No. 10 Men's Soccer Hosts Western Illinois, Travels to Memphis

#10 Creighton hosts Western Illinois
Friday, Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m. ? Omaha, Neb.
#10 Creighton at Memphis
Sunday, Oct. 7, 1:00 p.m. ? Memphis, Tenn.

Following the Jays: Every Creighton home match this season can be followed on the internet via live stats, live video and audio. Live stats for all home matches can be viewed free with gametracker by clicking on the live stats link and fans can subscribe to listen to Peter Della Penna's play-by-play broadcast and watch a live video stream of the Bluejays' home matches via the links at the newly designed www.gocreighton.com.

This Week: The 10th-ranked Bluejays will play a pair of non-conference games before the start of MVC play. CU plays host to Western Illinois on Friday night at 7:30, following the Bluejay women against Missouri State at 5 p.m. The Bluejays then play at Memphis for the second straight season, taking on the Tigers Sunday at 1 p.m. The match will be Creighton's first true road contest of the season.

Last Week: Sophomore Thomas Gjoesund scored his first career goal in the 98th minute to give the Bluejays a 2-1 victory over No. 24 Washington, improving CU to 2-0-1 against the coaches top 25 this year. The Jays struck first with a Tony Schmitz goal in the 11th minute, then waited 87 minutes before CU's second overtime game-winner of the year.

Scouting Creighton (4-1-2): The Bluejays play two non-conference matches this week before starting MVC play next Wednesday. After opening the season on a five-match unbeaten streak, CU lost to Tulsa 3-1, but bounced back with a big 2-1 overtime victory against 24th-ranked Washington last Saturday. The Jays are now 2-0-2 in overtime this year. The CU defense has posted three shutouts, while the Jays have surrendered seven goals in seven matches. The Bluejays have out-shot opponents 127-84 and have an impressive 58-23 edge in corner kicks on the season. Senior Tony Schmitz and junior Tim Walters tie for the team-lead with two goals, two assists and six points each. Junior Andrei Gotsmanov has launched a team-leading 29 shots and also has two goals. Freshmen Tucker Sindlinger and Andrew Duran are both out indefinitely due to illness, while the Jays are also without junior forward Byron Dacy for the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL. Senior Matt Allen, the only goalkeeper on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, has played every minute in net, stopped 18 shots and owns a 0.93 goals against average.

Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea, 1975) is in his second stint as the Bluejays' head coach with a 159-53-24 (.725) record in his 12th season at CU. His overall record is 352-172-54 (.656) in his 30th year of coaching. Warming, the MVC All-Centennial Coach and the all-time winningest soccer coach at CU, has guided teams to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, is a five-time finalist for National Coach of the Year and is a two-time MVC Coach of the Year. He was named the NSCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2005 and ranked eighth among active NCAA Division I coaches in career victories to open the year.

Scouting Western Illinois (4-5-1): The Leathernecks have dropped five of their last six games, following a 3-0-1 start. WIU's lone win in its last six matches was a 3-0 victory over MVC foe Eastern Illinois. WIU has also defeated Drake, tied Missouri State and lost to Bradley. Martin Browne Jr. and Preston Bernardi are tied for the team-lead with three goals and seven points each. Charlie Sales (360 mins, 1.00 GAA) and Stephen Paterson (560 mins, 1.29 GAA) have split time in goal for WIU. WIU has been out-scored 12-10 on the year.

CU-WIU Series: The Leathernecks are the only opponent on CU's schedule this year that the Bluejays have a losing record against all-time, as WIU owns a 3-0-0 edge in the series history. Each of those three victories came prior to the current-era of CU soccer, which re-started in 1990. WIU notched one-goal victories in 1982, 1983 and 1985 - the final year of CU soccer before a four-year hiatus.

Scouting Memphis (5-1-2): The Tigers entered the week on a three-match winning streak, before playing at Tulsa on Friday. Memphis had out-scored its previous three foes 11-1, including a 5-0 win over Centenary. UM has also defeated MVC foe Evansville, 2-1, this season. Jared Britcher leads the team with four goals and 11 points, while Sean Goulding leads the way with five assists. Tyler Strom has a 0.58 GAA with 24 saves in 617 minutes, while Memphis has out-scored opponents 15-5 this season.

CU-Memphis Series: The Bluejays have never lost to Memphis in three meetings, posting a 2-0-1 record, including a 3-2 win in Memphis last Oct. 7. All of CU's point-scorers from that match are no longer active for the Bluejays (Byron Dacy scored twice). The Jays topped the Tigers 3-1 in Omaha in 2005 and played to a scoreless draw in Omaha in 2001. Tony Schmitz scored his first career goal vs. Memphis in 2005.

Go Gjoesund: Thomas Gjoesund's first career goal was a memorable one last Saturday night against No. 24 Washington. The defender-turned-attacker scored the game-winning goal in overtime, as his direct free kick was blasted past the UW keeper to give CU a 2-1 win in the 98th minute. The sophomore had played just 18 minutes off the bench in the match, while playing out of position due to several Bluejay injuries. It was just his 10th career shot in his 22nd career game.

Everyone's a Winner: In each of CU's four wins this season, a different player has scored the game-winning goal ? Andrei Gotsmanov vs. Green Bay (Sept. 2), Tim Walters vs. Indiana (Sept. 13), Byron Dacy vs. LMU (Sept. 15) and Thomas Gjoesund vs. Washington (Sept. 29).

League Leaders: Creighton tops the MVC with 18.1 shots per game, almost two shots more than Evansville's 16.5 per game. The Jays' 8.3 corner kicks per game are also tops in the MVC, far more than Eastern Illinois' 6.6 per game. Andrei Gotsmanov's 4.2 shots per game is also most in the league.

Attendance Figures: Creighton is on pace to shatter its average home attendance record of 2,015 set in 2004. The Jays are averaging 3,770 fans through their first five home matches this season. The attendance is believed to rank second in the nation currently, trailing Saint Louis by just 41. The NCAA does not release attendance figures until the end of the season, therefore the unofficial top five teams in attendance this year are the following:

1. Saint Louis - 3,811
2. Creighton - 3,770
3. Indiana - 3,478
4. Duke - 3,187
5. Connecticut - 3,085

Fantastic Fanatics: Bluejay men's soccer fans continue to turn out in record numbers, as Creighton's match with Tulsa on Sept. 22 drew 4,023. The 4,023 fans ranked as the sixth-highest game attendance in school history and it follows up CU's last home match which drew a record 5,812 to see UCLA on Sept. 8.

Top Six Creighton Home Crowds
1 ? 5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007
2 ? 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
3 ? 4,407 vs. Saint Louis, Aug. 31, 1997
4 ? 4,345 vs. Virginia (Exh.), Aug. 28, 1993
5 ? 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
6 ? 4,023 vs. Tulsa, Sept. 22, 2007

Top Five Morrison Stadium Crowds
1 ? 5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007
2 ? 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
3 ? 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
4 ? 4,023 vs. Tulsa, Sept. 22, 2007
5 ? 3,746 vs. Georgetown, Sept. 1, 2006

Best in the Midwest: Creighton ranks third in the Midwest in the NSCAA poll this week, trailing SMU and Tulsa. The Bluejays will be playing the fourth-ranked team in the Midwest this Sunday at Memphis. Bradley rounds out the top-five Midwest teams this week.

Conference Talk: CU battles Summit League foe Western Illinois and Conference USA opponent Memphis this week. The MVC is 12-5-2 against the Summit League and 1-5-0 against Conference USA teams this season - with Eastern Illinois' win over Kentucky the lone triumph vs. C-USA.

Road Trip: Creighton's match at Memphis on Sunday will mark the Bluejays' first true road match of the season. The Jays will have played six of their first eight matches at home, with the other two coming at a neutral site in St. Louis. The last time CU went at least nine matches before playing its first road match was in 2004, when CU's 1-0 win at Bradley on Oct. 8 was its first road game in its 10th match of the year. The Jays went on to go 3-2-1 on the road that season and advanced to the NCAA third round.

Bohnenkamp Brothers: Bluejay senior Tim Bohnenkamp and his older brother Nick almost squared off in the 2004 NCAA Tournament when Nick played for Western Illinois. WIU lost to Northwestern that season and Nick finished his eligibility at WIU last fall, meaning there will be no meeting of the Bohnenkamp brothers on the pitch this Friday.

Home Sweet Morrison: Creighton is 2-1-2 at home this season, moving to 33-6-8 (.787) all-time at Morrison Stadium. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 135-22-12 at home. The Jays have ranked in the top-10 in the nation in attendance in all four years that Morrison Stadium has been open.

Back in the Top 10: Creighton's 2-1 win over 24th-ranked Washington last week vaulted the Jays back into the top 10 in the NSCAA/adidas poll, at No. 10. The Jays are ranked seventh by Soccer Times and 15th by both Soccer America and College Soccer News this week.

Battling the Best: Creighton's win over second-ranked Indiana (Sept. 13) was the Bluejays' best win against a top 25 team since topping No. 2 SMU in 2000. The win improved the Bluejays to 5-5-1 all-time against teams ranked in the top-five of the coaches poll. CU is 2-0-1 against NSCAA top 25 teams this year, while also playing to a scoreless draw with No. 11 UCLA (Sept. 8) and defeating No. 24 Washington 2-1 on Sept. 29. The Bluejays are now 8-1-1 against NSCAA top 25 teams at Morrison Stadium and 18-8-2 against top 25 teams at home all-time. CU owns a 46-37-9 mark all-time against the coaches top 25.

Matt's Moves: Senior goalkeeper Matt Allen continues to move up the Creighton career goalkeeper charts. He became the fourth keeper to play at least 5,000 minutes in his career and ranks third in total minutes with 5,281. Allen's career win total is 35, which ranks third, while his 203 career saves rank fourth on the CU charts. His 22 shutouts are just two shy of the school record, while his 0.85 career goals against average ranks second.

Dacy to Have Surgery: Junior forward Byron Dacy will undergo surgery to repair his torn left ACL. Dacy suffered the injury in the 13th minutes of CU's exhibition match with Ohio State on Aug. 18. He attempted to rehabilitate the knee and played in two regular-season matches - two minutes against UCLA (Sept. 8) and 19 minutes against Loyola Marymount (Sept. 15). He scored the game-winning goal in overtime against LMU. His surgery will take place right before Fall Break in mid-October.

Write the Script: Junior forward Tim Walters enjoyed an outstanding homecoming at the Saint Louis Nike Classic (Sept. 13-15). The St. Louis native scored the game-winning goal against No. 2 Indiana in a 2-1 win (Sept. 13). Making the homecoming all the more special, Tim's father played soccer at IU from 1976-79. Walters was rewarded with his first start as a Bluejay on Sept. 15 and he assisted the game-winning goal in overtime of CU's 1-0 victory over Loyola Marymount. For his efforts in leading CU to the co-championship of the tournament, he was named co-MVP, MVC Offensive Player of the Week and to three national teams of the week.

Three of a Kind: CU's backline of Chris Schuler, Seth Sinovic and Jeff Thayer were each named to the Saint Louis Nike Classic All-Tournament Team (Sept. 13-15) for their efforts in shutting down No. 2 Indiana, 2-1, and shutting out Loyola Marymount. 1-0. Sinovic also earned MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors, one week after Schuler earned the award.

First Comes Last: Tim Bohnenkamp waited until his last year as a Bluejay to record a first. The senior scored the first goal away from Omaha in his career against No. 2 Indiana (Sept. 13). His previous six career goals had all come at Morrison Stadium. The Omaha native has enjoyed playing in his hometown throughout his career, as 25 of his 31 career points have come at Morrison Stadium.

Third Time's a Charm: Sophomore Chris Schuler was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in his career when he earned the honor after anchoring the Bluejays' shutout of 11th-ranked UCLA (Sept. 8). He used his 6-foot-4 frame to clear balls in the air and also had outstanding challenges on the ground to limit the Bruins to just three shots on goal in CU's second straight shutout.

Andrei the Giant: Junior Andrei Gotsmanov paid immediate dividends in his first weekend at Creighton, scoring CU's first game-winning goal of the year and notching a multiple goal match in the Jays' 3-0 win over Green Bay. The multiple goal match was the fourth of Gotsmanov's career, after recording two hat tricks and a two-goal match at St. John's as a freshman in 2004 (his only other year of collegiate competition). The Belarus native tops the team with 28 shots.

Cornered In: Creighton tied a Morrison Stadium record with 13 corner kicks in its season-opener against San Diego State (Aug. 31). The Jays tied their own record which was established against Illinois-Chicago on Oct. 5, 2005. CU has out-worked its opponents 58-23 on corner kicks this season.

Preseason Favorites: The Bluejays are the Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorites for the third straight year, according to a vote of league coaches. The Jays received five of the seven first-place votes and 47 of the possible 49 points in the poll. CU will be aiming for back-to-back regular-season titles for the first time since winning five straight from 1992-96.

Rookie Watch: Freshmen Andrew Duran and Tucker Sindlinger have been named among the Top 100 Freshmen to Watch by CollegeSoccerNews.com. Duran, a two-time prep All-American, was named the NSCAA National Player of the Year last season as a midfielder at Lincoln-Way (Ill.) East High. Sindlinger, a forward from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has extensive international playing experience as part of the Region II Olympic Development Program.

National Player of the Year Candidates: Senior goalkeeper Matt Allen and junior forward Byron Dacy have been named to the preseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, annually given to the top soccer player in Division I. Allen enters this season on pace to set CU career records for shutouts and minutes played. Dacy has led the team in scoring in each of his first two seasons, but will miss the remainder of this year due to a torn ACL suffered in the preseason. Allen joins Dacy on the long list of National Player of the Year candidates from Creighton, including the 1997 winner and current manager, Johnny Torres.

CU National Player of the Year Candidates
Year Player
2007 Byron Dacy & Matt Allen
2006 Byron Dacy
2004 Julian Nash
2003 David Wagenfuhr
2002 Mike Tranchilla
2001 Mike Tranchilla
1997 Johnny Torres (Won)
1996 Ross Paule
1993 Keith DeFini & Brian Kamler

Homecoming: Two former Bluejay standouts have returned to the Bluejay bench this season. Mike Gabb, a two-time College Cup participant and CU goalkeeper from 1998-2002, has returned as an assistant coach working with the keepers. Two-time National Player of the Year and CU Athletics Hall of Famer Johnny Torres is back as an undergraduate manager as he finishes his degree. Torres, arguably the greatest player in school and league history, played at CU from 1994-97 and played professionally for the past 10 years.

No. 10 Men's Soccer Hosts Western Illinois, Travels to Memphis

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