Women's Soccer Continues Roadtrip Tuesday Against Western Illinois
10/13/2008 4:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Bluejay Season Leaders
Category Leader Number
Goals Gans 11
Assists Fyles 3
Gans 3
Gunther 3
Zapapas 3
Orbell 3
Points Gans 25
Saves Casey 67
GAA Casey 1.04
About the Jays
The 9-4-0 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 is the most prolific scorer in school history with 34 goals and 82 total points, leads the team, and is second in the MVC in 2008, with 11 goals and 25 points. Orbell, coming off a seasonhigh three-point performance against Indiana State is second with nine (3 G, 3 A). Shawn Magrum is third with eight points (3 G, 2 A), Mary Zapapas is fourth with seven points (2 G, 3 A), while Vaught (2 G, 2 A) is fifth with six.
Kristen Casey, who is fourth on the all-time Creighton wins list with 27, is second in the MVC this season with a 1.04 goals against average.
Last Week Recap
Last Saturday Creighton won its first conference road game of the season, upending Indiana State 3-1.
Emily Orbell led the Bluejay attack with a goal and an assist. Marcy Gans scored her 11th goal of the season, giving her 82 points for her career, which moves her into first place on the all-time Creighton scoring list.
Also scoring for the Bluejays was Shawn Magrum who scored her third goal of the season in the 51st minute to break a 1-1 halftime tie.
In goal Kristen Casey earned her 27th career victory, moving her into fourth place alone on the all-time Creighton victories list.
Potent Attack
With three goals scored against Indiana State last Saturday, Creighton has now scored at least three goals five times this season. That is the most since 2005, when the team accomplished the feat eight times.
Three is a Lucky Number
Last Saturday's 3-1 win over Indiana State marked the fifth time this season Creighton has scored three times in a game. The game also marked the 31st straight time that the Bluejays have been victorious when scoring three or more goals. In program history, the team is 105-2-2 in those situations, a .972 winning percentage.
Having Their Number
With the win against Indiana State last Saturday, Creighton improved its record in Terre Haute, Ind., to 4-0-0 all-time. Overall, Creighton has gone 11-0-0 in the series.
Road Warriors
Tuesday's game against Western Illinois will be the second of three consecutive road games for the Bluejays. The trip will mark the longest stretch away from Morrison Stadium for the Jays since 2005, when they played four straight road games, Sept. 30 - Oct. 9.
Most Prolific
This season Marcy Gans has rewritten the Creighton record books, by breaking the all-time goals scored list, as well as breaking numerous Morrison Stadium records. Last Saturday against Indiana State, Gans broke another record, scoring her 82nd career point, with a goal in the 57th minute. With her 82 points, Gans has now scored the most points of any Bluejay for a career, surpassing Gretta Matthews who scored 81 from 1989-92.
Season High
Emily Orbell's three points last Saturday were a season-high for her, surpassing her previous high of two. Last year's MVC rookie of the year tied her assist total from last year when she also had three.
Secret Club
Tuesday's game against Western Illinois will feature a matchup of former club soccer teammates. Bluejay freshman Annemarie Hengel played for the same club team (FC Milwaukee) as Westerwind senior midfielder, Ashley Hoch. The two were teammates from 2002-05.
Just Win
With the team's 3-1 victory over Indiana State last Saturday, Creighton (9-4-0) now has nine wins on the season. That mark is the most of any team in the MVC, ahead of Evansville (8-3-2) and Missouri State (8-5-1) who each have eight.
Career Best
With Shawn Magrum's goal last Saturday against Indiana State, she now has eight points on the season (3 G, 2 A). That mark is a career high for Magrum, surpassing her previous total of 3 (1 G, 1 A) in 2006 and 2007.
Top 20 Performance
With her goal last Saturday against Indiana State, Marcy Gans has 25 points on the year, (11 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 14th in goals per game with 0.846 and 20th in points per game with 1.92.
Getting Gans Involved
Marcy Gans was scored the final goal in the Bluejays' last game against Indiana State, giving her a point in every game Creighton has won this season. Dating back to last season the Bluejays are 19-2-1 when Gans scores a point and 1-10-1 when she doesn't.
First Time For Everything
The Oct. 4, 1-0 loss to Illinois State was the first loss at home for Creighton this season. Besides being the first loss of the season, it snapped an 11 game home winning streak dating back to last season. The team had also been unbeaten in its last 14 at Morrison Stadium (13-0-1).The loss was just the second in the last 16 games (13-2-1).
Must Score Situation
The Oct. 4, 1-0 loss to Illinois State, the Bluejays showed the importance of scoring at least one goal. In the last 35 games they've scored at least one goal, the Bluejays are 27-5-3, an .814 win percentage.
100th Victory
Creighton's 2-0 win over Drake on Sept. 28, 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 101-80-18 and 171-141-24 in his 17-year career overall.
Season First
Junior forward Jordan Bruch had a couple of season firsts on Sept. 28 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
This season Creighton has had success in outscoring their opponents in the first half. The Bluejays have outscored their opponents 15-5 in the first 45 minutes. Overall they have outscored the opposition 25-14.
Pack ?Em In
Creighton has gotten great support from its fans this season, helping to its good start. The team averages 578 fans per home contest, through eight 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 32-16-7 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 5.54 corners per game.
Program Leaders
This season seniors Kristen Casey and Marcy Gans have 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 228
Goalkeeping Victories 4th 27
Goalkeeper Minutes 5th 4731
Shutouts 5th 16
Marcy Gans
Category Rank Number
Goals 1st 34
Points 2nd 82
Multiple Goal Games 2nd 7
Shots on Goal 3rd 109
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
Morrison Record Setter
On Sept. 28 against Drake, 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 65
Total Shots 145
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
Getting Better
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).
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 not only the first NCAA Tournament victory in Creighton history, but also MVC history. Coming into the season, Valley teams are a combined 0-5. Last year the Bluejays lost 3-0 to USC in the first round.
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.
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.
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.
