No. 11 Bluejays Host Leopards in NCAA First Round Friday
11/16/2005 2:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
#11 Creighton vs. Lafayette
NCAA Tournament First Round
Friday, Nov. 18, 7 pm Morrison Stadium
This Week: The 11th-ranked Bluejays play host to a first-round NCAA tournament match at Morrison Stadium on Friday night against Patriot League tournament champion, Lafayette. The Bluejays and the Leopards will be meeting for the first time on the soccer pitch when the match kicks off at 7 p.m. The winner of Friday's match will advance to face the No. 6 seed and Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champion Duke on Tuesday in Durham, N.C.
Last Week: Creighton captured its record ninth Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship with two shutouts in Peoria, Ill., last weekend. The Jays earned a first-round bye and then topped Vanderbilt 4-0 in the semifinals. CU's defense remained dominant and the Jays knocked off regular-season champion and host Bradley, 2-0, in the championship match on Sunday. Senior defensive midfielder Matt Wieland was honored as the tournament MVP, while Byron Dacy, Michael Kraus and Andrew Peterson joined Wieland on the all-tournament team.
Scouting Creighton (12-4-3, 5-2-0 MVC): The Bluejays are competing in their 14th consecutive NCAA tournament and for the fourth straight season are playing host to an NCAA postseason contest. Creighton has won its last three home NCAA tournament matches and is now 3-3-0 at home and 16-12-3 all-time in the NCAA postseason. CU is 7-1-1 at home this year and 17-2-2 in Omaha over the past two seasons. The team has posted four straight shutouts entering the tournament and would tie a school record with a fifth straight blanking Friday. The Jays are the top offensive team in the MVC, scoring 7.2 points per game, 2.2 goals per game and 2.8 assists per game. They also top the MVC with 15.8 shots and 6.7 corner kicks per game. CU's balanced offense is led by MVC Freshman of the Year Byron Dacy with eight goals and 23 points. Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp leads the MVC with nine assists. Three-year captain and first-team all-MVC performer Matt Wieland anchors CU's defense, which has logged nine shutouts and a 0.81 goals against average this fall. Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Allen has played all but 20 minutes in net for CU this fall, with a 0.82 GAA and 60 saves on the year. Dacy, Ryan Junge, Michael Kraus and Vince Odorisio were named second-team all-MVC, and Jarod Tarver was tabbed honorable-mention all-MVC. Trevor Eastman joined Dacy on the all-freshman team.
Scouting Lafayette (13-4-2, 5-2-0 Patriot League): The Leopards are making their fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament (not including play-in matches) after capturing the Patriot League tournament title with a 1-0 victory over American last Sunday in Washington, D.C. Lafayette is unbeaten in its last eight matches (6-0-2), allowing just three goals in that span. Senior goalkeeper Mike Tortora was named the Patriot League tournament MVP and is a second-team all-league keeper with a 0.79 GAA and 71 saves in over 1,600 minutes. Scott Hawkins, Thomas Harju and Luke Sullivan were each named first-team all-conference. Hawkins leads the team with six goals, while Harju tops the team with 11 assists and 13 points. Sullivan was part of the Leopard defense which posted nine shutouts and a 0.76 goals against average. Lafayette has allowed more shots than it has attempted this season, 220-185, while they have out-scored the opposition 30-15 on the year. Lafayette is 1-3-0 in its previous three NCAA tournament appearances (1995, 1998, 2003).
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 139-46-19 (.728) record in his 10 seasons at CU. His overall mark is 333-162-49 (.657) in 28 years of coaching. Warming, the all-time winningest soccer coach at CU, has guided his teams to 12 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. He began the year ranked 12th among active NCAA Division I coaches in career winning percentage.
NCAA Tournament History: Creighton is appearing in its 14th consecutive NCAA tournament and owns a 16-12-3 all-time record in the tourney. The Jays are 3-3-0 at home in the NCAA tournament, including three straight home wins and a 2-0 mark at Morrison Stadium. The Jays have advanced to the College Cup (Final Four) three times in school history; 1996, 2000 and 2002. See page five for complete NCAA tournament history.
Select Company: Creighton is joined by some elite company in making its 14th straight NCAA tournament appearance. There are only four other schools in the nation which can boast the same feat of having appeared in each of the last 14 NCAA postseasons. Indiana, St. John's, UCLA and Virginia join CU in appearing in another NCAA tourney this season.
Against the Field: Creighton is 2-0-1 against the NCAA field this year, having defeated Bradley twice and recording a 1-1 tie with SMU.
MVC x Two: For the 10th straight season the Missouri Valley Conference received at least two bids into the NCAA tournament field. Regular-season champion Bradley (15-5-1) joins the Bluejays in the tournament field this year. The MVC sent three teams to the tournament in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
MVC Commish Lafayette Grad: Missouri Valley Conference commissioner Doug Elgin is a 1973 Lafayette College graduate. The commissioner plans to be in attendance at Friday night's match. Elgin, who is in his 18th season at the MVC, also worked as the Sports Information Director at Lafayette in the late 1970s.
And the Winner Has ...: Sixth-seeded and sixth-ranked Duke in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday. The Blue Devils (12-4-3) won the ACC tournament title over North Carolina in a shootout on Sunday. Duke appeared in the College Cup semifinals last year.
More Duke Info: Duke assistant coach Mike Jacobs will join the MVC next season as he has already been named the next head coach at the University of Evansville. Jacobs will close out the season with the Blue Devils before starting his job with the Purple Aces full time.
Snake Eyes: Creighton is ranked 11th in the final NSCAA/adidas poll of the regular-season. The Bluejays were also ranked 11th when they entered the 2002 NCAA tournament, which is the last time the Jays advanced to the College Cup.
Home Sweet Morrison: The Bluejays are 7-1-1 at home this season, including four straight victories on their home turf. Since Morrison Stadium opened in 2003, the Jays are 26-4-4 (.824) at their new facility. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 126-20-8 (.844) at home. The Jays ranked in the top-five in the nation in attendance last year, up from a top-10 ranking in 2003. This year the Jays average 1,974 fans per game and had a record crowd of 5,734 at their exhibition match with Stanford in August.
Record Crowds: A CU home record crowd of 5,743 fans came out to the Jays' exhibition match against Stanford (Aug. 26). The record shattered the former mark by more than 1,300. Five of the top six home attended games in CU history have now come in the month of August, while three of the top four crows have come to exhibition matches. CU's largest home crowd in NCAA postseason history was 3,860 at the SMU match on Nov. 21, 1992. Last year 1,871 fans were at the Northwestern match in the second round of the NCAA tourney. Listed below are the top three home crowds in CU and Morrison Stadium history:
Top Three CU Home Crowds
1 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
2 4,407 vs. SLU, Aug. 31, 1997
3 4,345 vs. Virginia (Exh.), Aug. 28, 1993
Top Three Morrison Stadium Crowds
1 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
2 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
3 3,483 vs. Butler, Aug., 29, 2003
More Attendance Info: Last year the Bluejays set a single-season attendance record, averaging 2,015 fans in 12 home matches. The Jays are averaging 1,974 this year in nine home matches. If the Jays want to surpass last season's attendance record, more than 2,387 fans need to come to the match on Friday night.
Kraus is Helpful: Junior Michael Kraus tied the CU career NCAA tournament assist record in his first four NCAA matches in 2003. As a freshman the forward dished six assists in CU's four NCAA postseason games to tie the record held by Matt Jewett. Jewett needed 14 matches to set his record. Kraus will play in his seventh NCAA postseason match on Friday and needs only one more assist for the CU career postseason record. (See page five for CU NCAA Tournament records).
Title Town: Creighton claimed its record ninth MVC tournament championship last weekend. The Jays also own an MVC record six regular-season championships. CU's nine tournament titles are more than all other Valley teams combined. The Bluejays are now 24-5-1 all-time in the MVC postseason. CU's win this year ended its longest span between tournament titles (three years).
Gender Equity Excellence: The Creighton women's soccer team has begun to establish itself as an MVC power, winning three of the last four tournament titles. CU won both the men's and women's tournament title this season, making Creighton one of three schools in the nation to capture both genders tournaments. Hofstra (Colonial Athletic Association) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Horizon League) join the Jays in claiming both men's and women's tournament champions this year.
Tourney MVP: Matt Wieland was named the MVC tournament MVP, which bodes well for the three-year captain. The previous five Bluejays to earn Valley tournament MVP honors each went on to be drafted by Major League Soccer. Four of the previous eight tourney MVPs are still playing in the MLS Brian Kamler (1993), Ross Paule (1995), Richard Mulrooney (1998) and Brian Mullan (2000).
Strike First: Creighton is undefeated this year when it scores first. The Jays are now 12-0-1 on the season when they find the back of the net first this season and are a perfect 8-0-0 when holding the lead at halftime.
Freshman of the Year: Rookie Byron Dacy became the first Bluejay to win the honor since 1994 when Ross Paule was named the Newcomer of the Year as a freshman. Paul Lekics also earned the honor in 1992.
Dacy's Digits: Byron Dacy leads the team with eight goals and 23 points this season. That is the highest point total by a Bluejay since Mike Tranchilla totalled 37 in 2002. With one more goal this year, his total will be the highest at CU since Tranchilla's 15 in 2002.
Four Goose Eggs: The Bluejays have posted four straight shutouts entering the NCAA tournament. CU has not recorded four straight shutouts since the 1999 team put together a school record five straight blankings in October of that season. The 1999 team led the NCAA and set a school record with a 0.47 goals against average.
Andrew Scores: Both Andrew Peterson and Andrew Friel scored their first career goals in CU's 4-0 win over Vanderbilt in the MVC semifinals last Friday night. Peterson was appearing in his 59th career match when he scored his first collegiate goal, which served as the game-winner. Friel added a late tally while playing in his 10th career game. Peterson was named to the all-tournament team for his outstanding all-around play.
Allen's Assist: Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Allen turned in a rare performance against Vanderbilt (Nov. 5). He assisted on CU's only goal in the victory, becoming just the second Bluejay goalkeeper since 1990 to record an assist. Current CU keeper coach Kevin Doyle had two assists during his career, logging them in back-to-back games in 1992.
Dacy's Darts: Freshman Byron Dacy unloaded a personal and team-high seven shots in CU's 1-0 win over Vanderbilt (Nov. 5). No Bluejay had attempted more than five shots in a match this season. His seven shots fell one shy of the CU Morrison Stadium record held by Julian Nash.
Sharing is Caring: The Bluejays lead the MVC with 54 assists. Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp leads the league with nine assists. Joan Carvajal and Byron Dacy have seven assists each to rank second on the team and third in the MVC. Carvajal's three helpers against Eastern Illinois (Oct. 8) made him just the sixth player in school history to record at least three assists in a match. Bohnenkamp, Carvajal and Michael Kraus tied for the MVC lead with four assists in conference games.
Smart Birds: Seniors Brian Biggerstaff and Matt Wieland have repeated on the ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First-Team this season. Biggerstaff owns a 3.48 grade point average in physics, while Wieland carries a 3.57 GPA in finance.
Go to the Corner: The Bluejays lead the MVC with 127 corner kicks, an impressive 6.7 per game. The Jays attempted a season-high 13 corner kicks against Illinois-Chicago (Oct. 5). The 13 corners established a Morrison Stadium record.
So Close: Each of CU's four losses this season have been one-goal defeats. In fact the Bluejays have not lost by more than one goal since a 2-0 loss to UNLV on Sept. 12, 2003, meaning the Jays' last 12 defeats have all been by just one-goal.
Perfect 10: With one more assist this season, sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp will become the first Bluejay to dish 10 assists in a year since current MLS player David Wagenfuhr had 10 helpers in 2001. The CU and MVC single-season record for assists is held by another MLS star, Richard Mulrooney with 16, in both 1996 and 1998.
Matt's Move: Sophomore Goalkeeper Matt Allen has surpassed 2,000 career minutes this season to qualify for CU's career top-10 goals against average. Allen's career GAA is now 0.79 to rank second in school history, while his 0.82 GAA this season ranks fifth on the single-season list.
Home Grown: CU has a record 13 Nebraska natives on the roster this fall, while eight Nebraskans started in CU's win over Loyola on Sept. 10. CU had three Nebraskans on its first team in 1990 and the 1996 team did not list one Nebraska native on its roster.
The Captain: Senior Matt Wieland, a three-year captain for CU, exploded on the offensive in the final two weeks of October. The defensive midfielder did not have a point this season through the first 11 matches, before logging an assist against Bradley on Oct. 15. He then scored four goals in four matches from Oct. 19 through 29. He notched his first career two-goal match at Georgetown. His four-goals doubled his career output as he had four goals in his first 76 career games prior to his streak.
Junge Guns: Defender Ryan Junge has been a major contributor on the offensive end for CU this season. He ranks third on the team with a career-best five goals and 14 points. Junge, named to the all-MVC second-team, also scored a goal in the MVC championship match last Sunday. In his first season at CU last year, he had just one point on an assist.
Spread Offense: Creighton's opponents might have a hard time figuring out who to mark on the Bluejay attack as six players have unloaded between 21 and 29 shots behind Byron Dacy's team-leading 43 shots. Michael Kraus follows with 29 shots, while both Joan Carvajal and Brian Biggerstaff have taken 28 shots each. Jarod Tarver (25), Tim Bohnenkamp (23) and Tony Schmitz (21) round out the group.
Some Good Things Must Come to an End: The Bluejays have learned that lesson the hard way this season, as they have lost to teams which had never before defeated them. The Jays lost a 1-0 decision at Western Kentucky (Oct. 22) while carrying a 9-0-0 all-time record against WKU into the match. CU then fell 3-2 to Drake on Oct. 26, the first Bluejay loss to the Bulldogs in 24 all-time meetings. CU is now 18-1-5 all-time against Drake.
Strange Days: CU's loss at Drake (Oct. 26) was strange for more reasons than just the first DU win over CU ever. The Bulldogs scored two goals in the first half. Prior to the match, the Jays had allowed only two goals in the first half through its first 14 matches. It also marked the only time this season the Jays had trailed at halftime. The three goals allowed by CU were the most by the Jays since a 3-2 loss to St. John's in the 2003 NCAA quarterfinals.
Perfect Start: Creighton's 3-0 start in MVC play was its best Valley start since the 1999 team opened 4-0. CU finished 5-1-1 for a second place finish that year. The Jays also finished second this year at 5-2-0 after a perfect start through three games.
Scoring Leaders: Four Bluejays have cracked the career 30-point plateau this season. Brian Biggerstaff leads all active Jays with 16 goals, while his 40 career points tie Michael Kraus for the active lead.
Active CU Career Point Leaders
Brian Biggerstaff - 40 (16 g, 8 a)
Michael Kraus - 40 (13 g, 14 a)
Jarod Tarver - 37 (13 g, 11 a)
Vince Odorisio - 31 (10 g, 11 a)
Shock-tober: The Bluejays went just 5-3-1 in October this season after highly successful Octobers during the 2002 through 2004 seasons. Over the previous three Octobers, the Bluejays compiled a 19-3-2 record, including two undefeated October campaigns (??02,'03).
Shut Down: Creighton's defense was outstanding in its 2-0 victory over ninth-ranked and previously unbeaten Missouri State (Oct. 12). The Bears entered the match leading the MVC in scoring, but could not even muster a shot on goal in the CU win. The Valley's leading scorer Ryan Anderson managed only one shot attempt in the match. It was the first time CU had held a conference opponent without a shot on goal since Oct. 10, 2003 in a 1-0 win over Evansville. And marked the first CU opponent to not fire a shot on goal since UMKC, Nov. 22, 2003.
Great Start: CU exploded out of the MVC opening gates with a 5-0 victory over Eastern Illinois (Oct 8). The Bluejays recorded nine assists on their five goals, totalling 19 points in the match. Both the nine helpers and 19 points established Morrison Stadium records, while sophomore Joan Carvajal's three assists in the win also set a facility record.
Home Away From Home: Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp, an Omaha native, finally broke through in the scoring column away from his home town and Morrison Stadium this season. His first 17 career points came at home, before he registered two assists at Georgetown (Oct. 19) and dished an assist at Drake. He currently leads the MVC and ranks 18th in the NCAA with with nine assists this year.
Oh-Four: Creighton's loss to Illinois-Chicago (Oct. 5) dropped the Jays to 0-2-2 over a four-match span for only its second four-game winless streak since the program was re-started in 1990. Not since the final four matches of that 1990 season had the Bluejays gone four matches without a victory. Not only is the four-game winless streak a rarity, but the Jays have had only three other three-game winless streaks since 1990; 1997 (0-3-0), 2001 (0-3-0) and 2003 (0-2-1).
Just Shoot Me: Creighton launched a season-high 27 shots in its 0-0 tie with UMKC (Oct. 1). Michael Kraus and Jarod Tarver led the team with five shots each. The 27 shots by Creighton tied the Morrison Stadium record set by Maryland against Butler on Aug. 31, 2003.
20-20-20 Vision: Creighton attempted at least 20 shots in three straight games from Oct. 1 through Oct. 8 for a total of 77 shots in those matches. The Bluejays had not put together three straight 20-shot games since the 2002 team did so from Nov. 9-17. The 2002 squad attempted 68 total shots in that span. This year's team out-scored its opponents just 6-2 during those three games, while the 2002 team had a 10-1 goals advantage during their streak.
High Five: Creighton was undefeated through five games for the first time since 2000. The 2000 squad opened the season with six wins en route to an appearance in the NCAA championship match and leading the nation with 22 victories. With the Jays' 4-0-1 start this season, they extended their undefeated streak to nine matches. Despite being eliminated from the MVC and NCAA tournaments, CU went 2-0-2 in its last four matches last year.
Welcome to Creighton: Bluejay newcomers contributed greatly in CU's opening weekend at the Portland Nike Invitational. The Jays' lone goal in their 1-1 tie with Portland was scored by Brian Kallman. The senior played his first three seasons at Jacksonville University, scoring just two goals in that span. Omaha native, freshman Byron Dacy was named the tournament MVP after scoring a goal and adding an assist in CU's 3-2 win over Washington on Sunday. The Bluejays won the tournament title due to a goals-scored tiebreaker over Portland.
Rare Feet: The Bluejays' feet have accomplished a rare feat this year, scoring at least three goals in three straight contests from Sept. 4-16. CU scored three goals against Washington, four against Loyola and three against Memphis to mark the first time since 1998 the Jays scored at least three goals in three consecutive games. The 1998 team put together four straight games with at least a trio of goals from Sept. 12-25.
Kraus is Key: Michael Kraus has again made his presence known in the CU lineup. The junior played in four matches last year because of a broken foot after leading the Jays in goals, assists and points as a rookie in 2003. He scored three goals in CU's first five matches this year, all of which served as game-winners. He was named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week, Diadora Challenge MVP and honored on CollegeSoccerNews.com's and Soccer America's National Teams of the Week for his game-winning goals against Mercer and Memphis.
More Strange Stats: CU's offense unloaded 53 shots in a two-game span against UMKC and Illinois-Chicago in early October, including a season-high 27 against UMKC. The Jays also attempted 24 corner kicks in those two matches, including a Morrison Stadium record 13 against UIC. CU's 27 shots tied a stadium record against UMKC. The Jays out-shot UIC 26-6 but lost 2-1, while they played to a scoreless tie against UMKC, despite their 27 shots.
