Women's Soccer to Kick Off Season Friday
8/29/2007 10:30:00 AM | Women's Soccer
This Week - Creighton opens the 2007 season in Omaha at Morrison Stadium against Northern Colorado on Friday, Aug. 31, at 5 p.m. as the first match of a doubleheader with the men's team. The Bluejays will then travel to Nacogdoches, Texas, for an 11 a.m. match against Stephen F. Austin on Sunday, Sept. 2.
Scouting Creighton - The Jays enter the 2007 season with 16 returning letterwinners, but have only five starters back from last season's squad. Creighton has 12 players that have made at least 10 collegiate starts and eight who have 30 games of playing experience. 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 another in the win over the Crusaders. Creighton and the University of Mary played to a 0-0 draw Sunday, Aug. 26, at Morrison Stadium in the Jays' final preseason tune-up. Creighton out-shot Mary, 26-1, in the match but could not capitalize on the scoreboard.
Scouting Northern Colorado - The Bears went 0-2 in preseason play, losing 3-2 to Colorado College and 6-1 to nationally-ranked Colorado. Northern Colorado also returns five starters from their 2006 squad, including second-team All-Big Sky selections Megan Miller and Marika Johnson. Johnson scored seven goals and 16 points to lead Northern Colorado offensively last season. Northern Colorado completed a four-year transition to Division I athletics in 2006 and is now eligible for postseason play. The Bears were an independent before joining the Big Sky Conference last year, when they finished 6-12-0 overall and 2-5-0 in league play.
Scouting Stephen F. Austin - The Ladyjacks also open their season on Friday, Aug. 31, with a home match against Division II St. Edward's. Stephen F. Austin finished the preseason with two scoreless ties, in exhibition matches against Centenary College and Texas Christian. The Ladyjacks are led offensively by junior Amanda Alders, who has already twice led the Southland Conference in goals and assists. Alders is a two-time first-team all-conference pick and boasts career totals of 27 goals and 60 points. Fellow junior and Texas Tech transfer Lauren Fricks was also a first-team all-SLC selection last season and was the league's newcomer of the year after tallying 18 points on seven goals and four assists.
Series Records - The Jays are 1-1-1 all-time against Northern Colorado and will be meeting Stephen F. Austin for the first time. The results of the Creighton/Northern Colorado series:
9-4-05: CU 1, UNC 1 (Greeley, Colo.); 10-5-03: CU 5, UNC 1 (Omaha, Neb.); 10-16-89: UNC 4, CU 0 (Greeley, Colo.).
Follow Along - Creighton's athletics web site, www.gocreighton.com, offers live stats for each home match. Click here to view live stats on the day of the match. For $29.95, fans can watch the video broadcast of each home match during the season, or at a price of $4.95 per match. Peter Della Penna will provide play-by-play for the video webcast.
Season Openers - The Bluejays are 9-9-0 in season-opening matches in program history, including a 2-6-0 mark under head coach Bruce Erickson. Creighton has not won a season opener since 2001, when the Jays defeated Alabama-Birmingham, 2-1. The Jays are 11-5-2 in home openers all-time including a 2-1-1 mark at Morrison Stadium and 4-3-1 under Erickson.
2006 Recap - The preseason pick to win the Valley, Creighton had an up-and-down season, hovering around the .500 mark for much of the campaign. The team neither won nor lost more than two matches in a row all season. Creighton came away with a .500 non-conference record at 6-6-1 and were 6-5-0 in home contests at Morrison Stadium. After finishing second in the conference with a 3-2-1 mark to earn a bye in the MVC Tournament, the Jays lost to Evansville, 2-1, in the semifinals held in Omaha to end the year with a 9-8-2 record.
Bluejay Boss - Head coach Bruce Erickson enters his ninth season as the Creighton women's soccer coach and has an 81-68-16 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 29-16-6 record in conference matches at Creighton.
Morrison Magic - Creighton is 24-8-5 (.716) at Morrison Stadium, which opened in 2003, including a 9-1-2 (.833) record in MVC play. The Jays had a down year last season at home, posting a 6-5-0 record in 2006, but led the Valley in attendance for the fourth straight season.
Seniority Rules - The 2007 Creighton squad will feature six seniors, all of whom should have a significant impact on the Jays' success this season. The six seniors have played in a combined 313 matches and accumulated 182 starts through their careers. Tristan Moser-Bleil, Ally Peetz, Katy Peetz, and Sam Russell each have started at least 30 matches at Creighton. Toch Ihemelu led the Jays in scoring last season with five goals and 10 points, while Heather Duncan made 12 starts as a junior and will be a regular in the line-up in 2007.
Offensive Attack - The Bluejays return 73 percent of the goal-scoring output from last season, including leading goal scorer Toch Ihemelu. Ihemelu tallied five goals for Creighton as a junior and also led the team with 10 points. Junior Marcy Gans is the team's active leader with 10 goals and 28 points in her career.
Defending the Goal - Creighton's defense will be anchored by senior Sam Russell and Canadian national team member Eden Hingwing. The center backs will be joined on the backline on the outside by returning starters Heather Duncan and Nicole DeLue, giving the Jays four experienced defenders.
Between the Posts - With the loss of Heather Currie due to lingering effects of a concussion, the starting job will belong to junior Kristen Casey. Casey played in nine contests in 2006, making eight starts, and posted a solid 1.01 goals against average with two shutouts in over 800 minutes of action. She is currently second on CU's career goals against average list with a 1.13 GAA.
The Newcomers - The Jays have five newcomers: 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 after scoring 11 goals and assisting on four. The 2007 recruiting class was ranked second in the MVC by Soccer Buzz Magazine. All but Kwon saw action in each of the three preseason matches, and Orbell started against Iowa State and recorded four shots during exhibition play.
Reliable Russell - Senior defender/midfielder Sam Russell tied for the team-lead with four assists in 2006 and will become a rare four-year starter for the Bluejays this fall. Her 14 career assists are most on the team and she is three assists shy of the Morrison Stadium career mark. Russell enters the season with 56 career starts under her belt.
Duncan's Time to Deliver - Millard North product Heather Duncan earned 12 starting assignments as a junior and played in 18 matches after seeing limited action her first two seasons in the program. The midfielder/defender was an all-MVC honorable mention selection last season and will again be counted on heavily in 2007.
Marcy's Playground - Junior forward Marcy Gans is the team's most potent offensive threat, and leads all current players with 10 career goals and 28 career points. She holds Morrison Stadium career records for goals (7), shots (63), and shots on goal (32). 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.
All Over the Field - Junior Nicole DeLue is the definition of versatility. The Littleton, Colo., native is listed at all three positions on the roster and will play all three throughout the course of the season. DeLue has three career goals and two assists on the offensive end, while also helping anchor the Jays' backline.
Seeing Double - Senior twins Ally and Katy Peetz will look to finish their Creighton careers with a bang. The pair has combined to start 67 matches and played in a total of 110 in their first three seasons. Younger sister, Anne, is a sophomore on the team and made seven starts during her freshman season. Anne also has a twin, Carly, who plays soccer at the University of Nebraska.
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 volunteer assistant coach and former Jay player Ivonne Valentin will begin training with the Puerto Rican National Team in September.
