Men's Soccer Opens Season With Pair of Home Matches
8/29/2007 10:30:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Creighton Plays Host to the 11th Annual Diadora Challenge
Aug. 31 & Sept. 2 ? Michael G. Morrison, S.J., Stadium
vs. San Diego State ? Friday, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.
vs. Green Bay ? Sunday, Sept. 2, 7:00 p.m.
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 Bluejays open the regular-season with a pair of home matches as part of the 11th annual Diadora Challenge. The Jays first play host to 2006 NCAA Tournament participant San Diego State on Friday at 7:30 p.m., following the women's home opener which begins at 5 p.m. SDSU is ranked 24th in the Soccer America preseason poll. Creighton concludes its opening weekend with a 7 p.m. contest against Green Bay on Sunday.
Exhibition Recap: Creighton, ranked in the top 25 of three national preseason polls, played just one exhibition match, tying Ohio State 2-2 at home on Aug. 18. CU twice trailed and twice scored the equalizer, with senior Sam Eid providing the first goal and redshirt freshman Jeremy Wittig scoring the second goal in the 88th minute to even the match up. No overtime was played. Preseason National Player of the Year Candidate Matt Allen made five saves in goal for CU, while the Bluejays' other representative on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, Byron Dacy, did not fare as well. Dacy was injured in the 13th minute, suffering a torn left ACL. He will miss at least three weeks before being re-evaluated at that time.
Scouting Creighton: The Bluejays return 13 letterwinners and five starters from last year's 13-5-3 team which captured both the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to their 15th straight NCAA Tournament. In addition to the five players returning which started at least 13 matches, four other players are back after starting at least eight contests a year ago. Four of CU's nine letterwinners lost from last year are now playing professionally. Junior forward Byron Dacy has led the team in scoring in each of his first two season on campus, but is out with an injured knee to start the season. Senior Tim Bohnenkamp leads all active MVC players with 16 career assists. The 2006 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, senior goalkeeper Matt Allen, enters the year on pace to set school records for career minutes played and shutouts.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 155-52-22 (.725) record in his 12th season at CU. His overall record is 348-171-52 (.655) in 29 years 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 San Diego State: The Aztecs, affiliate members of the Pac-10, went 9-6-4 last season, including a second-place finish (5-2-3) in the highly competitive Pac-10, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. SDSU returns seven starters, including four all-conference performers from that squad. The Aztecs must replace a two-time All-American in goal, but have all four starters back on defense. Returners Nick Cardenas and Kraig Chiles tied for the team-lead with six goals last year.
Scouting Green Bay: The Phoenix finished 14-6-0 last year and have been tabbed to finish second in the Horizon League this year. Junior Tosaint Ricketts will lead the offense, after scoring eight goals last year and spending the summer playing for the Canadian U-20 National Team. Senior keeper Josh Loyd had a 1.24 GAA in 15 matches last year. UWGB tied the Illinois Institute of Technology 0-0 and beat UW-Oshkosh 4-0 in exhibition play before opening the season at Drake Friday.
Series Histories: The Bluejays defeated San Diego State 5-3 in overtime in Las Vegas on Sept. 17, 1993 in the only previous meeting between the schools. CU has topped UWGB in the two meetings between the schools, out-scoring the Phoenix 10-0 in those victories.
Season Openers: The Bluejays' had a streak of 10 straight unbeaten matches in season-openers under Bob Warming snapped in a 1-0 double overtime loss to No. 12 Indiana last year. The Jays are now 7-1-3 in Warming's 11 season-openers at the helm. Since 1990 CU has now lost just two season debuts, also falling to No. 20 Duke in Bret Simon's first game as the Bluejay head coach, Sept. 2, 1995. The Bluejays are undefeated in their last 11 home openers (9-0-2), with the Duke loss counting as the last home-opening defeat.
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.
CU in the Preseason Polls: The Bluejays are ranked 17th in both the Soccer Times and Soccer America preseason polls. They rank 21st in the College Soccer News top 30, while they are the first team listed in the receiving votes category in the NSCAA/adidas top 25.
Diadora Challenge?: The Bluejays play host to the 11th annual Diadora Challenge this weekend, in what has not proved to be much of a challenge historically. The Jays have never lost a match in the tournament, with a 15-0-4 mark all-time. Creighton won the event last year with a 3-0 win over Yale and 2-2 tie against Oregon State. Chris Schuler was tabbed the tournament MVP, while Matt Allen joined him on the all-tournament team.
Opponents in the Preseason Polls: Creighton will play five teams this season in the top 30 of the College Soccer News poll, including preseason No. 1 UCLA. The Bruins, who were NCAA runners-up last year, are also atop the Soccer America preseason poll. Also in the CSN top 30 are Indiana (8), Washington (17), San Diego State (25) and UNC-Greensboro (28). Indiana (7), Washington (18) and UNC-Greensboro (23) join UCLA in the NSCAA/adidas top 25. All three nationally-ranked Pac-10 schools ? UCLA, Washington, San Diego State (affiliate) ? will play in Morrison Stadium, starting with the season opener against SDSU on Aug. 31. UCLA will be in Omaha on Sept. 8 and UW on Sept. 29.
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. 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
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
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.
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.
For Starters: The Bluejays return five players which started at least 13 of CU's 21 matches last year and four others which earned the starting nod in at least eight matches. Senior goalkeeper Matt Allen earned 20 starts, most among returners, while senior captain Tony Schmitz and sophomore Chris Schuler started 19 contests. Sophomore defender Thomas Gjoesund (14) and junior forward Byron Dacy (13) round out the five returning starters. The Bluejays lost six starters from last year's team, including MVC Player of the Year Michael Kraus and three others which earned all-conference honors.
Last Season in Short: Creighton finished the 2006 season with a 13-5-3 record, after losing a first-round NCAA Tournament match at Washington, 3-0. The tournament appearance was Creighton's 15th straight, as they are one of just five teams in Division I to have appeared in each of the last 15 NCAA Tournaments. The Bluejays won both the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles last year, while they also had the MVC Player of the Year (Michael Kraus) and MVC Defensive Player of the Year (Matt Allen). Allen returns this year, as does the MVC Tournament MVP Byron Dacy and Freshman All-American Chris Schuler. Dacy topped the team with six assists and 16 points last year, while Kraus, who now plays in the MLS with the Kansas City Wizards, led the team with six goals, including five game-winners.
Aug. 31 & Sept. 2 ? Michael G. Morrison, S.J., Stadium
vs. San Diego State ? Friday, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m.
vs. Green Bay ? Sunday, Sept. 2, 7:00 p.m.
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 Bluejays open the regular-season with a pair of home matches as part of the 11th annual Diadora Challenge. The Jays first play host to 2006 NCAA Tournament participant San Diego State on Friday at 7:30 p.m., following the women's home opener which begins at 5 p.m. SDSU is ranked 24th in the Soccer America preseason poll. Creighton concludes its opening weekend with a 7 p.m. contest against Green Bay on Sunday.
Exhibition Recap: Creighton, ranked in the top 25 of three national preseason polls, played just one exhibition match, tying Ohio State 2-2 at home on Aug. 18. CU twice trailed and twice scored the equalizer, with senior Sam Eid providing the first goal and redshirt freshman Jeremy Wittig scoring the second goal in the 88th minute to even the match up. No overtime was played. Preseason National Player of the Year Candidate Matt Allen made five saves in goal for CU, while the Bluejays' other representative on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, Byron Dacy, did not fare as well. Dacy was injured in the 13th minute, suffering a torn left ACL. He will miss at least three weeks before being re-evaluated at that time.
Scouting Creighton: The Bluejays return 13 letterwinners and five starters from last year's 13-5-3 team which captured both the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles and advanced to their 15th straight NCAA Tournament. In addition to the five players returning which started at least 13 matches, four other players are back after starting at least eight contests a year ago. Four of CU's nine letterwinners lost from last year are now playing professionally. Junior forward Byron Dacy has led the team in scoring in each of his first two season on campus, but is out with an injured knee to start the season. Senior Tim Bohnenkamp leads all active MVC players with 16 career assists. The 2006 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, senior goalkeeper Matt Allen, enters the year on pace to set school records for career minutes played and shutouts.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea, 1975) is in his second stint as the Jays' head coach with a 155-52-22 (.725) record in his 12th season at CU. His overall record is 348-171-52 (.655) in 29 years 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 San Diego State: The Aztecs, affiliate members of the Pac-10, went 9-6-4 last season, including a second-place finish (5-2-3) in the highly competitive Pac-10, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. SDSU returns seven starters, including four all-conference performers from that squad. The Aztecs must replace a two-time All-American in goal, but have all four starters back on defense. Returners Nick Cardenas and Kraig Chiles tied for the team-lead with six goals last year.
Scouting Green Bay: The Phoenix finished 14-6-0 last year and have been tabbed to finish second in the Horizon League this year. Junior Tosaint Ricketts will lead the offense, after scoring eight goals last year and spending the summer playing for the Canadian U-20 National Team. Senior keeper Josh Loyd had a 1.24 GAA in 15 matches last year. UWGB tied the Illinois Institute of Technology 0-0 and beat UW-Oshkosh 4-0 in exhibition play before opening the season at Drake Friday.
Series Histories: The Bluejays defeated San Diego State 5-3 in overtime in Las Vegas on Sept. 17, 1993 in the only previous meeting between the schools. CU has topped UWGB in the two meetings between the schools, out-scoring the Phoenix 10-0 in those victories.
Season Openers: The Bluejays' had a streak of 10 straight unbeaten matches in season-openers under Bob Warming snapped in a 1-0 double overtime loss to No. 12 Indiana last year. The Jays are now 7-1-3 in Warming's 11 season-openers at the helm. Since 1990 CU has now lost just two season debuts, also falling to No. 20 Duke in Bret Simon's first game as the Bluejay head coach, Sept. 2, 1995. The Bluejays are undefeated in their last 11 home openers (9-0-2), with the Duke loss counting as the last home-opening defeat.
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.
CU in the Preseason Polls: The Bluejays are ranked 17th in both the Soccer Times and Soccer America preseason polls. They rank 21st in the College Soccer News top 30, while they are the first team listed in the receiving votes category in the NSCAA/adidas top 25.
Diadora Challenge?: The Bluejays play host to the 11th annual Diadora Challenge this weekend, in what has not proved to be much of a challenge historically. The Jays have never lost a match in the tournament, with a 15-0-4 mark all-time. Creighton won the event last year with a 3-0 win over Yale and 2-2 tie against Oregon State. Chris Schuler was tabbed the tournament MVP, while Matt Allen joined him on the all-tournament team.
Opponents in the Preseason Polls: Creighton will play five teams this season in the top 30 of the College Soccer News poll, including preseason No. 1 UCLA. The Bruins, who were NCAA runners-up last year, are also atop the Soccer America preseason poll. Also in the CSN top 30 are Indiana (8), Washington (17), San Diego State (25) and UNC-Greensboro (28). Indiana (7), Washington (18) and UNC-Greensboro (23) join UCLA in the NSCAA/adidas top 25. All three nationally-ranked Pac-10 schools ? UCLA, Washington, San Diego State (affiliate) ? will play in Morrison Stadium, starting with the season opener against SDSU on Aug. 31. UCLA will be in Omaha on Sept. 8 and UW on Sept. 29.
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. 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
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
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.
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.
For Starters: The Bluejays return five players which started at least 13 of CU's 21 matches last year and four others which earned the starting nod in at least eight matches. Senior goalkeeper Matt Allen earned 20 starts, most among returners, while senior captain Tony Schmitz and sophomore Chris Schuler started 19 contests. Sophomore defender Thomas Gjoesund (14) and junior forward Byron Dacy (13) round out the five returning starters. The Bluejays lost six starters from last year's team, including MVC Player of the Year Michael Kraus and three others which earned all-conference honors.
Last Season in Short: Creighton finished the 2006 season with a 13-5-3 record, after losing a first-round NCAA Tournament match at Washington, 3-0. The tournament appearance was Creighton's 15th straight, as they are one of just five teams in Division I to have appeared in each of the last 15 NCAA Tournaments. The Bluejays won both the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles last year, while they also had the MVC Player of the Year (Michael Kraus) and MVC Defensive Player of the Year (Matt Allen). Allen returns this year, as does the MVC Tournament MVP Byron Dacy and Freshman All-American Chris Schuler. Dacy topped the team with six assists and 16 points last year, while Kraus, who now plays in the MLS with the Kansas City Wizards, led the team with six goals, including five game-winners.
Creighton MSOC Highlights & Postgame vs Xavier-10-11-25
Sunday, October 12
Creighton Men's Soccer Media Availability 9/30/25
Tuesday, September 30
Creighton Men's Soccer Highlights at DePaul - 9-27-25
Saturday, September 27
Creighton Men's Soccer Media Availability 9/24/25
Thursday, September 25
