Men's Soccer Plays Host to Drake in Homecoming Match Friday
10/1/2003 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Drake at Creighton
Friday Oct. 3 ? Creighton Soccer Field ? Omaha, Neb. ? 7 p.m.
This Week: Creighton opens Missouri Valley Conference play with its homecoming match against Drake at the Creighton Soccer Field. The Bluejays return to the field for game action for the first time since a 3-1 win on Sept. 21 against Yale in New Haven, Conn. Fans will be treated to a pregame barbeque and live band, with fireworks scheduled to follow the game.
Last Week: The Bluejays took a break from game-play last weekend, giving them a chance to recover from some nagging injuries to several key players. CU's last game was Sept. 21, a 3-1 win over Yale at the Yale Classic in New Haven, Conn. The Jays last played at home on Sept. 14, a 2-1 win over Portland.
Scouting the Bulldogs:
Drake (6-2-1): The Bulldogs are off to their best start in school history, going 6-2-1 in non-conference action. Drake enters Friday's match having lost two of its last three, with the lone win, a 1-0 double-overtime victory over Valparaiso. The Dogs have out-scored their opposition 18-8 this season, with Matt Nickell leading the way with six goals scored and seven assists. His seven assists lead the league, as do his 47 shots. Jesse Baker chips in with three goals and five assists on offense. Goalkeeper Zack Brennan owns a 0.82 goals against average, posting four shutouts and making 35 saves in just under 900 minutes this season.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 104-35-12 (.728) record in his eighth season at CU. His overall mark is 298-151-42 (.650) in his 26th year of coaching. Warming, the all-time winningest head coach at CU, has guided his teams to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, is a four-time finalist for National Coach of the Year and was the MVC Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1993.
Valley Openers: Heading into this weekend's conference opener against Drake, the Bluejays own a 9-1-2 mark all-time in MVC openers. CU's lone loss came at SMS on Sept. 29, 2000. The Jays are 5-0-1 in MVC openers under Bob Warming, registering a 1-1 tie at Drake last season to begin the conference slate.
Dog Catchers: Creighton has never lost to Drake in 21 all-time meetings. The Jays have dominated the series to the tune of a 17-0-4 mark against the Bulldogs. CU had a string of 14 consecutive victories over Drake snapped in last year's 1-1 tie in Des Moines on Oct. 5. Prior to last season's tie, the last time the teams had tied was Oct. 18,1992. On Nov. 2, 1990, Drake did advance past CU in a postseason shootout, but officially tied 2-2.
Last Year Against Drake: Thanks to a Drake own goal in the 10th minute of play, the Bluejays and Bulldogs tied 1-1 on Oct. 5 in Des Moines. The Jays used the Bulldog gift to hold a 1-0 lead until Matt Nickell scored in the 70th minute to tie the match. CU unloaded six shots in the overtime periods, but could not convert any chances. The Dogs were whistled for 27 fouls, compared to 16 CU infractions. Mike Gabb (CU) and Zack Brennan (DU) both made four saves in net for their respective teams. David Wagenfuhr and Mehdi Ballouchy led the Jays with three shots each.
Freaky Fridays: Creighton has yet to score a Friday goal this season, playing to two scoreless ties and shutout losses against UNLV and 17th-ranked Brown. The Jays are 0-2-2 on Fridays despite out-shooting their opposition 71-39, including a 30-18 edge in shots on goal. Conversely, the Jays are 3-1-0 on Sundays, receiving nine goals from eight separate players to start the year.
Spreading Out: Creighton's scoring has certainly been spread out this fall, with eight Bluejays scoring at least one goal in the first eight matches of the season. Only senior Zach Piercy - with two - has more than one goal on the year. Of the eight players who have scored, four of the goals were the individuals' first career tally - Piercy, Matt Wieland, Michael Kraus and Jarod Tarver.
Fresh Faces: Redshirt sophomore forward Brian Biggerstaff made his first career start in CU's win over Yale (Sept. 21). His assist on Zach Piercy's goal was the first point of his career. Freshmen Michael Kraus and Jarod Tarver also helped guide the Jays to victory, netting their first collegiate goals in the match - just 28 seconds apart. For their play at the Yale Classic, Biggerstaff and Tarver were tabbed to the All-Tournament Team.
Out of the Gates: The Jays have been slow out of the gates in recent years, mainly due to a strong non-conference slate. With a 3-3-2 record heading into MVC play this year, the Jays are now 11-9-4 through their pre-conference portion of the schedule since 2001. Nine of those 24 matches were against Top 25 opponents and 15-of-24 matches were against teams that were ranked at some point in the season. This fall, five of CU's first eight matches have come against one-time nationally-ranked opponents.
Working Overtime: Of CU's first four matches this season, the Jays played in three double overtime affairs. Drake has also gone beyond regulation in four of their first nine matches this season, playing double overtime in each instance. The Bulldogs are 2-1-1 in extra time this year. With their 0-1-2 overtime record this season, the Bluejays are 7-4-5 in overtime contests since 2000.
Well Traveled: CU's non-conference schedule included trips to both coasts this fall. On Sept. 5-7 the Bluejays played in Los Angeles at the Loyola Marymount Fall Classic. The Jays then played at the Yale Classic in New Haven, Conn., on Sept. 19-21.
MAC Hermann Trophy: Senior David Wagenfuhr has been named to the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy “Watch List”. He is one of 15 candidates for collegiate soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy. The midfielder/defender has earned first-team all-Midwest region honors and first-team all-MVC honors over the past two campaigns. Other Bluejays who have been finalists for the National Player of the Year: Ross Paule (1996), Richard Mulrooney (1998), Mike Tranchilla (2001, 2002), while Johnny Torres won the honor in 1997.
Pulling Rank: The Jays are no longer receiving votes for the NSCAA Top 25, but they are ranked 24th by Soccer America and are receiving votes from Soccer Times and College Soccer News.
Coaches' Countdown: Bob Warming needs two more wins to reach 300 in his coaching career, which has spanned 26 years and six schools.
Battling the Best: The Jays have battled two teams while they've been ranked in the top-25 this season. They defeated No. 15 Furman on Aug. 31 and lost to 17th-ranked Brown (Sept. 19), moving their all-time record against Top 25 opponents to 34-31-6, including a 5-3-1 record against ranked opponents in 2002.
Young Guns: Creighton started five freshmen against both Portland (Sept. 14) and Brown (Sept. 19). Freshmen have now earned 23 starts through the first eight matches. Rookie Andrew Peterson is one of four CU players to start all eight matches this year, while freshman Jarod Tarver has made seven starts.
Guido Info: Senior Guido Leon has started all eight CU matches this season in goal, notching an impressive 0.98 goals against average in his first CU starts. His 4.25 saves per game rank second in the MVC.
Welcome Matts: Matt Jewett and Matt Wieland scored CU's goals in its win over Portland on Sept. 14. Wieland's goal was the first of his career, coming off of a header. Matt Thomas joined the other two Matts in excelling at the Ameritas Classic, being named to the all-tournament team, along with Jewett and David Wagenfuhr.
Milestone Goal: Sophomore Matt Wieland tallied the game-winning goal in Sunday's 2-1 win over Portland, the first goal of his career. Feeding Wieland the assist was senior David Wagenfuhr. The assist for Wagenfuhr was the 23rd of his career. With his next assist, Wagenfuhr will tie current MLS star Brian Kamler (New England Revolution) for seventh place.
Climbing the Charts: David Wagenfuhr's assist in CU's win over Portland on Sept. 14 was the 23rd of his CU career. The assist tied him with Brian Adams (1991-94) and Ray Nikodem (1980-82) for eighth-place on the CU career charts.
Sibling Rivalry: Matt Wieland's first career goal came in his 29th career match, against Portland on Sept. 14. His older brother Joe played at CU from 1999 through 2002 and scored his only career goal in his 84th match. Both Wieland goals served as game-winners, with Joe's coming against UW-Milwaukee in the second round of the NCAA last Nov. 27.
Double Zero: For the second time in CU's first three matches, the Bluejays finished a match tied 0-0 at Santa Clara on Sept. 5. It marked the 12th scoreless tie in CU history, and just the second time the Jays have had two 0-0 ties in the same season. The other coming in 1996 - the year the Bluejays first appeared in the College Cup.
Weekend of Firsts: The first weekend at the new Creighton Soccer Field had its share of firsts. Senior Zach Piercy's first career goal was also the first Creighton goal scored at the new facility. The Jays' shutout of Butler on Friday night was not only the first shutout at the facility, it was senior goalkeeper Guido Leon's first blanking of an opponent.
Jays Open New Field: CU's 0-0 tie against Butler on Aug. 31 was witnessed by 3,483 fans at the new Creighton Soccer Field. The attendance was the fourth largest home crowd in CU history and the largest since Sept. 1994.
MVC Predictions: For the fourth consecutive season, the Jays have been tabbed for a second-place finish in the Valley, trailing nationally-ranked SMU, which received eight of nine first-place votes this fall.
Preseason Honors: David Wagenfuhr and Julian Nash have been named to the preseason all-Missouri Valley Conference first-team, while Damien Westfield earned honorable mention preseason notice.
Numerology 101: All-American Mike Tranchilla has departed the Jays, but his jersey number will still be on the pitch this fall, as sophomore Zach Kinney has claimed No. 14 in blue. Kinney led the Jays in scoring this spring and in exhibition play, perhaps Tranch left some magic in the jersey. Other notable number changes this fall include Matt Wieland and Jered Turner. Wieland, who wore No. 24 as a freshman, will wear No. 16 this fall, the same number older brother Joe wore his four seasons as a Jay. Turner switches from No. 23 to No. 7, formerly worn by Luiz Del Monte.
