to a 4-0 win over Portland State that marked the last time the Purple climbed above .500 at 2-1.
The Marquette Golden Eagles (2-5-2 overall) are the final non-conference opponent on the schedule for St. Thomas. The Tommies are ranked 183 in the latest RPI rankings, seven spots above Marquette at 190. The Golden Eagles are unbeaten in their last two with a 4-0 win over Mercyhurst and 1-1 draw with Milwaukee.
Marquette has never lost to St. Thomas with two wins and a tie against the Toms over the last three seasons. Mariah Nguyen scored the Purple's only goal in last season's 1-1 tie in Milwaukee.
Off to a fast start
The Tommies have been scoring early and often to begin the 2024 season and it has led to a strong list of non-conference results. 12 of the Purple's 16 goals have come before the halftime whistle (they scored just 17 goals all of last season). They have only allowed 13 goals this year, five of those were given up in the first half.
When scoring first this season, the Purple are 4-0-1. They are 0-3-0 when conceding the game's first goal.
As previously mentioned, the Tommies scored just 17 goals in 15 games last season and were led by Mariah Nguyen who scored five while starting in every game. Lexi Huber has already scored five goals with eight games down and nine to play.
Five goals in one season are currently the St. Thomas Division I program record set by Nguyen in 2021, matched by Nguyen in 2022, and now matched by Huber in 2024.
The Tommies have scored 68 goals since making the move to Division I in 2021. Of those 68 goals, Mariah Nguyen (10) and Lexi Huber (12) have scored nearly 1/3 of them (32.3%).
Where to Watch
The Tommies' game against the Marquette Golden Eagles can be viewed with a subscription to FloSports. Click HERE to watch.
Fans can also follow along via the live stats HERE.
All St. Thomas Women's Soccer home games and away Summit League contests can be viewed on the Summit League Network with a Midco Sports Plus subscription.
Live stats for all St. Thomas home games can be viewed on Tommiesports.com with links available on the Tommie Women's Soccer team's schedule page.
Tommies' Summit League ranks
- Lexi Huber – 1st in goals – 5
- Lexi Huber – T-10th in shots-on-goal – 8
- Lexi Huber – T-7th in shots - 19
- Tatum Trettel – T-8th in shots-on-goal – 7
- Molly Knoblauch – T-3rd in assists – 3
- Lexi Huber – T-1st in game-winning goals – 3
- Sophia Barjesteh – T-10th in game-winning goals - 1
- Lexi Huber – 1st in points – 11
- Olivia Rowe – 2nd in shutouts per game - .375
- Olivia Rowe – 2nd in shutouts - 3
- Olivia Rowe - 3rd in saves per game – 3.50
March to the Summit
The Tommies were picked to finish eighth out of the nine teams in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll after their 1-5-2 conference record in 2023.
Last season's regular season conference champion Denver Pioneers were voted to the top of the poll edging out challenger South Dakota State by two points (61-59). The Purple finished with 15 votes, placing them between North Dakota State (24) and North Dakota (14).
Both Mariah Nguyen and Olivia Rowe were named Players to Watch by the conference office.
Nguyen led the Purple in goals (five), points (12), and shots on goal (13) last season while Olivia Rowe started every game between the posts in 2023 and earned five shutouts.
Nice to meet you
The Tommies head into the 2024 season with eight newcomers
- #3 – Melina Knowles – Freshman – Plymouth, Wis.
- #4 – Kayden Scrima – Freshman – Waukesha, Wis.
- #6 – Juliet Carlson – Freshman – Minnetonka, Minn.
- #14 – Alexandra Amini – Freshman – Pewaukee, Wis.
- #19 – Brooke Nygaard – Freshman – Eagan, Minn.
- #20 – Sophia Barjesteh – Junior – Woodbury, Minn.
- #27 – Annie Mulcahy – Freshman – Saint Paul, Minn.
- #29 – Izzy McEwan – Freshman – Minneapolis, Minn.
Getting to Work
The Tommie Women's Soccer coaching staff welcomed a new face into the fold during the offseason with the addition of Jean Viardin.
Viardin holds a US Soccer Senior A license and has over 20 years of coaching experience at youth clubs, high school teams, the WPSL, and the UPSL.
Coach McGill said of Viardin, "We are incredibly excited to welcome Jean to our team! He brings his experience and knowledge to the program and will make an immediate impact in our games and training. He has a positive yet straightforward mindset and will help our players to develop and succeed both individually and as a whole."
Viardin also served as the General Manager for the National Women's Soccer League's FC Kansas City from 2016-2018. His most recent experience came as the Executive Director & Director of Coaching/Player Development at Maplebrook SC, where he has been since 2011.
Follow Along
For any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas Women's Soccer team, follow along on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) at @TommieWSoccer.
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