CINCINNATI – The Miami soccer team renewed its in-state rivalry with Xavier on Sunday night, but a pair of goals late in the first half sent the RedHawks to a 2-0 setback on the road.

MU finishes its non-conference slate with a 2-4-1 mark.

"Great credit to Xavier, they scored two fantastic goals," head coach Courtney Sirmans said. "We need to be more offensive minded. I thought we made adjustments in the second half and got a little more on the attack and didn't give up another goal. Moving forward, it's about conference play and starting a brand new season. We're excited to get back to the basics this week. I have all the faith in the world this team will show up."

Xavier (6-4) created the first good opportunity right away as Grace Brauer got fed through for a close range shot that Patricia Koutoulas made a diving stop on to keep it scoreless.

Persistent XU possession eventually yielded a goal in the 30th minute as Samantha Dewey found a loose ball that was deflected off a handful of defenders and found the far post from about 15 yards out. The Musketeers outshot the RedHawks 12-1 in the first half and got another goal from Grace Bahr off a close-range free kick 30 seconds before the break to take a 2-0 lead into halftime.

The Red & White attempted to push numbers forward in the second half and did register four more shot attempts, but the Musketeers still kept play heavily in their attacking third and prevented the RedHawks from cracking the scoreboard.

Xavier finished with a 28-5 shot advantage, forcing Koutoulas into making 11 stops while Toni Bizzarro made one save for a shutout.

"Pat had a fantastic game," Sirmans said. "She kept us in the game and made some great saves. Her distribution in the back helps us on offense too. It was important for her to have a good performance coming off the Lipscomb game."

Miami begins Mid-American Conference play on Friday against Bowling Green. Opening kick at Miami Soccer Field is at 4 p.m.