Bluejays Battle #6 UCLA and #18 Washington in Men's Soccer
9/8/2004 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
#13 Creighton vs. #6 UCLA at UNLV FILA Invitational
Friday, Sept. 10, 6:30 p.m. (CST) ? Peter Johann Field ? Las Vegas, Nev.
#13 Creighton vs. #18 Washington at UNLV FILA Invitational
Sunday, Sept. 12, 4:30 p.m. (CST) ? Peter Johann Field ? Las Vegas, Nev.
This Week: The 13th-ranked Bluejays travel to Las Vegas to participate in the UNLV FILA Invitational. CU will face two top-25 teams from the Pac-10 over the weekend, starting with a Friday match against sixth-ranked and 2002 NCAA Champion UCLA. The Bluejays will conclude the tournament with a Sunday afternoon match against No. 18 Washington.
Last Week: Creighton opened the season with back-to-back wins for the first time since 2000, while hosting and winning the eighth annual Diadora Challenge. The Bluejays romped Western Michigan, 4-0, last Friday to open the year and then came from behind to defeat Loyola Marymount, 2-1, in the final match of the tournament last Sunday. Julian Nash scored one goal and had two assists to claim tournament MVP honors, while Andrew Peterson, Matt Wieland and Joan Carvajal joined Nash on the all-tournament team.
Scouting the Opponents:
#6 UCLA (2-0-0): The Bruins opened the year with a 2-1 double overtime victory against Oakland and topped UC Riverside 1-0 at the Cal State Fullerton Classic last weekend. UCLA's three goals came from three different players, while Kamani Hill is the only Bruin with a goal and an assist through two contests. Eric Reed and Nate Pena both played one entire match in goal during the opening weekend. Seniors Aaron Lopez and Mike Enfield have been named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. The Bluejays are 1-1-0 all-time against UCLA, defeating the Bruins 2-0 in Los Angeles in the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 29, 1998.
#18 Washington (2-1-0): The Huskies opened the year with a 3-0 win at Gonzaga and a blanking of national-power UConn, 1-0. UW was then narrowly edged at second-ranked St. John's, 1-0 last Sunday. C.J. Klaas is the only Husky with one goal and one assist as the first four UW goals have been tallied by four players. Chris Kylander has played every minute in net for the Huskies, logging a 0.33 goals against average and making 12 saves in 270 minutes played. The Bluejays have never lost to the Huskies (2-0-0), topping UW by a score of 2-0 in their first meeting in Omaha in 2000. CU then defeated UW, 2-1, in double overtime in their last meeting in Seattle, Sept. 19, 2002.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 115-38-14 (.731) record in his ninth season at CU. His overall mark is 309-154-44 (.653) in 27 years of coaching. His 309 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.
Early Offense: Through two matches in 2004, the Creighton offense has equalled its output through its first six matches of 2003. The Bluejays won their first two contests of the season by scores of 4-0 and 2-1. The Jays have six goals in two matches, while it took the 2003 squad six matches to get to six goals. Each of CU's first six goals have come from a different player.
Local Flavor: Creighton used the same starting lineup in its first two 2004 matches, with five of the 11 Bluejay starters coming from Omaha. Two local newcomers started the first two matches, sophomore transfer Ryan Junge and freshman Tim Bohnenkamp. The Odorisio cousins, Tony and Vince, along with 2003 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, Matt Wieland, account for the five Omahans in CU's starting 11. Omaha native Matt Allen and Lincoln natives Brian Biggerstaff and Christian Mangrum also played during the opening weekend.
Starting Trends: CU has never lost a season-opener under the direction of head coach Bob Warming, improving to 7-0-2 in Warming's nine openers with the Bluejays, after a 4-0 win over Western Michigan last Friday. This season marks the first time the Jays have opened the year with back-to-back wins since 2000. The Jays have now started the season with a 2-0-0 mark in five on Warming's nine seasons at Creighton.
Viva Las Vegas: Last year UNLV captured the Ameritas Classic Tournament title at the CU Soccer Field in Omaha. This weekend, the Bluejays hope to take the UNLV FILA Invitational championship by facing nationally-ranked UCLA and Washington on a neutral pitch in Las Vegas.
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. Listed below are the top three home crowds and top three crowds at the new Creighton Soccer Field:
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 ? 2,267 vs. Drake, Oct. 3, 2003
Nash is Back: Senior Julian Nash had an opening weekend reminiscent of his sophomore year in which he tied for the team-lead in assists and finished second in goals and points. With a goal and two assists in the first two matches of the year, Nash has already equalled his offensive numbers from 17 matches last season.
For Starters: The Bluejays return six starters from last year's Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship team, including the 2003 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, junior Matt Wieland. Sophomores Tony Odorisio and Michael Kraus earned all-MVC Freshman Team honors last year, while starting as rookies. Other returners who started at least 14 matches last year include senior Brett Rodriguez and sophomores Andrew Peterson and Jarod Tarver.
Nine Gone: The Bluejays lost nine seniors from last year's team, including All-American midfielder David Wagenfuhr and goalkeeper Guido Leon. Among those nine players, the Bluejays lost five starters and four all-conference players from a year ago.
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.
Who's Got Net: Fifth-year senior Andrew Brown returns to his goalkeeping duties. Brown started four of CU's five postseason matches last year, including three NCAA Tournament contests. Brown was CU's starter as a sophomore in 2001 before redshirting the 2002 season with a knee injury.
Bye High School: Freshman goalkeeper Matt Allen is breaking ground in Creighton soccer. Allen should be a senior at Burke High School this fall, but graduated a year early in order to come to Creighton. He is the first player in CU soccer history to come to campus a year early. Allen played the second half of CU's 4-0 shutout of Western Michigan in the season-opener, recording two saves in his collegiate debut.
Home Cooking: After opening 2-0 at home last weekend, Creighton's home record since 1990 is an impressive 111-18-6 (.844). 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.
Diadora Challenge: Creighton played host to the eighth annual Diadora Challenge last weekend. After winning the tournament with a 2-0 record, the Bluejays have still never lost at the Challenge, recording an all-time mark of 12-0-3. Despite having never lost a match at the tournament, the Bluejays had not won the event since 1999. The Bluejays recorded 1-0-1 marks in the three tournaments prior to this season.
2004 Diadora Challenge
All-Tournament Team
MVP - Julian Nash (Creighton)
Matt Wieland (Creighton)
Andrew Peterson (Creighton)
Joan Carvajal (Creighton)
Jon Watson (SMS)
Nathan Platz (SMS)
Nick Pollard (SMS)
Armando Melendez (Loyola Marymount)
Diego Souza (Loyola Marymount)
Jason Okroy (Western Michigan)
Edgar Rivera (Western Michigan)
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.
