No. 9 Bluejays Host Air Force Saturday
9/22/2004 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Air Force at #9 Creighton
Saturday, Sept. 25 ? Creighton Soccer Field ? Omaha, Neb. ? 7:30 p.m.
This Week: The ninth-ranked Bluejays welcome Air Force to the Creighton Soccer Field for their final non-conference match of the season. The Jays and the Falcons will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in their first meeting since 1996.
Last Week: Creighton improved its home record to 4-0-0 this season and captured the tournament title of the Ameritas Classic by defeating both Wisconsin and Marquette by 2-1 scores. Kama Bennah and Tim Bohnenkamp provided all four of the CU goals, each scoring twice and each logging a game-winning tally. Andrew Brown recorded the win in goal against Wisconsin and freshman Matt Allen made his first collegiate start in net and earned the win against Marquette.
Scouting Air Force (3-1-1): The Falcons carry a 3-1-1 record into their game at Loyola Marymount on Wednesday night. LMU is the second opponent of the season which the Bluejays and Falcons share, as Southwest Missouri State handed Air Force its first loss of the season last Sunday, 3-1. Junior Colin Eames leads the team with three goals, while sophomore Josh Sanders has two goals and two assists for six points. Sophomore Paul Elsbernd has played every minute in goal for the Falcons through their first five contests, making 18 saves, allowing nine goals and claiming a 1.72 goals against average. USAFA has scored 10 goals and allowed nine through its first five games. Last year the Falcons went 10-9-1.
Creighton-Air Force Series: Of teams the Bluejays have faced more than five times in school history, the Falcons are one of just four teams to own a winning record against the Jays. CU trails the all-time series against the Falcons, 2-3-2. Since the rebirth of CU soccer in 1990, the teams have met three times to the tune of a 1-1-1 record. The loss to Air Force in 1993 was CU's only defeat of its 19-1-0 season, as the Jays lost 2-1 in four overtimes to the Falcons in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. That game, Nov. 14, 1993 is also remembered for its snowy conditions at Tranquility Park. CU defeated Air Force 2-0 in the last meeting between the programs on Sept. 8, 1996 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 118-39-14 (.731) record in his ninth season at CU. His overall mark is 312-155-44 (.654) in 27 years of coaching. His 312 wins rank among the top-15 active men's soccer coaches in the NCAA. Warming, the all-time winningest soccer coach at CU, has guided his teams to 10 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.
CU in Top Ten: The Bluejays have cracked the top-10 in three of the four national polls this week. The Jays are ranked ninth by the NSCAA/adidas and cracked the top-10 in two other polls; Soccer America (10) and Soccer Times (7), while being ranked 14th by College Soccer News .
Strange Stats: The Bluejays have recorded a winning record against 18 of the 22 teams which they have faced at least five times in their history. CU plays three of the four teams which they have a losing record against this season. CU topped Marquette last Sunday to move the Jays to 3-5-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles. The Jays will look to climb to .500 against Air Force this Saturday, entering the match 2-3-2 all-time against USAFA. CU also plays SMU (5-15-0) this fall, while Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (3-4-0) is now an annual Division II power.
Attendance Up: The second season at the Creighton Soccer Field has brought more fans to Bluejay soccer games. Through four matches last year the Jays were averaging 1,675 fans, while a perfect home start this season has brought in 2,078 fans per contest. Factoring into the attendance rise is a better record - 4-0-0 this year compared 2-1-1 last year ? and more scoring ? 10 goals through four home games this year to just five in 2003. The completed grandstands ? 1,962 chairback seats ? and permanent concessions and restrooms have also aided the rise.
Killer ?B's: Kama Bennah and Tim Bohnenkamp accounted for all four Creighton goals last weekend as the Bluejays topped both Wisconsin and Marquette by 2-1 scores. Bennah headed in the game-winning goal against Wisconsin after Bohnenkamp starting the scoring in the first half. Bohnenkamp then scored the game-winner against Marquette, while Bennah tied the game in the first half off an assist from Bohnenkamp. For his efforts, Bohnenkamp was named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com National Team of the Week.
Difference Makers: Bluejay newcomers are making an impact early this season, accounting for half of the CU assists through six matches. Rookie Tim Bohnenkamp scored twice and added an assist last weekend, while freshman Joan Carvajal is tied for the team-lead with three assists. Freshman Matt Allen made his first collegiate start in goal for the Bluejays on Sunday and earned a 2-1 win over Marquette.
Home Cooking: With a 4-0-0 record at home this season, Creighton's home record since 1990 is now an impressive 113-18-6 (.847). Last year the Bluejays were 7-2-2 in their first season at the Creighton Soccer Field. CU has never lost more than three home matches in one season.
Non-Conference Finale: Creighton's match with Air Force is its final tune-up before conference play begins in October. The Bluejays will carry at least five wins into conference play for the second time in three seasons and will be aiming for six pre-conference wins for the first time since 2000. CU went 6-1-0 in pre-conference play in 2000 when it led the NCAA with 22 wins.
Game-Winners: Creighton has five wins and five different game-winning goal-scorers this season. Two of the game-winners have come from freshmen - Danny Minutillo vs. UCLA and Tim Bohnenkamp vs. Marquette. The Odorisio cousins - Vince and Tony - have each provided a winner and Kama Bennah also has one.
Bennah's Bounce: Finally healthy after fighting injuries his first two seasons at CU, senior Kama Bennah leads the team with three goals through six games and is tied for the team-lead with six points. Bennah played only nine matches last year and took just two shots. The midfielder already has more goals and points this season than he did in his previous 33 matches at CU.
Redshirt No More: Due to injuries, two CU newcomers have shed possible redshirts and contributed to the Bluejay success this season. California native Danny Minutillo made his collegiate debut against UCLA in Las Vegas on Sept. 10 and scored the game-winning goal. Omaha native Tony Schmitz made his debut at home last weekend in the Ameritas Classic and was part of the game-winning tally against Marquette.
Nash Attacks: Senior Julian Nash scored more points in his first four matches this season than he did in 17 matches all of last year. With one goal and three assists through four contests, Nash had five points after logging only four points last year. Nash had been more aggressive this year and has 10 shots on goal in six games after recording only 7 shots on net in 17 games last year.
Ameritas Classic: The Bluejays played host to the 14th Annual Ameritas Classic last weekend at the Creighton Soccer Field, with the first three-team event in the tournament's history this fall. The Jays won both games and improved to 20-5-1 all-time in the event, the Jays have now won nine titles in the 14 years of the tournament.
Quick Score: Vince Odorisio raced to the net and scored the second-fastest goal from the start of a game in school history against UCLA (Sept. 10). Odorisio took a pass from Julian Nash and scored just 26 seconds into the game. The fastest CU goal came in 16 seconds, by All-American Brian Kamler on Oct. 9, 1992 against Bradley.
Fastest goal from the start of the game in Creighton History
1. 0:16, B. Kamler, vs. Bradley, 10-9-92
2. 0:26, V. Odorisio, vs. UCLA, 9-10-04
3. 0:30, L. Hill, vs. SMS, 11-5-94
Memphis Blues: Michael Kraus, a sophomore from Memphis, Tenn., and the Bluejays leading scorer in 2003 will miss the remainder of the 2004 season after undergoing surgery on an injured ankle the second week of September. The forward injured the ankle in CU's final exhibition match, but made a brief appearance in the Jays' 2-1 win over Loyola Marymount during the regular-season.
Blue Fan Group: The 4,029 fans that showed up for CU's only exhibition home match of the season (Aug. 27) marked the third largest home crowd in school history and just the third crowd of more than 4,000. Two of CU's three largest all-time crowds have witnessed exhibition matches and four of the five largest crowds have come in August.
Top Three CU Home Crowds
1 ? 4,407 vs. SLU, Aug. 31, 1997
2 ? 4,345 vs. Virginia (Exh.), Aug. 28, 1993
3 ? 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
Top Three CU Soccer Field Crowds
1 ? 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
2 ? 3,483 vs. Butler, Aug. 29, 2003
3 ? 2,854 vs. Wisconsin, Sept. 17, 2004
Watch These Guys: Senior Julian Nash has been named to the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List. The MAC Hermann Trophy is annually awarded to the top player in collegiate soccer. Nash is the active CU career leader in goals (12), assists (13) and points (37). Rookie Joan Carvajal has been tabbed as one of 100 freshmen in the nation to watch this season by CollegeSoccerNews.com.
Preseason Picks: Matt Wieland and Michael Kraus have been named to the preseason all-MVC Team and Julian Nash earned an honorable mention preseason nod. The Bluejays have been selected to finish second in the Valley, behind perennial national power and 2003 tournament champion, SMU. The Jays have now been the No. 2 preseason pick for five consecutive seasons.
Tournament Hosts: The Creighton Soccer Field will serve as host to the 2004 State Farm Missouri Valley Soccer Championship on Nov. 12 and 14. Semifinal matches will be played on Friday night and the championship match will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday. It marks the first time in five years the championship will be held on a campus.
Mark Your Calendar: Creighton University will officially dedicate the new soccer facility on Friday, Oct. 15. The women's team takes on Northern Iowa at 5 p.m. The men will then battle Vanderbilt at 7:30 p.m. A dedication ceremony is planned between games.
