Women's Soccer Wraps Up Four Game Homestand Saturday
10/1/2008 11:15:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Bluejay Season Leaders
Category Leader Number
Goals Gans 10
Assists Fyles 3
Gans 3
Gunther 3
Zapapas 3
Points Gans 23
Saves Casey 56
GAA Casey 1.05
About the Jays
The 8-3-0 Creighton women's soccer team is a mix of youth and experience. The squad, which is coming off a 2007 MVC Tournament Championship, is hoping to make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for just the second time in program history.
Three of the Bluejays' top five scorers this season were preseason all-MVC selections (Marcy Gans, Emily Orbell and Lindsay Vaught). Gans, who has scored the most career goals in Creighton history with 33, leads the team and MVC in 2008 with 10 goals and 23 points. Mary Zapapas is second with seven points (2 G, 3 A), while Vaught (2 G, 2 A) is tied with Orbell (2 G, 2 A) and Shawn Magrum for third with six points (2 G, 2 A).
Kristen Casey, who is fourth on the all-time Creighton wins list with 26, is second in the MVC this season with a 1.05 goals against average.
Last Week Recap
Last Sunday Creighton won its conference opener, defeating Drake 2-0 at Morrison Stadium.
Marcy Gans scored two goals, both of which were in the first half. Her first came in the 16th minute off an Emily Orbell corner, giving the Bluejays a 1-0 advantage. Gans capped her scoring just four minutes later as she scored off a Jordan Bruch blocked shot.
Kristen Casey recorded her 16th career shutout, and 14th at Morrison Stadium, stopping six shots.
With the win, Bluejay head coach Bruce Erickson reached 100 victories at Creighton.
First in Ten
With Sunday's 2-0 win over Drake, Creighton is off to its best start in 10 years. The team is 8-3-0 for the first time under head coach Bruce Erickson. It is the best mark to start a season since the team started 9-2-0 in 1998 under then head coach Ira Philson.
Top 20 Performance
With her two-goal performance on Sunday, Marcy Gans now has 23 points on the year (10 G, 3 A). The mark puts her among the top players in the nation in both goals and total points. In the NCAA, she is ranked 15th in goals per game with 0.909 and 20th in points per game with 2.09.
Career Leader
Marcy Gans' two goals on Sunday marked the second consecutive match that she has scored multiple goals. She now has 10 goals on the season and 33 for her career. Her 33 goals are the most in Bluejay history, surpassing Gretta Matthews who had 32 from 1989-92. Gans is also second on the all-time points list with 80, just one behind Matthews who had 81.
With her two goals on Sunday, Gans moved into second place on the all-time multiple goals scored in a match list with seven.
Seeing Red at Home
Saturday will feature an important conference matchup at Morrison Stadium as Creighton welcomes in Illinois State. The Bluejays have had good luck recently at home against the Redbirds, where they have not lost since 2000. The streak spans three games, going 2-0-1 in that time.
100th Victory
Sunday's 2-0 win gave Creighton head coach Bruce Erickson his 100th victory as a Bluejay. He is the first coach in Creighton women's soccer history to accomplish the feat. During his 10 years in Omaha, Erickson is 100-79-18 and 170-140-24 in his 17-year career overall.
Season First
Junior forward Jordan Bruch had a couple of season firsts on Sunday against Drake. Bruch made her first start of the season as well as getting her first assist.
The assist was her first since Aug. 30, 2006 against South Dakota State, and her first point since Oct. 22, 2006 against Evansville.
Early Leads
Creighton has had success this year in outscoring their opponents in the first half. The Bluejays have outscored their opponents 14-4 in the first 45 minutes. Overall they have outscored the opposition 22-12.
On the Lookout For
With a win on Saturday, senior goalkeeper Kristen Casey can break one of her own records. Casey currently holds the Morrison Stadium record for most wins in a season with seven. A win on Saturday would give her eight at home this year.
Pack ?Em In
Creighton has gotten great support from its fans this season, helping to its good start. The team averages 588 fans per home contest, through seven games this season. That number is tops in the MVC.
Conference Champs
Creighton has prevailed as the Missouri Valley Conference Champions in four of the last six years, by virtue of winning the conference tournament. Besides having success in the conference tournament, the Bluejays have also been successful in the regular season as well. Since 2000, Creighton is 31-15-7 against conference foes in the regular season.
Helping Hand
Junior Mary Zapapas had three assists Sept. 19-21, in helping the Bluejays to go 2-0. With her three assists, including two against Northern Illinois, she set personal career highs while at Creighton for most assists in a season (3) and most assists in a single game (2).
Cornerstone
In the second half Sept. 19, against Stephen F. Austin, Creighton launched eight corner kicks, giving the team 11 corners for the game. It was the most corners taken by the Bluejays this season, who lead the Missouri Valley Conference in that category with 5.73 corners per game.
Three is a Lucky Number
The Sept. 21, 3-1 win over Northern Illinois marked the fourth time this season Creighton has scored three times in a game, surpassing the number of three-goal matches from last season (3). The game also marked the 30th straight time that the Bluejays have been victorious when scoring three or more goals. In program history, the team is 104-2-2 in those situations, a .972 winning percentage.
Defending Your Home Turf
The Bluejays will finish up their current four-game homestand on Saturday. Morrison Stadium has been friendly to Creighton, where the team is 13-1-1 in its last 15 contests. The span is the best since Morrison Stadium opened in 2003. Creighton's all-time best home span is a 21-1-1 record from Oct. 4, 1992 - Sept. 10, 1995.
Program Leaders
Last weekend seniors Kristen Casey and Marcy Gans added to their impressive Creighton careers. They rank among the all time leaders in many categories in program history. Below are their career rankings.
Kristen Casey
Category Rank Number
Goals Against Avg. 2nd 1.11
Saves 4th 217
Goalkeeping Victories T-4th 26
Goalkeeper Minutes 5th 4551
Shutouts 5th 16
Marcy Gans
Category Rank Number
Goals 1st 33
Points 2nd 80
Multiple Goal Games 2nd 7
Shots on Goal 3rd 104
Gans is Gold
Marcy Gans scored two goals on Sunday to lead the Bluejays to victory in their conference opener. Dating back to last season the Bluejays are 18-2-1 when Gans scores a point and 1-9-1 when she doesn't.
Still the One
With Sunday's 2-0 win over Drake, the Bluejays continued their good record when scoring at least one goal. In the last 34 games they've scored at least one goal, the Bluejays are 26-5-3, an .809 win percentage.
MVC Players of the Week
This season Creighton has had five players named Offensive or Defensive MVC Players of the Week. That is second in the league only to Evansville, who has had six players receive weekly honors. There has been either a Creighton or Evansville player named every week.
On Aug. 25 Kristen Casey was named MVC Defensive Player of the week as well as MVC Scholar Athlete of the Week., for her work in goal in the first two games, going 2-0-0.
On Sept. 2 Marcy Gans received MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors, as well as MVC Scholar Athlete of the Week honors for her efforts against North Dakota State and UC Riverside, scoring two goals and an assist.
On Sept. 15 Lindsay Vaught earned MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts against Portland State, scoring a goal and an assist.
On Sept. 22 Marcy Gans was named MVC Offensive Player of the Week for her work against Stephen F. Austin and Northern Illinois, scoring four goals, including a hat trick against Northern Illinois.
On Sept. 29 Kristen Casey was named MVC Defensive Player of the week for her shutout of Drake in the conference opener.
Program Milestone
With the Bluejays' 2-0 win over Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 19, they reached the 200 win mark in program history. Here's a look at how the team has evolved through its history.
Win No. Record to No. of Matches
50 50-35-5 90
100 50-34-3 87
150 50-47-5 102
200 50-34-13 97
Season High
Senior Lindsay Vaught was Creighton's high point scorer on Sept. 12 earning a goal and an assist in the Bluejays 3-1 victory over Portland State. Vaught has six points for the year (2 G, 1 A) surpassing her total from last season when she had four points (1 G, 2 A).
Continued Success
For Marcy Gans, setting records is nothing new. Last year, her 13 goals and 29 total points were the most by a Bluejay since 1998. Gans also became the first player in league history to earn MVC tournament MVP honors twice in her career.
Morrison Record Setter
Last Sunday, senior Marcy Gans extended her Morrison Stadium single season record for points scored with 20. Gans broke her own record after setting the original mark with 16 Sept. 21. Below are all of Gans' Morrison Stadium Records.
Single Game Record Number
Goals 3
Points 6
Single Season Record
Goals 9
Points 20
Shots on Goal 18
Total Shots 47
Career Record Number
Goals 22
Points 51
Shots on Goal 63
Total Shots 141
Morrison Record Setter Part 2
This season senior goalkeeper Kristen Casey has added more records to an already impressive career at Morrison Stadium. Last Sunday against Drake, Casey posted her 16th career shutout overall, and her 14th career shutout at Morrison Stadium. Below are her Morrison Stadium Records
Single Game Record Number
Saves 9
Single Season Record
Victories 7
Minutes Played 920
Career Record Number
Shutouts 14
Victories 19
Saves 103
Career High
After scoring two goals in the season opener against South Dakota, senior Nicole DeLue tied her career high for goals in a season, when she scored two in 2006. On Aug. 24 against South Dakota State, DeLue added an assist to tie her career high for total points in a season with five.
Another Career High
Junior Mary Zapapas was the only Bluejay to score a goal in both games the first weekend (Aug. 22-24). Her two goals are a season high during her time at Creighton. Prior to joining the Bluejays, Zapapas scored 11 goals and had 4 assists in 2006 at Middle Tennessee.
Welcome Newcomers
This season Creighton features the most freshmen on its team since 2001. The 2008 Bluejays will have 12 college rookies, matching the 2001 squad which also featured a dozen.
All Valley Performers
On Aug. 19, the Missouri Valley Conference released its preseason poll, Creighton was picked to finish in first place, receiving four first place votes.
Individually, the Bluejays tied Evansville and Missouri State for tops in the league with three preseason All-MVC selections. Making the team were sophomore midfielder Emily Orbell, senior forward Marcy Gans and senior midfielder/forward Lindsay Vaught.
Fifth Time's the Charm?
After reaching the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last six years last season by virtue of winning the MVC Tournament, the Bluejays will be looking this year to post their first NCAA Tournament victory. Last year Creighton fell 3-0 to eventual National Champion USC.
A trip to the NCAA Tournament this year, would be just the second time in the program's history that the team has made the tournament in back to back seasons (2004-05).
National Pride
The Bluejays will be without the services of junior defender Eden Hingwing this season. Hingwing is redshirting the season to train and play for the Canadian National Team in the U-20 World Cup (Nov. 19- Dec. 7).
What's in a Name
Last season, the Bluejays had three sisters on the team in Ally, Katy and Anne Peetz. This season the team has a new set of sisters as senior Marcy Gans and freshman Ariel Rank continue the family tradition.
