Women's Soccer to Wrap Up Regular Season This Weekend
10/24/2007 11:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
This Week - The Creighton women's soccer team will complete the regular season
portion of its schedule this weekend with two crucial Missouri Valley
Conference matchups. The Bluejays will play at Evansville in a match of two of the top four teams in the league standings on Friday. CU then returns home Sunday afternoon for Senior Day in the regular season finale against Northern Iowa at Morrison Stadium.
Follow Along - Creighton's athletics website, www.gocreighton.com, offers live stats for each home match, available by clicking the “Live Stats” link under the Multimedia tab on the left side of the homepage. Fans can watch the video broadcast of each home match during the season for a price of $4.95 per broadcast, with Peter Della Penna providing play-by-play.
Last Week - Creighton picked up two victories last weekend at Morrison Stadium, defeating Indiana State, 4-0, on Friday and Western Illinois, 1-0, on Sunday. Marcy Gans scored a goal in both matches, including the only tally Sunday to snap WIU's 11-match unbeaten streak. Eden Hingwing, Toch Ihemelu, and Emily Orbell added goals in the win over Indiana State as CU scored a season-high four goals to improve to 10-0-0 against INSU all-time. Goalkeeper Kristen Casey picked up her fifth and sixth shutouts of the season for the Jays.
Scouting Creighton (8-6-1, 2-1-1 MVC) - The Bluejays have played well defensively as of late, allowing only three goals in the past five matches. With two shutouts last weekend, goalkeeper Kristen Casey now leads the MVC with six shutouts. Entering the weekend, the Jays lead the MVC in shots (207) and corner kicks (72). Marcy Gans leads the MVC with four game-winning goals and 54 shots and is second in the league with 18 points and eight goals. Gans has scored a goal in four consecutive matches, including the game winner Sunday against WIU. She has scored a point in every CU victory this season, including a goal in seven of the eight wins. Freshman Emily Orbell is second on the team with 10 points on four goals and two assists.
Scouting Evansville (9-3-3, 2-1-2 MVC) - The Purple Aces are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to Drake on Thursday and a 1-1 tie with league leader Illinois State on Sunday. The preseason MVC favorites have also beaten Missouri State and Indiana State, while tying Northern Iowa in conference play this season. UE's only other losses are to Indiana and Kentucky.
Evansville tops the MVC in points, goals, and assists. Junior Kayla Lambert leads the conference with 22 points on four assists and an MVC-best nine goals. 2006 All-MVC First Team selection Heidi Grey has tallied four goals and four assists, while junior Mia Tofano has contributed 13 points on five goals and three assists. The trio has combined for seven of UE's nine game-winning goals. Between the pipes, freshman Theresa Bagby has five shutouts in 11 starts.
Scouting Northern Iowa (5-8-2, 1-3-1 MVC) - The Panthers are coming off a 3-0 victory over Indiana State on Sunday at home. Northern Iowa's five victories this season have exceeded its win total from the previous two seasons combined (3). In MVC play, UNI tied MVC preseason favorite Evansville, 0-0, on Oct. 5, but then lost to Illinois State, Drake, and Missouri State by a combined 12-0 before the win over Indiana State.
Freshman Chelsie Hochstedler leads UNI with six goals and 12 points. Sophomore Laura Wagner scored two goals in the Panthers' 3-0 win over Indiana State to join Hochstedler and senior Amy Seubert as the team's only multi-goal scorers. Senior goalkeeper Heidi O'Mara has picked up 70 saves and recorded four shutouts this season for the Panthers, but has allowed 21 goals as UNI has been outscored 26-14.
Series History - Creighton beat Evansville 3-0 in Omaha during the regular season last year, but the Purple Aces avenged the loss less than two weeks later with a 2-1 victory over CU in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament at Morrison Stadium. Evansville holds a 12-7-1 advantage in the all-time series, but the Jays are 5-1-1 against UE since 2002.
Northern Iowa picked up its first win in nine meetings with Creighton last year in Cedar Falls, winning 1-0 in the regular season finale. Creighton still holds a 7-1-1 edge in the all-time series, including a 5-0 win in 2005 over the Panthers in Omaha.
Bluejay Boss - Head coach Bruce Erickson is in his ninth season as the Creighton women's soccer coach and has an 89-74-17 (.542) record with the Jays. Erickson is the winningest coach in school history and was the 2002 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year. He has guided Creighton to MVC Tournament championships in 2002, 2004, and 2005 and three NCAA Tournament appearances in the same years. In 2002, the Jays won both the regular season and tournament championships. Creighton has qualified for the MVC Tournament in eight straight seasons, and has reached the championship match in four of the past five years. Erickson has a 31-17-7 (.623) record in conference matches at Creighton.
Seniority Rules - Creighton's six seniors have combined to play in 391 matches during their careers, including 228 starts, with two regular season contests remaining. Tristan Moser-Bleil, Ally Peetz, Katy Peetz, and Sam Russell each have started at least 35 matches at Creighton. Toch Ihemelu led the Jays in scoring last season with 10 points on five goals. Heather Duncan has made 27 career starts, including all 15 matches this season, and was an All-MVC honorable mention last season. Ihemelu and Russell are tied for third on the team with five points apiece. Russell leads the team with three assists, while Katy Peetz has added two helpers. Since the class' arrival four years ago, Creighton has posted a 38-28-10 (.566) record, won two MVC Tournament titles and advanced to two NCAA Tournaments.
MVC Leaders - As a team, Creighton leads the MVC in shot attempts, with 172, and corner kicks, with 72. CU's 20 assists this season rank second in the league. Individually, junior Marcy Gans leads the Valley with 54 shots and four game-winning goals. She is also second in the conference with eight goals and 18 points. Goalkeeper Kristen Casey leads the league with six shutouts, is third with a 1.12 goals-against average, and is fifth with 59 saves. Senior Sam Russell is tied for seventh in the MVC with three assists and freshman Emily Orbell cracks the top-10 in goals (4) and points (10).
Record Watch - With her 17th career assist in the win over Indiana State, Sam Russell is now one helper away from tying for fifth on CU's career assist charts. Entering her final regular season match at Morrison Stadium on Sunday, Russell is also one assist shy of the stadium's career record. Goalkeeper Kristen Casey is three saves away from tying for fifth on the CU career saves list. With a win at home against Northern Iowa on Sunday, Casey would have six in 2007 to set a new Morrison Stadium single-season mark and would have 11 overall to tie the stadium's career mark. Marcy Gans needs three points against Northern Iowa to tie Morrison's single-season points record of 13 she set as a freshman and needs a goal to match her five from 2005. Gans is also two shot attempts shy of the 37 she had last season to set the stadium's single-season mark.
Injury Bug - Creighton has battled numerous injuries this season, as a handful of players have missed games. Most notably, junior forward/midfielder Lindsay Vaught was lost for the season with a broken arm suffered against Drake (10/11). Freshman defender Brittni Deeb has missed the past four contests after sustaining a shoulder injury against Missouri State (10/5). Senior midfielder Katy Peetz returned against Indiana State on Friday after missing the previous nine contests with an ankle injury.
Morrison Magic - Creighton is 29-10-6 (.711) at Morrison Stadium since it opened in 2003, including a 10-1-3 (.821) record in MVC play. The Jays are 5-2-1 at Morrison this season, and are unbeaten in their last four entering the home finale against Northern Iowa.
Tremendous Turn-Out - With an average turn-out of 718 fans per game during the first eight home contests this season, Creighton leads the MVC in attendance. CU averages nearly 500 fans more than any other school in the league. The 2007 season has featured two of the eight largest attendance totals in school history. The Sept. 21 match against Iowa drew a school-record 1,547 fans and the season opener against Northern Colorado on Aug. 31 was attended by 1,077 patrons.
Marcy's Playground - Junior forward Marcy Gans is the team's most potent offensive threat, leading all current players with 18 career goals and 46 career points after scoring a goal in each of the past four matches. She leads the team this season with eight goals, 18 points, 54 shots, and 21 shots on goal. Gans has scored the game-winning goal in four of Creighton's eight victories and has assisted on another. She holds Morrison Stadium career records for goals (11), points (27), shots (98), and shots on goal (44). Gans is a two-time MVC All-Tournament team pick and was the tourney's MVP as a freshman. She has also been named an All-MVC honorable mention twice in her career.
More on Marcy - Gans has scored a point in every Creighton victory this season, including a goal in seven of the eight wins... She registered more game-winning goals (3) in the first six matches of the 2007 season than she had in her first two seasons combined (2)... The 10 points Gans scored in the first eight contests this season matched Toch Ihemelu's team-leading point total from last season... She leads the MVC with four game-winning goals and 54 shots, and is second with 18 points and eight goals... Gans accounts for over 25 percent of the team's total output in points, goals, and shots.
KC Masterpiece - With two shutouts last weekend, junior goalkeeper Kristen Casey now leads the MVC with six for the season. Five of her six shutouts have come at Morrison Stadium, which is a new single-season record. She also broke Morrison Stadium career records last weekend for saves (62) and shutouts (10). Since conference play began on Oct. 5, Casey has lowered her goals-against average from 1.40 to 1.12, allowing only three goals in the last five matches. Casey's 12 career shutouts rank fifth all-time at Creighton and she is currently three saves shy of cracking the top-five in career saves.
Reliable Russell - Senior defender Sam Russell has become a rare four-year starter for the Bluejays this fall. The Stilwell, Kan., native has made 71 career starts, more than any other player on the Creighton roster. Russell leads the team and is tied for seventh in the MVC with three assists. She also had the game-winning goal in the Jays' 3-0 win over South Dakota on Sept. 11 for only her second career goal. Her 17 career assists are one shy of fifth place on the school's career charts. Thirteen of Russell's 17 assists have come at Morrison Stadium, which is one away from the stadium's career mark.
Better To Give - Senior Toch Ihemelu has given the Creighton offense a spark as a starter in the past two contests after coming off the bench in 12 of the previous 13 games this season. Ihemelu scored a goal, and narrowly missed two more, in the Jays' 4-0 win over Indiana State on Friday. On Sunday, Ihemelu picked up her first career assist on Marcy Gans' game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory over Western Illinois.
All Over the Field - Junior Nicole DeLue has been a versatile weapon for the Jays with the ability to play all three positions on the field. The Littleton, Colo., native has started all 15 contests, split between the midfield and backline, and she also has the capability to play up front. She picked up the game-winning assist on Marcy Gans' goal in the Jays' 2-1 win over Northern Colorado in the season opener and added another assist in the 3-0 win over South Dakota on Sept. 11.
Seeing Double - Senior twins Ally and Katy Peetz have combined to start 73 matches in their careers and the duo has appeared in a total of 129. Younger sister, Anne Peetz, is a sophomore on the team and has appeared in 22 matches in her career. Anne also has a twin, Carly, who plays soccer at the University of Nebraska. Katy and Anne both had assists in the Jays' win over South Dakota on Sept. 11. Katy returned in the match against Indiana State after missing the previous nine contests with an ankle injury.
The Newcomers - The Jays have five newcomers in 2007: D Brittni Deeb, M/F Grace Kwon, M Emily Orbell, M/F Claire Zach, and M Mary Zapapas. Zapapas is a sophomore transfer from Middle Tennessee, where she was named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year last season after scoring 11 goals and assisting on four. So far this season, the newcomers have combined to play in 50 matches, including 32 starting assignments. Orbell has started all 15 matches and has 10 points and four goals, Deeb has made nine starts on the backline, Zapapas has six starts and Kwon has been in the starting lineup twice. Zach picked up her first career point with an assist on CU's final goal in the 4-0 victory over Indiana State.
Lineup Flexibility - Exactly half of the players on the Creighton roster are listed at multiple positions, giving head coach Bruce Erickson the ability to mix and match lineups for various situations. This strategy has also been critical for developing team depth at each position in the event of injuries.
Neighbors to the North - Minnesota natives Emily Orbell (White Bear Lake) and Brittni Deeb (Lake Elmo) have played important roles in their freshmen seasons. Orbell, who has started all 15 matches, is second on the team with four goals and 10 points. She scored a goal in her first collegiate match against Northern Colorado in the season opener and tallied the game-winning goal against Weber State on Sept. 23. Deeb started on the backline in nine of Creighton's first 11 contests, but an injury has kept her out of the past four matches. Senior Tristan Moser-Bleil (Minneapolis) gives Creighton three contributors from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Moser-Bleil has been a regular in the lineup since arriving as a freshman and has played in more matches (75) than any other player on the Jays' roster. Head coach Bruce Erickson (Brooklyn Park) also originally hails from the state.
International Experience - Three members of the women's soccer program have or will represent their countries on the field. Sophomore Eden Hingwing played with the Canadian National Team last fall at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Championships in Russia. First-year assistant coach Ileana Moschos was a goalkeeper for the Greek Women's National Team from 2002-04 and participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Volunteer assistant coach and former CU player Ivonne Valentin will begin training with the Puerto Rican National Team this fall.
Exhibition Recap - The Jays finished 1-1-1 during exhibition play this preseason. Creighton fell 2-0 at Iowa State on Aug. 18, before reversing the fortunes with a 2-0 victory at Valparaiso on Aug. 21. Marcy Gans scored a goal and assisted on the other in the win over the Crusaders. Creighton and the University of Mary played to a 0-0 draw Aug. 26 at Morrison Stadium. The Jays out-shot Mary, 26-1, in the match but could not capitalize.
Up Next - This week's matches will determine Creighton's seeding in the State Farm MVC Tournament. The Bluejays have already clinched a berth in the tournament and can secure a top-two seed and first-round bye with two wins this weekend. The teams that finish third through sixth will play in the quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 4, with the higher seeded school hosting. The winners will then face the top two seeds in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 9, in Evansville, Ind. The MVC Championship match is set for Sunday, Nov. 11.
