12th-Ranked Bluejays Head to California For LMU Fall Classic
9/3/2003 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
#12 Creighton Travels to the Loyola Marymount Fall Classic
Friday & Sunday ? Sept. 5 & Sept. 7 ? Sullivan Field ? Los Angeles, Calif.
vs. Santa Clara, Sept. 5, 3:30 p.m. (CST)
at Loyola Marymount, Sept. 7, 4:00 p.m. (CST)
This Week: Creighton travels to Los Angeles to participate in the Loyola Marymount Fall Classic. Both CU opponents, Santa Clara and LMU, are traditional soccer powers and received votes in the preseason NSCAA Top 25. The Jays take on Santa Clara on Friday afternoon and conclude their trip with a Sunday afternoon contest with the host Lions.
Last Week: The Bluejays opened the season and the new Creighton Soccer Complex with a 1-0-1 showing at the Diadora Challenge. The Jays' inaugural match at the facility witnessed a 0-0 tie with Butler last Friday night in front of 3,483 fans. CU's first win of the season came on Sunday, as the Jays topped 15th-ranked Furman, 3-1.
Scouting the Opponents:
Santa Clara (2-0-0): The Broncos, No. 15 in this week's Soccer America poll, opened their season last weekend with wins over Alabama A&M and Fresno State at the UC Irvine Tournament. The Broncos outscored their opponents, 3-0, and sophomore Kelechi Igwe scored one goal and assisted on the other two. SCU allowed just eight shots and just four on goal in their first weekend of play.
Loyola Marymount (1-1-0): The Lions split a road trip in Michigan last weekend, losing to Michigan, 2-0, on Sunday before defeating Michigan State, 3-1, on Monday. Kevin Novak scored two LMU goals on five shots. Goalkeepers Adam Sthay and Shaun Kalnasy each started, played 90 minutes and made seven saves over the weekend. The Lions, a preseason Top 25 team, were out-shot 29-19 in their first two matches.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 102-32-11 (.741) record in his eighth season at CU. His overall mark is 296-148-41 (.653) 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.
Tie Patterns: Creighton has established a tie pattern for its season opening matches the year following a College Cup appearance. With their 0-0 tie against Butler to open the season, the Bluejays are now 0-0-3 in their season opening matches after a College Cup year. The 1997 opener saw the Jays tie Saint Louis, 1-1, and in 2001 the Jays also opened the year with a 0-0 deadlock against Memphis.
Weekend of Firsts: The first weekend at the new Creighton Soccer Complex 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. Another notable first, the first home attendance was 3,483, ranking as the fourth highest home crowd in CU history.
Blanked: The Bluejays not only shutout Butler to open the season last Friday, they were also held scoreless in the tie. It marked the first time since the final match of the 2001 season the Bluejays had been held without a goal. The Jays went all of 2002 without being blanked, the first time that had happened since 1993.
Pulling Rank: The Jays are ranked in each of the four major soccer polls; NSCAA/adidas (12) Soccer America (7), Soccer Times (9) and College Soccer News (6).
Fresh Old Faces: Seniors Zach Piercy and Dave Minges scored CU's first two goals of the 2003 season after combining for zero points all of the 2002 campaign. For Piercy it was his first collegiate goal and it was Minges' first goal since Sept. 21, 2001. Both players combined to attempt just five shots in 2002, while they've already attempted four combined shots this year.
Wait is Over: Senior Guido Leon made his CU debut in goal last weekend, making six saves, with a 0.45 goal against average in 200 minutes of play. Leon has been waiting his turn in net for three seasons as a Bluejay after transferring from Valparaiso.
Against the Opponents: Creighton and Santa Clara tied, 1-1, in the only meeting between the schools on Sept. 4, 1994, in Omaha. The Jays and LMU have never met on the soccer pitch.
Jays Open New Field: CU's 0-0 tie against Butler last Friday was witness by 3,483 fans at the new Creighton Soccer Complex. The attendance was the fourth largest home crowd in CU history and the largest since Sept. 1994.
MAC Hermann Trophy: Senior David Wagenfuhr was named to the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy “Watch List” this week. 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.
Climbing the Charts: David Wagenfuhr's assist in last Sunday's win over No. 15 Furman was the 22nd of his CU career. That assist moved him out of a 10th place tie with Ross Paule on the all-time career chart. His next assist will tie Brian Adams (1991-94) and Ray Nikodem (1980-82) for eighth-place at CU.
Similar Starts: The Jays' 1-0-1 start to the 2003 season is the same start they've had in the previous two seasons. In 2001, the Bluejays also opened the year with a 0-0 double-overtime tie in the Diadora Challenge (vs. Memphis).
Coaches' Countdown: Bob Warming needs four more wins to reach 300 in his coaching career, which has spanned 26 years and six schools.
Season Openers: The Bluejays have never lost a season-opener under Head Coach Bob Warming. CU has tallied a 6-0-2 mark in Warming's eight season-openers at the helm. Since 1990 the Bluejays have lost just one debut, falling to No. 20 Duke in Bret Simon's first game as head coach, Sept. 2, 1995.
Battling the Best: Creighton's win over No. 15 Furman last Sunday moved its all-time record against Top 25 opponents to 34-30-6, including a 5-3-1 record against ranked opponents in 2002. Neither Santa Clara or LMU are ranked in the NSCAA/adidas poll this week.
California Kids: Three Californians are on the 2003 CU roster; Brett Rodriguez (Saratoga / Bellarmine Prep); Julian Nash (San Leandro / High); Joe Dillon (West Hills / Chaminade).
Coast to Coast: CU's trip to Los Angeles this weekend is it's first trip to the coast this season. On Sept. 19-21, the Jays will travel to New Haven, Conn., to participate in the Yale Classic to complete their 2003 coast-to-coast tour.
Welcome Back: The Bluejays return seven starters from last year's College Cup team, including all-Missouri Valley Conference honorees senior David Wagenfuhr (First-Team), junior Julian Nash (Second-Team) and senior Damien Westfield (All-Newcomer Team). Wagenfuhr and Westfield are two of nine seniors on this year's roster.
Saying Goodbye: After the 2002 season, the Jays said good bye to the MVC's all-time leader in points and goals, All-American Mike Tranchilla. They also lost all-conference performers in Luiz Del Monte, Joe Wieland and Mehdi Ballouchy. Goalkeeper Mike Gabb also is gone after a record-setting CU career.
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.
It's All Relative: Sophomore Matt Wieland returns to the CU squad this year, with older brother Joe departed, but a pair of relatives are on the 2003 roster. Brothers Aaron and Jonathan Welsh of Sugarland, Texas join the team and cousins Tony and Vince Odorisio from Omaha Skutt Catholic also join forces for the Jays this fall.
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.
Diadora Challenge: Creighton played host to the seventh annual Diadora Challenge last weekend and for the third consecutive year, the Jays went 1-0-1 in the tournament. The Bluejays have never lost at the Challenge, recording an all-time mark of 10-0-3. Despite having never lost a match at the tournament, the Bluejays have not won the event since 1999, when they played only one match in the tournament. Maryland won this year's event with two shutout victories.
2003 Diadora Challenge
All-Tournament Team
Alex Maslow, Furman
McNeil Cronin, Furman
Matt Jewett, Creighton
Andrew Peterson, Creighton
Evan Reinhardt, Butler
John Mariscalco, Butler
Scott Olsen, Butler
Ian Rodway, Maryland
A.J. Herrera, Maryland
Scott Buete, Maryland
MVP - Seth Stammler, Maryland
BLUEJAY SOCCER QUICK KICKS:
? The Jays are one of five programs in the nation to appear in each of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments (Indiana, St. John's, UCLA, Virginia).
? The Jays have won a record eight MVC Tournament Titles in 12 years, while winning a combined 13 of 24 MVC regular-season and tournament championships.
? CU has appeared in three of the last seven NCAA College Cups (Final Fours), 1996, 2000 and 2002.
? Creighton's .755 winning percentage since 1990 (198-58-19) ranks fifth-best in the NCAA during that span.
