No. 15 Men's Soccer Hosts Diadora Challenge, No. 23 Memphis
9/14/2005 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Friday, Sept. 16, 7:00 p.m., Morrison Stadium
#15 Creighton vs. Mercer
Sunday, Sept. 18, 12:30 p.m., Morrison Stadium
This Week: The 15th-ranked Bluejays play host to the ninth annual Diadora Challenge when No. 23 Memphis and Mercer both visit Morrison Stadium this weekend. The Bluejays play Memphis Friday at 7 p.m., before hosting Mercer for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff on Sunday.
Last Week: Creighton opened its home schedule in style by defeating Loyola (Ill.) 4-2 last Saturday night. Four different players scored for the Jays, including Ryan Junge's first Creighton goal. Junge also added an assist, while Danny Minutillo scored the game-winning goal and dished an assist as well. Byron Dacy and Brian Biggerstaff also found the back of the net in the win, while Tim Bohnenkamp added two assists.
Scouting Creighton (2-0-1): Creighton, the Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite, is off to a 2-0-1 start this season, scoring eight goals through three games. Freshman Byron Dacy is the only Bluejay with more than one goal scored this fall, while six other players have scored one goal. Tim Bohnenkamp, Joan Carvajal and Jarod Tarver each have two assists for the Jays. Matt Allen has played every minute in net for the Jays this fall, stopping seven shots and allowing five goals for a 1.55 goals against average. Senior and three-year captain Matt Wieland, along with Michael Kraus and Bohnenkamp were named to the preseason all-MVC team. Ryan Junge was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week last week for his efforts against Loyola.
Scouting #23 Memphis (4-0-0): The Tigers, who qualified for the NCAA tournament last year, are off to a perfect start through four games, out-scoring their opponents 20-3. Memphis has the second-highest scoring offense in the NCAA, with six players already scoring at least two goals. Marcus McCarty leads the team with five goals, Andy Metcalf has four goals and Dayton O'Brien has three goals and five assists to lead the team with 11 points. Gavin McInerney has made nine saves, allowed three goals and owns a 0.83 goals against average in net for Memphis. The Tigers have out-shot opponents 80-34 through four games.
Scouting Mercer (1-3-0): The Bears have allowed at least two goals in each of their four games this year, including allowing five tallies twice. They have been out-scored 14-8 and out-shot 57-42 through four matches. Mercer has not played a home match this season, with its one victory a 3-2 win at Furman. Del Olaoye leads the team with eight points (3 goals, 2 assists), while Vieinte Arie has scored three goals. Mercer has split time in goal between David Bird (0-2-0, 3.20 GAA, 5 saves) and Aldo Balsano (1-1-0, 3.60 GAA, 12 saves)
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea College, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 129-42-17 (.731) record in his 10 seasons at CU. His overall mark is 323-158-47 (.656) in 28 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 began the year ranked 12th among active NCAA Division I coaches in career winning percentage.
Against the Opponents: Creighton and Memphis have met just once before as they opened the 2001 season against each other with a 0-0 double overtime tie in the Diadora Challenge. The Bluejays have never faced Mercer on the soccer field before.
Diadora Challenge: The Bluejays play host to the ninth annual Diadora Challenge this weekend. The Jays have never lost a match in the tournament, with a 12-0-3 mark all-time. CU won the even last season by topping Western Michigan 4-0 and Loyola Marymount 2-1. Julian Nash was tabbed the tournament MVP last season.
Opening Acts: The Bluejays are now 8-0-2 all-time in home openers under head coach Bob Warming, while they are 7-0-3 in season-openers under Warming. The Bluejays had not allowed a goal in a home opener since 1995 before last Saturday's 4-2 win over Loyola. The Jays have now out-scored the opposition 29-3 in home openers under Warming.
Junge Guns: Junior Ryan Junge, in his second season at CU after playing one season at Hastings College, scored his first Bluejay goal in CU's win over Loyola last week. His header in the 17th minute gave CU a 2-0 lead, after he assisted on CU's first goal of the match in the 13th minute.
Dacy's Doings: Freshman Byron Dacy made his first collegiate start and it paid immediate dividends last Saturday against Loyola. The rookie from Omaha Creighton Prep scored his team-leading second goal in just the 13th minute to give CU a 1-0 lead.
Home Boy: Tim Bohnenkamp, a sophomore from Omaha, has proved his like for Morrison Stadium in his two years of play at CU. The midfielder dished two assists to tie a stadium record against Loyola last weekend. He now has four goals and five assists in his career, with all 13 of his points coming at home.
Making it Count: Sophomore Danny Minutillo has now scored two goals in his collegiate career, with both serving as game-winners. Last year his first career goal was the game-winner in a 3-2 triumph over UCLA. Minutillo also netted the game-winner against Loyola last Saturday, before adding his first career assist on Brian Biggerstaff's insurance tally.
Mangrum PT: Christian Mangrum is in his final year with the Creighton soccer program. The senior began his CU career in 2000, before taking two seasons off for a church mission. Mangrum appeared in one match in 2000, none in 2003 and two in 2004. This year the 23-year-old midfielder has already played in two of CU's three matches.
Bench Mark: Last Saturday, Brian Biggerstaff and Michael Kraus both came off the bench in CU's win over Loyola, making the 4-2 win even more impressive. Biggerstaff was CU's leading goal-scorer last year (8), while Kraus led the team in goals, assists and points (6-9-21) as a freshman in 2003 (before being limited to just four matches last year due to injury).
Welcome to Creighton: Bluejay newcomers contributed greatly in CU's opening weekend at the Portland Nike Invitational. The Jays' lone goal in Friday's 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.
Home Cooking: The Jays went 10-1-1 at home in Morrison Stadium last year and now own an overall mark of 18-3-3 at the facility since its opening in 2003. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 120-19-7 (.846) at home. The Jays ranked in the top-five in the nation in attendance last year, up from a top-10 ranking in 2003.
Carvajal's Kicks: Sophomore Joan Carvajal has resumed a trend he started last year. The midfielder from Miami led CU rookies with four assists last year, including a helper in each of his first three collegiate games. Carvajal assisted two goals, including the game-winner in CU's triumph over Washington last Sunday. He was the only Bluejay with more than one assist in CU's opening weekend.
Schmitz Plays: Sophomore Tony Schmitz has been in CU's starting lineup in all three matches this season after playing in 13 matches with three starts last year. The Omaha Skutt graduate collected his first career point with an assist on Jarod Tarver's goal against Washington (Sept. 4).
Local Flavor: The Jays have a record 13 Nebraska natives on the roster this fall, while eight Nebraskans started in CU's win over Loyola last Saturday. CU had three Nebraskans on its first team in 1990 and the 1996 team did not list one Nebraska native on its roster.
Road Trip: CU's trip to Portland to open this season was a rare one, as only once since 1990 had the Jays opened the year away from home prior to last weekend. 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 now 11-1-4 in road openers, with their only loss coming at No. 11 SMU in 1998. The Bluejays had not allowed a goal in any season opener since a 1-1 tie with SLU in 1997.
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.
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.
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.
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 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
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.
Global Bluejays: Live video streaming of both men's and women's home soccer matches is available this season. The video streaming schedule includes all remaining men's and women's home matches, which gives CU fans across the globe the chance to see some of the best soccer, in one the finest facilities in the nation right on their desktops. The season pass is just $21.95. For more information on system requirements in order to view the webcasts and how to register for your season pass, go to www.gocreighton.tv or click on the video webcast button on www.gocreighton.com.
