No. 12 Men's Soccer Opens Season at Portland
8/30/2005 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
#12 Creighton at Portland
Friday, Sept. 2, 9:00 p.m. Merlo Field Portland, Ore.
#12 Creighton vs. Washington
Sunday, Sept. 4, 2:00 p.m. Merlo Field Portland, Ore.
This Week: The 12th-ranked Bluejays open the regular-season on the road for the first time since 1997, traveling to Portland for the Nike Invitational. The Jays will face two teams which qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year, battling host Portland on Friday night at 9 p.m. (CST). CU then takes on Washington Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. (CST).
Exhibition Recap: Creighton dropped both of its exhibition matches 1-0, falling to 25th-ranked Saint Louis and Stanford at home. Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Allen has claimed starting duties, as he was in net for all 180 minutes of the exhibition season. The CU offense out-shot both SLU and Stanford, with an overall edge of 26-18, but could not convert. A CU record crowd of 5,743 fans turned out for the Stanford match last Friday night.
The Bluejays in Brief: Creighton, one of five schools in the nation to appear in the last 13 NCAA tournaments, opens its pursuit of 14-straight Friday night. The Jays are picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference this season, after finishing 14-4-2 in the third round of the NCAA postseason in 2004. The Jays return eight starters, including 2003 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, Matt Wieland. Five players who scored at least 10 points last year are back in the fold on what should be a powerful offense. Senior Brian Biggerstaff led the team with eight goals last year, while Wieland, Michael Kraus and Tim Bohnenkamp are each on the preseason all-MVC team. Matt Allen (4-1-1, 0.69 GAA), who started both of CU's matches in the NCAA tourney last year, is back in net.
Scouting the Opponents:
Portland: The Pilots finished 12-8-2 last season, while advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive season. Portland returns seven starters from last season's squad, including junior goalkeeper Luis Robles. The team lost leading scorer Alejandro Salazar (7 g, 8 a), but returns three players who scored at least 13 points last season, led by Christopher Sanders (6 g, 3 a).
Washington: The Huskies, who have appeared in nine of the last 10 NCAA postseasons, lost in the first round of the tournament last year to Portland, finishing the season 11-7-2. UW returns eight starters from last year's team, including four all-conference selections. All-Pac-10 first-teamers Kevin Forrest (9 goals) and goalkeeper Chris Eylander (0.96 GAA, 10 shutouts) lead the returners for UW, picked to finish second in the powerful Pac-10.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 127-42-16 (.730) record in his nine seasons at CU. His overall mark is 321-158-46 (.655) in 27 years of coaching. Warming, the all-time winningest soccer coach at CU, has guided his teams to 11 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 ranks 12th among active NCAA Division I coaches in career winning percentage.
The CU-UP Series: Creighton and Portland have split two previous meetings, with each team winning its home match. UP defeated CU 3-2 on Sept. 21, 2002 before the Jays topped the Pilots 2-1 on Sept, 14, 2003.
The CU-UW Series: Creighton owns a 2-1 series edge over Washington, losing a 2-1 decision in Las Vegas last year. The Jays own 2-0 (Sept. 2, 2000) and 2-1 (Sept. 19, 2002) wins over the Huskies.
Season Openers: The Bluejays have never lost a season-opener under Head Coach Bob Warming. CU has tallied a 7-0-2 mark in Warming's nine season-openers at the helm. Since 1990 CU has lost just one debut, falling to No. 20 Duke in Bret Simon's first game as head coach, Sept. 2, 1995.
Road Trip: CU's trip to Portland to open this season is a rare one, as only once since 1990 have the Jays opened the year away from home. The only other time in the last 15 years the Jays opened on the road was Aug. 29, 1997. CU tied Saint Louis 1-1 that day. Since 1990, the Jays are 11-1-3 in road openers, with their only loss coming at No. 11 SMU in 1998.
Zero Chance: There is a good chance a zero will be put on the board Friday night against Portland, as the Bluejays have not allowed a goal in a season-opener since a 1-1 tie with Saint Louis in 1997. Not only have the Jays posted seven straight shut outs to begin the year, they have also been blanked in two of those matches for scoreless double overtime ties (2001, 2003).
For Starters: The Bluejays return eight starters from last year's 14-4-2 team, including the 2003 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, senior Matt Wieland. Sophomores Matt Allen and Tim Bohnenkamp were both named to the MVC All-Freshman Team as rookies last year, while Joan Carvajal earned honorable-mention all-freshman accolades. Junior defender Tony Odorisio was tabbed to all-MVC honorable-mention. Senior Vince Odorisio, and juniors Jarod Tarver and Andrew Peterson all started every match for CU last year. Junior Ryan Junge is CU's eighth returning starter.
Four Gone: The Bluejays lost only four seniors from last year's team,including two MLS draft picks and three starters. Julian Nash and Brett Rodriguez were both first-team all-MVC picks last year before being taken in the MLS draft, while Andrew Brown started 12 matches in goal and Kama Bennah made six starts while appearing in every match.
Preseason Favorites: The Bluejays are the Missouri Valley Conference preseason pick to win their record seventh regular-season title. CU received seven of eight first-place votes, while Bradley picked up the other first-place nod. Matt Wieland, Michael Kraus and Tim Bohnenkamp have each been named to the preseason all-MVC Team, while Brian Biggerstaff and Tony Odorisio earned honorable mention preseason notice.
MVC Trims Down: Valley affiliates SMU and Tulsa have departed to join Conference USA in all sports. Both squads made the NCAA tournament last season and both remain on CU's schedule this fall. The Jays play the pair as part of Tulsa's tournament in late September.
Local Flavor: The Jays have a record 13 Nebraska natives on the roster this fall, while seven Nebraskans started in CU's exhibition match against Stanford last Friday. CU had three Nebraskans on its first team in 1990 and the 1996 team did not list one Nebraska native on its roster.
Record Crowds: A CU home record crowd of 5,743 fans came out to the Jays' exhibition match against Stanford last Friday night. 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 and top three crowds in 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 CU 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
Go West Young Men: Creighton's trip to Portland marks the fourth straight year the Jays have played in a tournament in the Pacific Time Zone. CU is 2-2-3 on the West Coast since 2002, and the Jays are 10-4-5 all-time in the Pacific Time Zone.
Schedule Notes: With the departure of SMU and Tulsa from the MVC, there now remain eight teams in MVC soccer. With that change, the conference office has opted to alter the league scheduling from Friday-Sunday matched to Wednesday-Saturday contests. There will no longer be ?travel partners? and this format will allow for easier travel and better recovery for teams.
Tournament Format: The Valley has changed its men's soccer tournament format this season, moving from an eight-team to a six-team bracket. The top six teams will now qualify and all matches will be played at one site. The top two teams will earn a bye into the semifinals, while the first round of play will have 3-6 and 4-5 seed match ups. Shea Stadium and Bradley University will host the event in Peoria, Ill., this November.
Homeward Bound: The Bluejays went 10-1-1 at home in Morrison Stadium last year and own an overall mark of 17-3-3 at the facility since its opening in 2003. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 119-19-7 (.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.
