Women's Soccer Heads to the Dakotas For Weekend Matches
9/12/2007 4:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
This Week - Creighton travels to Fargo, N.D., to take on North Dakota State on Fri., Sept. 14, at 4 p.m. in the first of two road matches this weekend. Creighton will conclude its tour of the Dakotas with a trip to Brookings, S.D., to face South Dakota State on Sun., Sept. 16, at 1 p.m.
Last Time Out - Creighton defeated South Dakota, 3-0, Tuesday night at Morrison Stadium. Senior defender Sam Russell scored the eventual game winner in the 11th minute, and junior Marcy Gans and sophomore reserve Shawn Magrum added second-half goals for the Jays. Creighton out-shot USD by a 22-5 margin, including 10-1 in shots on goal. Katy Peetz, Nicole DeLue, Lindsay Vaught, and Anne Peetz each picked up an assist for the Jays and the defense limited the Coyotes to only one shot on goal.
Scouting Creighton (3-1-0) - The Bluejays have out-shot their opponents by nearly a 2:1 ratio, 66-35. However, the team has struggled to put away quality scoring chances, and have only six goals to show for their impressive shot total. Marcy Gans leads the team offensively with three goals (including two game winners), seven points, and 21 shots. Goalkeeper Kristen Casey has two shutouts for the Jays, with eight saves in four starts.
Scouting North Dakota State (3-1-0) - The Bison were handed their first defeat of the season in their last outing, a 2-1 conference loss to Oakland in Fargo on Sunday, Sept. 9. NDSU held a 1-0 halftime lead, but surrendered two second-half goals to fall in their Summit League opener. NDSU has yet to play on the road; Creighton will be its fifth straight home match to open the season. The Bison have wins over Division II opponents Bemidji State and Mary (an exhibition opponent for Creighton) and MVC member Northern Iowa.
Senior Michelle Martinez and sophomore Ashley Dement have four of the six Bison goals this season, with two apiece. Goalkeeper Monica Morgan has 22 saves and one shutout in four starts for NDSU.
Scouting South Dakota State (2-0-1) - South Dakota State will play a Summit League match at Southern Utah on Thursday, Sept. 13, before returning home to host the Jays. The Jackrabbits managed wins over Division II Mary and conference foe Oakland last week, and tied Northern Iowa to open the season.
Junior Kellyn Farrell leads the SDSU offense with a goal and three assists in the young season. She was named the Summit League Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10 after scoring the game-winning goal against Mary and adding two assists against Oakland. Goalkeeper Nicole Lograsso has allowed only one goal in three starts for the Jackrabbits.
Follow Along - Creighton's athletics website, www.gocreighton.com, offers live stats for each home match. Click on the “Live Stats” link on the right side of the page in the “Schedules” tab. Live stats will be available for the match at North Dakota State on Friday, but not for Sunday's match at South Dakota State.
Series History - Creighton is 2-0 all-time against Friday's opponent, North Dakota State, and 3-0 against South Dakota State, whom the Jays will face Sunday. Creighton has beaten SDSU in each of the last three seasons, while the Jays defeated NDSU in 2004 and 2005. Here are the scores and dates of the past meetings:
| 9//24/04: CU 2, NDSU 1 (2 ot) (Omaha, Neb.) | 9/4/04: CU 2, SDSU 0 (Omaha, Neb.) |
| 9/11/05: CU 3, NDSU 0 (Omaha, Neb.) | 8/28/05: CU 5, SDSU 1 (Brookings, S.D.) |
| | 8/30/06: CU 2, SDSU 0 (Omaha, Neb.) |
Dakota Dominance - Creighton is 7-0 all-time against teams from North and South Dakota after the Bluejays' 3-0 win over South Dakota Tuesday night. The Jays will look to push that number to 9-0 with the two weekend road matches.
Bluejay Boss - Head coach Bruce Erickson is in his ninth season as the Creighton women's soccer coach and has an 84-69-16 (.544) 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.
Starting Strong - Creighton won its season opener for the first time since 2001, and the team's 2-0-0 start marked the first time the Jays have started with consecutive wins since 1999. A win over North Dakota State would give the team its best five-match start since 1998 and two weekend wins would give the Jays five wins in their first six matches, which has been accomplished only three times in school history.
Opportunity Seized - Sophomore reserve Shawn Magrum, playing for the first time in 2007, scored the Jays' third goal in their 3-0 win over South Dakota on Tuesday. Magrum netted the goal less than four minutes after entering the match.
Reliable Russell - Senior defender/midfielder Sam Russell has become a rare four-year starter for the Bluejays this fall. The Stilwell, Kan., native has made 60 career starts, more than any other player on the Creighton roster. Russell is currently second on the team with three points, including the game-winning goal against South Dakota on Tuesday. The goal was only the second of Russell's career, who also has an assist in 2007. Her 15 career assists are three shy of fifth place on the school's career charts. Twelve of Russell's 15 assists have come at Morrison Stadium, which is two away from the stadium's career mark of 14 set by Kristine Willrett.
Marcy's Playground - Junior forward Marcy Gans is the team's most potent offensive threat, and leads all current players with 13 career goals and 35 career points. She leads the team this season with three goals, seven points, 21 shots, and eight shots on goal. Gans scored the game-winning goal in Creighton's first two victories of the season, and added her third goal in the Jays' 3-0 win over South Dakota on Tuesday. She holds Morrison Stadium career records for goals (8), shots (74), and shots on goal (36). Her goal against USD gives her 22 career points at Morrison, which ties for the stadium record. 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 half of Creighton's six goals, has taken 32 percent of the team's 66 shots, one-third of the 24 shots on goal, and has accounted for 35 percent of the team's 20 points. She has also had two goals nullified by offsides penalties this season.
All Over the Field - Junior Nicole DeLue has been the definition of versatility. The Littleton, Colo., native is listed at all three positions on the roster and has played all three this season. DeLue has three career goals and four career assists on the offensive end, while also helping anchor the Jays' backline. 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 against South Dakota on Tuesday night.
Neighbors to the North - Minnesota natives Emily Orbell (White Bear Lake) and Brittni Deeb (Lake Elmo) have played a big role early in their freshmen seasons. Orbell, who has started all four matches, scored a goal in her first collegiate match against Northern Colorado in the season opener and is currently second on the team with nine shots. Deeb has started on the backline in three of the Jays' early-season contests. Senior Tristan Moser-Bleil (Minneapolis) gives Creighton three starters 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 (65) than any other player on the Jays' roster. Head coach Bruce Erickson (Brooklyn Park) also originally hails from the state.
Seniority Rules - The 2007 Creighton squad features six seniors, all of whom should have a significant impact on the Jays' success this season. The six seniors have played in a combined 337 matches and accumulated 197 starts throughout 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 was an All-MVC honorable mention last season.
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. So far this season, the newcomers have combined to play in 12 matches, which includes eight starts between Orbell, Deeb, and Kwon. All five saw action against South Dakota on Tuesday, including the first start for Kwon.
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 also is critical for developing team depth at each position.
Seeing Double - Senior twins Ally and Katy Peetz will look to finish their Creighton careers with a bang. The pair has combined to start 71 matches and played in a total of 118 so far in their careers at Creighton. 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. Katy and Anne both had assists in the Jays' win over USD.
Morrison Magic - Creighton is 26-9-5 (.713) at Morrison Stadium, which opened in 2003, including a 9-1-2 (.833) record in MVC play. The Jays are 2-1-0 so far at Morrison this season with wins over South Dakota and Northern Colorado and a loss to San Diego State. Creighton has led the Missouri Valley Conference in attendance every year since moving to the on-campus venue. The Aug. 31 match against Northern Colorado drew 1,077 fans, the seventh-highest attendance in school history.
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.
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.
Up Next - Creighton returns to Omaha for Alumni Weekend with two home matches at Morrison Stadium. The Jays will host Iowa on Friday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. and Weber State on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 12 p.m.
