No. 11 Men's Soccer at No. 9 Penn State Sunday in NCAA Third Round
11/23/2005 2:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
#11 Creighton at #9 Penn State
NCAA Tournament Third Round
Sunday, Nov. 27, Noon (CST) University Park, Pa.
This Week: The 11th-ranked Bluejays play at ninth-ranked and No. 11-seeded Penn State in the third round of the NCAA tournament Sunday at noon (CST) in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions defeated Seton Hall 1-0 in the second round on Tuesday night after receiving a first round bye. The winner of Sunday's match will advance to face the winner of the Clemson-Notre Dame match in the NCAA quarterfinals next weekend.
Last Week: Creighton tied a school record by recording its fifth straight shutout, a 3-0 win over Lafayette in the first round of the NCAA tournament last Friday (Nov. 18) at home before going on the road to knock off No. 6 seed Duke 2-1. CU's win over Lafayette improved the Jays to 13-0-1 on the season when it scores first and the Jays moved to 1-4-1 when the opponent scores first after overcoming a 1-0 deficit at Duke. Matt Wieland scored the game-winning goal against Lafayette and then had a part in CU's two goals at Duke. Wieland scored the equalizer in the 65th minute and then assisted on Jarod Tarver's game-winning goal in the 67th minute against the Blue Devils. While CU's shut out streak ended, Matt Allen and the CU defense have stopped 10 shots on goal this NCAA postseason.
Scouting Creighton (14-4-3, 5-2-0 MVC): The Bluejays are competing in their 14th consecutive NCAA tournament and after their first two wins in the postseason are now 18-12-3 all-time in the NCAA postseason. The Bluejays, who are 8-1-1 at home this season, have struggled on the road with a 6-3-1 record away from Omaha and just 4-3-1 in true road games. The Jays have won six straight contests, including five via shutout, and with one more shutout this season they can tie the school record with 11 blankings. The Jays are the top offensive team in the MVC and rank in the NCAA top 15 with 2.2 goals per game, while they also lead the league with 7.2 points and 2.8 assists per game. CU's balanced offense is led by MVC Freshman of the Year Byron Dacy with eight goals and 24 points. Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp leads the MVC with nine assists. First-team all-MVC performer Matt Wieland anchors CU's defense, which has logged 10 shutouts and a 0.78 goals against average this fall. Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Allen has played all but 20 minutes in net for CU, with a 0.79 GAA and 69 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 Penn State (13-6-2, 6-0-0 Big Ten): The Nittany Lions are appearing in their 28th NCAA tournament with a 24-26-1 all-time NCAA postseason record following their 1-0 win over Seton Hall on Tuesday. Penn State, 9-1-1 at home this season, won both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championship this season and enters Sunday's match on a 10-game winning streak. They have allowed only four goals in that 10-game stretch, while posting seven shutouts. PSU's offense is also led by a freshman as Jason Yeisley has a team-high nine goals and 24 points, while first-team all-Big Ten forward Simon Omekanda tops the team with nine assists and adds 21 points. The Penn State defense is anchored by first-team goalkeeper Conrad Taylor, who helps the Lions rank in the NCAA top 20 in goals against average with a minute 0.68 GAA and 68 saves while playing every minute in net this season. PSU has scored only 27 goals in 21 games, but allowed just 15 this season.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 141-46-19 (.731) record in his 10 seasons at CU. His overall mark is 335-162-49 (.658) 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.
Creighton-Penn State Series: The Bluejays and Nittany Lions have met only once previously on the soccer pitch, a Penn State win in 2001. The Jays and Lions hooked up in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 23, 2001 and PSU came away with a 2-1 win.
NCAA Tournament History: Creighton is appearing in its 14th consecutive NCAA tournament and owns a 18-12-3 all-time record in the tourney. The Jays are 4-3-0 at home in the NCAA tournament, including four straight home wins and a 3-0 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 4-0-1 against the NCAA field this year after topping Duke and Lafayette in the first two rounds of the tournament. The Jays also defeated Bradley twice and recorded a 1-1 tie with SMU in the regular-season.
And the Winner Has: Sunday's winner will advance to face the winner of the Clemson-Notre Dame match next weekend. The two unseeded teams will play at Clemson, Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. (CST).
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 (15-6-1) joined the Bluejays in the tournament field this year, losing to UW-Milwaukee 2-0 at home in the first round. The MVC sent three teams to the tournament in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Unseeded Success: Creighton is one of seven unseeded teams to advance to the third round, meaning nearly half of the seeded teams fell in their second round match after getting a first-round bye. Both Notre Dame (2-0 at Indiana) and Clemson (3-0 at NC State) pulled upsets over seeded teams in their second round match, meaning the Bluejays would have a chance at hosting the quarterfinals should they advance past Penn State.
Scoring Up in NCAA: The Bluejays have shown they can score with the best in recent NCAA tournament appearances. The Jays are averaging 2.6 goals scored per game over the last four seasons, including five goals scored in their first two tournament games this season. The Jays have scored at least three goals in six of their last 12 NCAA postseason games, including netting six goals twice in that span. They have also recorded at least one shutout in each of their last four NCAA tournament appearances.
Bye-ing In: Creighton did not receive a first-round bye this season, but took care of Lafayette 3-0 in their first round match. Two years ago the Jays played in a first round match and topped UMKC 6-0 at home. CU then went to San Diego and advanced on PKs after a 1-1 tie in the second round. They then won at Virginia 3-1 in the third round before a 3-2 loss at St. John's in the quarterfinals.
Record Shutout Streak: The Bluejays tied a school record with five straight shutouts from Oct. 29-Nov. 18. The Jays tied the record set by the 1999 team in October of that season. The 1999 team led the NCAA and set a school record with a 0.47 goals against average and 11 shutouts. The Jays have 10 shutouts this season and could tie the 1996 and 1999 team with one more blanking this season.
Matt's Minutes: While Matt Allen will be quick to give credit to his defense for CU's recent success, the sophomore goalkeeper has done his share in moving up an impressive CU shutout streak list. When Duke scored at the 14:59 mark on Tuesday it marked the first tally the Jays had given up a goal in exactly 480 minutes. The 480 minutes ranks as the third longest shutout streak in school history.
Consecutive CU Shutout Minutes Streak
Kevin Doyle - 562:44, Oct. 11-Nov. 7, 1992
Tom Zawislan - 500:20, Oct. 1-29, 1999
Matt Allen - 480:00, Oct. 26-Nov. 22, 2005
Tom Zawislan - 467:35, Sept. 5-24, 1999
More on Matt: Sophomore Matt Allen has now played more minutes in goal than any previous sophomore in school history at 1,930. The former sophomore minute mark was held by Jay Fitzgerald in 1993 with 1,813. Allen's minute total now stands as the sixth-highest CU single-season total. He has also recorded nine solo shutouts and one shared shutout to rank third on the CU single-season chart in that category and with one more blanking would tie the school record of 11. His 0.79 GAA this season ranks fifth on the CU single-season list.
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.
Strike First: Creighton is undefeated this year when it scores first. The Jays are now 13-0-1 on the season when they find the back of the net first this season and are a perfect 9-0-0 when holding the lead at halftime.
Come-From-Behind: CU's 2-1 win at Duke in the second round was the Jays' first come-from-behind win of the season, moving the Jays to just 1-4-1 in games the opposition scores first. CU trailed at halftime for only the second time this season in the win at Duke. (Also trailing Drake at the half in a 3-2 loss on Oct. 26).
Spread Offense: Creighton's opponents might have a hard time figuring out who to mark on the Bluejay attack as CU has a multitude of options on offense, led by MVC Freshman of the Year Byron Dacy's eight goals, 24 points and 48 shots. The Jays rank among national leaders with 2.2 goals per game, with six different players having scored at least five goals on the year. Eight players have recorded at least 10 shots on goal and six players have at least 14 points this fall.
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 ninth NCAA postseason match on Sunday 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 this season. 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).
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).
Honor Roll: Matt Wieland is not only a scholar-athlete, but he has received numerous honors for the Jays over the past two weeks. Most recently, on Monday he was named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com National Team of the Week for his game-winning goal and play in CU's 3-0 win over Lafayette. Last week he was tabbed to Soccer America's Team of the Week, the MVC Tournament MVP, first-team all-MVC, the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week, MVC First-Team Scholar-Athlete and was named to ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First-Team and CoSIDA Academic All-America Third-Team.
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.
Sharing is Caring: The Bluejays lead the MVC with 59 assists. Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp leads the league with nine assists. Byron Dacy ranks second on the team and MVC with eight assists, while Joan Carvajal follows with seven assists. 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.
Dacy's Digits: Byron Dacy leads the team with eight goals and 24 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.
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 (Nov. 11). 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.
Go to the Corner: The Bluejays lead the MVC with 133 corner kicks, 6.3 per game. The Jays attempted a season-high 13 corner kicks against Illinois-Chicago (Oct. 5). The 13 corners established a Morrison Stadium record.
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. Wieland was then named a third-team Academic All-American by CoSIDA on Nov. 21, becoming just the second men's soccer player in CU history to earn the honor from CoSIDA.
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.
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.
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 - 43 (17 g, 9 a)
Michael Kraus - 42 (14 g, 14 a)
Jarod Tarver - 39 (14 g, 11 a)
Vince Odorisio - 31 (10 g, 11 a)
The Captain: Senior Matt Wieland, a three-year captain for CU has exploded on offensive this season. 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. He scored his career-high fifth goal of the season in CU's 3-0 win over Lafayette and then dished an assist and scored a goal in CU's 2-1 victory at Duke in the second round of the NCAA.
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. In his first season at CU last year, he had just one point on an assist.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Home Sweet Morrison: The Bluejays are 8-1-1 at home this season, including five straight victories on their home turf. Since Morrison Stadium opened in 2003, the Jays are 27-4-4 (.829) at their new facility. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 127-20-8 (.845) 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 averaged 2,014 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. 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 fell just shy of setting another attendance mark this season, with 2,014 fans per game in 10 home matches.
NCAA Tournament Third Round
Sunday, Nov. 27, Noon (CST) University Park, Pa.
This Week: The 11th-ranked Bluejays play at ninth-ranked and No. 11-seeded Penn State in the third round of the NCAA tournament Sunday at noon (CST) in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions defeated Seton Hall 1-0 in the second round on Tuesday night after receiving a first round bye. The winner of Sunday's match will advance to face the winner of the Clemson-Notre Dame match in the NCAA quarterfinals next weekend.
Last Week: Creighton tied a school record by recording its fifth straight shutout, a 3-0 win over Lafayette in the first round of the NCAA tournament last Friday (Nov. 18) at home before going on the road to knock off No. 6 seed Duke 2-1. CU's win over Lafayette improved the Jays to 13-0-1 on the season when it scores first and the Jays moved to 1-4-1 when the opponent scores first after overcoming a 1-0 deficit at Duke. Matt Wieland scored the game-winning goal against Lafayette and then had a part in CU's two goals at Duke. Wieland scored the equalizer in the 65th minute and then assisted on Jarod Tarver's game-winning goal in the 67th minute against the Blue Devils. While CU's shut out streak ended, Matt Allen and the CU defense have stopped 10 shots on goal this NCAA postseason.
Scouting Creighton (14-4-3, 5-2-0 MVC): The Bluejays are competing in their 14th consecutive NCAA tournament and after their first two wins in the postseason are now 18-12-3 all-time in the NCAA postseason. The Bluejays, who are 8-1-1 at home this season, have struggled on the road with a 6-3-1 record away from Omaha and just 4-3-1 in true road games. The Jays have won six straight contests, including five via shutout, and with one more shutout this season they can tie the school record with 11 blankings. The Jays are the top offensive team in the MVC and rank in the NCAA top 15 with 2.2 goals per game, while they also lead the league with 7.2 points and 2.8 assists per game. CU's balanced offense is led by MVC Freshman of the Year Byron Dacy with eight goals and 24 points. Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp leads the MVC with nine assists. First-team all-MVC performer Matt Wieland anchors CU's defense, which has logged 10 shutouts and a 0.78 goals against average this fall. Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Allen has played all but 20 minutes in net for CU, with a 0.79 GAA and 69 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 Penn State (13-6-2, 6-0-0 Big Ten): The Nittany Lions are appearing in their 28th NCAA tournament with a 24-26-1 all-time NCAA postseason record following their 1-0 win over Seton Hall on Tuesday. Penn State, 9-1-1 at home this season, won both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championship this season and enters Sunday's match on a 10-game winning streak. They have allowed only four goals in that 10-game stretch, while posting seven shutouts. PSU's offense is also led by a freshman as Jason Yeisley has a team-high nine goals and 24 points, while first-team all-Big Ten forward Simon Omekanda tops the team with nine assists and adds 21 points. The Penn State defense is anchored by first-team goalkeeper Conrad Taylor, who helps the Lions rank in the NCAA top 20 in goals against average with a minute 0.68 GAA and 68 saves while playing every minute in net this season. PSU has scored only 27 goals in 21 games, but allowed just 15 this season.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 141-46-19 (.731) record in his 10 seasons at CU. His overall mark is 335-162-49 (.658) 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.
Creighton-Penn State Series: The Bluejays and Nittany Lions have met only once previously on the soccer pitch, a Penn State win in 2001. The Jays and Lions hooked up in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 23, 2001 and PSU came away with a 2-1 win.
NCAA Tournament History: Creighton is appearing in its 14th consecutive NCAA tournament and owns a 18-12-3 all-time record in the tourney. The Jays are 4-3-0 at home in the NCAA tournament, including four straight home wins and a 3-0 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 4-0-1 against the NCAA field this year after topping Duke and Lafayette in the first two rounds of the tournament. The Jays also defeated Bradley twice and recorded a 1-1 tie with SMU in the regular-season.
And the Winner Has: Sunday's winner will advance to face the winner of the Clemson-Notre Dame match next weekend. The two unseeded teams will play at Clemson, Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. (CST).
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 (15-6-1) joined the Bluejays in the tournament field this year, losing to UW-Milwaukee 2-0 at home in the first round. The MVC sent three teams to the tournament in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Unseeded Success: Creighton is one of seven unseeded teams to advance to the third round, meaning nearly half of the seeded teams fell in their second round match after getting a first-round bye. Both Notre Dame (2-0 at Indiana) and Clemson (3-0 at NC State) pulled upsets over seeded teams in their second round match, meaning the Bluejays would have a chance at hosting the quarterfinals should they advance past Penn State.
Scoring Up in NCAA: The Bluejays have shown they can score with the best in recent NCAA tournament appearances. The Jays are averaging 2.6 goals scored per game over the last four seasons, including five goals scored in their first two tournament games this season. The Jays have scored at least three goals in six of their last 12 NCAA postseason games, including netting six goals twice in that span. They have also recorded at least one shutout in each of their last four NCAA tournament appearances.
Bye-ing In: Creighton did not receive a first-round bye this season, but took care of Lafayette 3-0 in their first round match. Two years ago the Jays played in a first round match and topped UMKC 6-0 at home. CU then went to San Diego and advanced on PKs after a 1-1 tie in the second round. They then won at Virginia 3-1 in the third round before a 3-2 loss at St. John's in the quarterfinals.
Record Shutout Streak: The Bluejays tied a school record with five straight shutouts from Oct. 29-Nov. 18. The Jays tied the record set by the 1999 team in October of that season. The 1999 team led the NCAA and set a school record with a 0.47 goals against average and 11 shutouts. The Jays have 10 shutouts this season and could tie the 1996 and 1999 team with one more blanking this season.
Matt's Minutes: While Matt Allen will be quick to give credit to his defense for CU's recent success, the sophomore goalkeeper has done his share in moving up an impressive CU shutout streak list. When Duke scored at the 14:59 mark on Tuesday it marked the first tally the Jays had given up a goal in exactly 480 minutes. The 480 minutes ranks as the third longest shutout streak in school history.
Consecutive CU Shutout Minutes Streak
Kevin Doyle - 562:44, Oct. 11-Nov. 7, 1992
Tom Zawislan - 500:20, Oct. 1-29, 1999
Matt Allen - 480:00, Oct. 26-Nov. 22, 2005
Tom Zawislan - 467:35, Sept. 5-24, 1999
More on Matt: Sophomore Matt Allen has now played more minutes in goal than any previous sophomore in school history at 1,930. The former sophomore minute mark was held by Jay Fitzgerald in 1993 with 1,813. Allen's minute total now stands as the sixth-highest CU single-season total. He has also recorded nine solo shutouts and one shared shutout to rank third on the CU single-season chart in that category and with one more blanking would tie the school record of 11. His 0.79 GAA this season ranks fifth on the CU single-season list.
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.
Strike First: Creighton is undefeated this year when it scores first. The Jays are now 13-0-1 on the season when they find the back of the net first this season and are a perfect 9-0-0 when holding the lead at halftime.
Come-From-Behind: CU's 2-1 win at Duke in the second round was the Jays' first come-from-behind win of the season, moving the Jays to just 1-4-1 in games the opposition scores first. CU trailed at halftime for only the second time this season in the win at Duke. (Also trailing Drake at the half in a 3-2 loss on Oct. 26).
Spread Offense: Creighton's opponents might have a hard time figuring out who to mark on the Bluejay attack as CU has a multitude of options on offense, led by MVC Freshman of the Year Byron Dacy's eight goals, 24 points and 48 shots. The Jays rank among national leaders with 2.2 goals per game, with six different players having scored at least five goals on the year. Eight players have recorded at least 10 shots on goal and six players have at least 14 points this fall.
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 ninth NCAA postseason match on Sunday 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 this season. 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).
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).
Honor Roll: Matt Wieland is not only a scholar-athlete, but he has received numerous honors for the Jays over the past two weeks. Most recently, on Monday he was named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com National Team of the Week for his game-winning goal and play in CU's 3-0 win over Lafayette. Last week he was tabbed to Soccer America's Team of the Week, the MVC Tournament MVP, first-team all-MVC, the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week, MVC First-Team Scholar-Athlete and was named to ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First-Team and CoSIDA Academic All-America Third-Team.
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.
Sharing is Caring: The Bluejays lead the MVC with 59 assists. Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp leads the league with nine assists. Byron Dacy ranks second on the team and MVC with eight assists, while Joan Carvajal follows with seven assists. 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.
Dacy's Digits: Byron Dacy leads the team with eight goals and 24 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.
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 (Nov. 11). 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.
Go to the Corner: The Bluejays lead the MVC with 133 corner kicks, 6.3 per game. The Jays attempted a season-high 13 corner kicks against Illinois-Chicago (Oct. 5). The 13 corners established a Morrison Stadium record.
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. Wieland was then named a third-team Academic All-American by CoSIDA on Nov. 21, becoming just the second men's soccer player in CU history to earn the honor from CoSIDA.
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.
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.
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 - 43 (17 g, 9 a)
Michael Kraus - 42 (14 g, 14 a)
Jarod Tarver - 39 (14 g, 11 a)
Vince Odorisio - 31 (10 g, 11 a)
The Captain: Senior Matt Wieland, a three-year captain for CU has exploded on offensive this season. 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. He scored his career-high fifth goal of the season in CU's 3-0 win over Lafayette and then dished an assist and scored a goal in CU's 2-1 victory at Duke in the second round of the NCAA.
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. In his first season at CU last year, he had just one point on an assist.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Home Sweet Morrison: The Bluejays are 8-1-1 at home this season, including five straight victories on their home turf. Since Morrison Stadium opened in 2003, the Jays are 27-4-4 (.829) at their new facility. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 127-20-8 (.845) 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 averaged 2,014 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. 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 fell just shy of setting another attendance mark this season, with 2,014 fans per game in 10 home matches.
Wednesday, November 05
Sunday, November 02
Wednesday, October 29
Saturday, October 25
