Men's Soccer Faces Clemson in NCAA Quarterfinals Friday
11/30/2005 2:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
#11 Creighton at #15 Clemson
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
Friday, Dec. 2, 6 pm (CST) Riggs Field Clemson, S.C.
This Week: The 11th-ranked Bluejays travel to 15th-ranked Clemson for the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament this Friday night. The Bluejays and Tigers will play with a berth into the College Cup (Final Four) on the line at Historic Riggs Field this Friday at 6 p.m. (CST). CU and Clemson have never met on the soccer pitch. The winner of Friday's match will advance to face the winner of the New Mexico - California match next Friday, Dec. 9, in a national semifinal match in Cary, N.C.
Last Week: Creighton, the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champions, advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the third time in the last four seasons with road wins over seeded teams. CU topped the sixth-seeded Duke Blue Devils 2-1 in Durham, N.C. (Nov. 22) and then traveled to Penn State where they knocked off the No. 11 seeded Nittany Lions 3-1 last Sunday afternoon. The Bluejays used their first two come-from-behind victories of the season to eliminate the ACC and Big Ten tournament champions. Senior Matt Wieland scored a goal and added an assist on Jarod Tarver's game-winning goal against Duke. Sophomore Sam Eid scored his first career goal, appearing in just his third game of the year, against PSU to equal the game at 1-1, before Byron Dacy scored the game-winner and Michael Kraus added an insurance tally in the second half.
Scouting Creighton (15-4-3, 5-2-0 MVC): The Bluejays are competing in their 14th consecutive NCAA tournament and after their three wins in the postseason are now 19-12-3 all-time in the NCAA postseason, including an impressive 15-9-3 record away from Omaha in the NCAA tournament. The Jays have won seven straight matches, out-scoring their opposition 17-2 in those contests. With two road wins in the NCAA postseason, CU is now 5-3-1 in true road games this year, while they are 7-3-2 in games away from Omaha. During CU's seven-game winning streak, the team tied a school record with five straight shutouts, and with one more blanking this year the Jays will tie a school record with 11 shutouts this season. The Jays enter the week ranked 12th in the NCAA with 2.2 goals per game, while they also lead the MVC with 7.3 points and 2.9 assists per game. CU's balanced offense is led by MVC Freshman of the Year Byron Dacy with nine goals and 27 points. Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp leads the MVC with 10 assists. First-team all-MVC performer Matt Wieland anchors CU's defense, which has logged 10 shutouts and a 0.79 goals against average this fall. Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Allen has played all but 20 minutes in net for CU, with a 0.80 GAA and 74 saves on the year.
Scouting Clemson (14-5-3, 2-4-2 ACC): The Tigers have posted three straight shutouts in the NCAA tournament to reach the quarterfinals and have won eight of their last nine matches. They are one of eight ACC teams which made the tournament field, and one of three remaining from their conference after going 2-4-2 in ACC play during the regular-season. Clemson is 10-2-1 at home this year with both losses coming to ranked ACC opponents. Dane Richards tops the team with 11 goals, eight assists and 30 points, while he is one of five Tigers with at least four goals scored on the year. Richards has attempted 65 shots on the season, 23 more than the next closest Tiger. Nathan Sturgis was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, helping Clemson to eight shutouts this season. First-team all-ACC goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi has played over 2,000 minutes in net, logging a 0.83 GAA.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 142-46-19 (.732) record in his 10 seasons at CU. His overall mark is 336-162-49 (.659) 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 19-12-3 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. CU has recorded an impressive 15-9-3 mark away from Omaha in the NCAA tourney. The Jays have advanced to the College Cup (Final Four) three times in school history; 1996, 2000 and 2002, appearing in the NCAA championship match in 2000. See page six 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 5-0-1 against the NCAA field this year after topping Penn State, Duke and Lafayette in the first three rounds of the tournament. The Jays also defeated Bradley twice and recorded a 1-1 tie with SMU in the regular-season. SMU is also in the quarterfinals this weekend.
And the Winner Has: Friday's winner will advance to the NCAA College Cup and face the winner of the California - New Mexico match in a national semifinals on Friday, Dec. 9 in Cary, N.C.
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.
Tourney Tested: Creighton's match at Clemson on Friday will mark the first time the Jays have not matched up with a league tournament champion during this NCAA postseason. CU, the MVC tournament champs, knocked off Patriot League champions Lafayette, the ACC champions Duke and Big Ten champs Penn State.
On the Road Again: The Bluejays will continue what has become an annual road trip in the NCAA this weekend. Now in their 14th NCAA tournament, the Jays have hosted only seven matches and never hosted more than one home game during one postseason. The Jays are 19-12-3 all-time in the NCAA postseason, including 15-9-3 away from Omaha all-time. During CU's 1996 and 2000 runs to the College Cup, they did not host a postseason game and hosted just one game during the 2002 Final Four run.
Road Warriors: Not only has Creighton been sent on the road for the third straight game this NCAA postseason, the Jays have played at home just twice in their last 10 games. CU has won five straight games away from Omaha after recording an 8-1-1 record at home this season.
Quarter-Rounder: The Bluejays have advanced to the quarterfinals for the third time in the last four seasons and will be looking to advance to the College Cup for the third time this decade. The Jays are making their sixth appearance all-time in this round, where they are 3-2-0 all-time.
Unseeded Success: Creighton and Clemson are two of the three remaining unseeded teams left in the NCAA tournament (SMU is also unseeded). The unseeded match on Friday guarantees the College Cup will feature an unseeded team.
Creighton-Clemson Connection: The Bluejays and Tigers have never met on the pitch, but have a connection through recent soccer alum. Brothers Damien (Creighton) and Dimelon (Clemson) Westfield both played at their respective schools after they teamed together at Young Harris (Ga.) Junior College. Dimelon was the 22nd overall pick in the 2003 MLS Draft, while Damien concluded his two-year Bluejay career after the 2003 season.
Beware the Eid of CU: Sophomore Sam Eid could not have picked a better spot to score his first collegiate goal when the 6-foot-3 forward did so against Penn State in the third round. Playing in just his third game of the year and 12th of his career, he found the back of the net in the first half to equal the game at 1-1 before halftime.
PK Conversion: The Bluejays converted their first penalty kick of the season in their 3-1 win at Penn State in the third round. CU had attempted just one PK through the first 21 matches, a miss by Jarod Tarver against Illinois-Chicago (Oct. 5). Byron Dacy converted the PK against PSU for the game-winning goal and his team-leading ninth tally.
Wieland Brothers Can Play: Senior Matt Wieland has played in 86 career matches to rank fourth in school history on the games-played list. He will play in his 87th game against Clemson to tie his older brother, Joe, for third all-time. Matt has started 84 of his career matches, including his first 22 starts alongside older brother Joe in 2002.
Ten for Tim: Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp recorded his team and MVC-leading 10th assist in CU's win at Penn State last Sunday. He is the first Bluejay to reach 10 assists in one season since David Wagenfuhr dished 10 helpers in 2001.
40-40 Club: Both senior Brian Biggerstaff and junior Michael Kraus have moved past the career 40-point plateau this season, as both players enter this Friday's match with 44 career points. The top six active Bluejay career scorers are listed below:
Active CU Career Point Leaders
Brian Biggerstaff, Sr. 44 (17 g, 10 a)
Michael Kraus, Jr. 44 (15 g, 14 a)
Jarod Tarver, Jr. 39 (14 g, 11 a)
Vince Odorisio, Sr. 31 (10 g, 11 a)
Matt Wieland, Sr. 28 (10 g, 8 a)
Byron Dacy, Fr. 27 (9 g, 9 a)
Be Like Mike: Michael Kraus has proven he enjoys the postseason during his three years at Creighton. As a freshman, he dished six assists in four NCAA tournament games to tie the CU career NCAA tourney record. As a sophomore, he played in only four matches, but three were in the postseason. He scored CU's only goal against Tulsa in a 1-1 tie in the MVC semifinals and was named to the MVC All-Tournament team. This season he once again earned all-tournament honors as he scored two goals and added an assist in the tournament. He has also added two more goals in NCAA play this season, to move his season total to eight goals (four in postseason play). For his career, he has six goals, seven assists and 19 points in 13 postseason games (MVC and NCAA).
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 eight goals scored in their first three tournament games this season. The Jays have scored at least three goals in seven of their last 13 NCAA postseason games, including netting six goals twice in that span.
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 Nov. 22 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 2,020. The former sophomore minute mark was held by Jay Fitzgerald in 1993 with 1,813. Allen's minute total now stands as the fifth-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 0.80 GAA this season ranks fifth on the CU single-season list and his 15 wins rank sixth.
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 and the Jays followed with another come-from-behind victory at Penn State in the third-round to improve to 2-4-1 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 nine goals, 27 points and 50 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 seven players have at least 10 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 10th NCAA postseason match on Friday and needs only one more assist for the CU career postseason record. (See page six for CU NCAA Tournament records).
Playing Biggs: Senior Brian Biggerstaff is the only Bluejay in school history to have recorded a hat trick in NCAA tournament play, turning in the feat against UMKC in the 2003 first round. He has five career NCAA tourney goals, one shy of tying the career mark held by MLS draft picks Mike Tranchilla and Brian Mullan.
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, Nov. 21 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 63 assists. Sophomore Tim Bohnenkamp leads the league with 10 assists. Byron Dacy ranks second on the team and MVC with nine helpers, 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 nine goals and 27 points this season. His goal and point totals are the highest by a Bluejay since Mike Tranchilla totalled 15 goals and 37 points 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 142 corner kicks, 6.5 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.
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 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.
Some Good Things Must Come to an End: The Bluejays have learned that lesson the hard way this season, as they have 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 finished 8-1-1 at home this season. 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.
