Tavana Scores 10th Goal In Draw With No. 24 Xavier, 1-1

Sunday, October 1

South Orange, N.J.

1 p.m.

Seton Hall University

5-5-2, 1-2-1

Xavier

9-2-2, 2-0-2

Xavier

Seton Hall

Photo by: Mason Bashkoff

Tavana Scores 10th Goal In Draw With No. 24 Xavier, 1-1

10/1/2023 5:01:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

South Orange, N.J. — Junior Natalie Tavana (Middletown, Conn.) continued her historic season with her 10th goal of the season in a 1-1 draw against No. 24 Xavier at Owen T. Carroll Field on Sunday.

The tie marked the first time since 2008 that the Pirates (5-5-2, 1-2-1 BIG EAST) earned a draw against a ranked opponent. Both sides finished with four shots on goal in the evenly matched conference contest.

How It Happened

The first 25 minutes of the match saw the Pirates hold their own against the nationally-ranked Musketeers; controlling possession and pace and keeping Xavier off-balance offensively. Seton Hall had the first two shots on goal of the game starting with Tavana in the ninth minute and followed senior Skyler Matusz's (Kearny, N.J.) chance in the 11th minute. Meanwhile, the Pirates' backline held firm, allowing Xavier to put up just six shots in the first 45 minutes.

Both sides were scoreless at halftime and The Hall's defense withstood the first wave of Musketeer momentum at the start of the second half by defending well on back-to-back corner kicks. The Pirates earned a corner chance of their own in the 49th minute and it later led to a shot attempt by senior Brina Micheels (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) that was stopped by Xavier's keeper. Tavana was there though on the rebound as she found the back of the net and gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute.

Xavier would tie up the score at 1-1 in the 65th minute and they would produce three more corner kicks and six more shots before the final whistle. Junior Anna Prawer (London, England) took charge on those corner attempts and played a key role in preserving the BIG EAST point for the draw.

Inside the Box Score

Seton Hall now has four points in the BIG EAST standings, matching its point total from last season.
The Pirates' eight points in BIG EAST play over the last two seasons are the most in a two-year span for the program since racking up 12 points in 2013 and 2014.
The last time Seton Hall scored a goal against a ranked opponent was in a 5-1 defeat at No. 24 Notre Dame on Oct. 6, 2012.
The last time the Pirates either tied or defeated a ranked foe was a 1-0 win over No. 24 Rutgers on Sept. 17, 2010.
The last time The Hall tied a ranked opponent was a 1-1 draw with No. 9 West Virginia on Oct. 3, 2008.
The last time the Pirates scored a goal against the Musketeers was in a 2-1 loss on Oct. 19, 2017.
The last time Seton Hall picked up a point in the BIG EAST standings against Xavier was a 1-0 victory on Oct. 9, 2016.
Tavana is now has 15 career goals (sixth) and 37 career points (eighth).
Tavana is just the third Pirate in program history to score at least 10 goals in a season, joining Courtney Wood (1997) and Kelly Smith (1997-99).
Tavana has a scored a goal in five of the last six games.
Micheels now has two assists this season and four points on the year.

Up Next

The Pirates will travel to Marquette for a Thursday fixture at 8 p.m. before returning home to face Georgetown at Own T. Carroll Field on Sunday, Oct. at 1 p.m.