Men's Soccer Hosts Memphis and Evansville This Week
10/7/2008 2:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer
#3 Creighton hosts Memphis
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 7:00 p.m. ? Morrison Stadium ? Omaha, Neb.
#3 Creighton hosts Evansville
Saturday, Oct. 11, 7:00 p.m. ? Morrison Stadium ? Omaha, Neb.
Following the Jays: Every Creighton home match this season can be followed on the internet via live stats and live video at www.gocreighton.com. Live stats for all home matches can be viewed free with gametracker by clicking on the ?Live Stats' link. Fans can subscribe to watch a live video stream of the Bluejays' home matches via the ?Live Video' link.
This Week: The Bluejays play host to Memphis on Wednesday to conclude non-conference play, before hosting Evansville on Saturday in their Missouri Valley Conference opener. Both games at Morrison Stadium kick off at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Creighton pushed its shutout streak to five games with a pair of double overtime blankings. CU topped Cal State Northridge 1-0, with Andrei Gotsmanov scoring the lone goal on a penalty kick in the 105th minute. The Jays then played to a 0-0 draw with 11th-ranked Saint Louis. Chris Schuler was honored as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week, while both Schuler and Brian Holt earned National Team of the Week honors.
Scouting Creighton (7-1-1): The Bluejays, ranked as high as No. 2 this week, have not allowed a goal in over 559 minutes entering the week, as they lead the NCAA with a 93.3 save percentage. CU ranks second in the nation in both goals against average (0.21) and shut out percentage (.778), as the Jays have logged seven shutouts in nine matches. The Jays have tied a school record with five straight shutouts (4-0-1) entering the week. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brian Holt has gone 559:06 without allowing a goal, the second-longest streak by a keeper in school history and just over three minutes shy of the school record. The Jays have out-scored their opponents 15-2 this season, led by four goals from senior MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Andrei Gotsmanov. Junior Jeff Thayer and freshman Ethan Finlay each have three goals, while Thayer and Gotsmanov are tied for the team-lead with nine points. Thayer is tied with Seth Sinovic for the team-lead with three assists. Gotsmanov, a midfielder, is joined by junior forward Byron Dacy on the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Preseason All-American junior defender Chris Schuler anchors the back four. Holt has played all 845 minutes in net this year and enters the week ranked third in the NCAA in both GAA (0.21) and save percentage (.933).
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea, 1975) is in his second stint as the Bluejays' head coach with a 174-56-28 (.729) record in his 13th season at CU. His overall record is 367-175-58 (.660) in his 31st year of coaching. Warming, the MVC All-Centennial Coach and the all-time winningest soccer coach at CU, has guided teams to 14 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 sixth among active Division I coaches in career victories to open this season.
Scouting Memphis (3-7-0): The Tigers have just three wins on the year, but two have come in the last three games, including an overtime 2-1 upset win of nationally-ranked SMU on Sunday. Memphis has been out-scored 17-9 this year, as Michael Goodlett has a 1.51 GAA and 41 saves in 774 minutes of play. Brian Farrell leads the team with three goals and six points, while Sean Goulding paces U of M with four assists.
CU-Memphis Series: The Jays are 3-0-1 all-time against the Tigers, with CU defeating U of M in each of the last three seasons. CU has played at Memphis in both of the previous two seasons, winning 3-2 and 3-1. The Jays topped Memphis 3-1 in 2005 at Morrison Stadium and played to a scoreless draw at home with U of M in 2001.
Scouting Evansville (7-3-1): After a 5-0-0 start and brief appearance in the national polls, the Purple Aces are 2-3-1 in their last six matches, including a scoreless tie with Lipscomb last Sunday. The Aces lead the MVC with 23 goals and 38 assists for 84 points in 11 matches. UE has posted a 1.15 GAA, with Alec Dufty seeing a bulk of playing time in net. Dufty has a 1.27 GAA and 38 saves for a 74.5 save percentage. Mike Luttrull leads the MVC with eight goals and 20 points, while Tom Irvin leads the league with seven assists, followed by Tyler Crawford's six helpers.
CU-UE Series: The Jays are 17-3-0 all-time against the Aces, including five straight wins and wins in 10 of the last 11 meetings. The Jays are 11-1-0 in meetings against UE in Omaha, with the only loss coming in overtime in 1996. Bob Warming is also 11-1-0 all-time against UE as CU's head coach. CU's last loss to UE was a 2-1 defeat on Oct. 29, 2004.
Best in the Midwest: Creighton is ranked No. 1 in the Midwest in the NSCAA/adidas Regional Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of conference foes Drake (4), Evansville (7) and Eastern Illinois (10).
Poll Position: Creighton remains in the top-10 and has climbed as high as its been this year in each respective poll. The Jays are ranked third in the NSCAA/adidas poll, while College Soccer News, Soccer Times and Soccer America each rank the Bluejays second. TopDrawerSoccer.com's 48-team NCAA prediction poll has the Jays ranked fourth this week.
Kicking Off Conference: Heading into Saturday's conference opener with Evansville, the Bluejays carry an 11-2-4 mark all-time in MVC openers. The Bluejays have out-scored their opponents 11-2 in their last three Valley openers ? a 2-2 tie with Bradley last year, 4-0 over Western Kentucky in 2006 and a 5-0 romp of Eastern Illinois in 2005. The Jays are 7-1-3 in MVC openers under Bob Warming.
Weekly Honors: For the second time this season, defender Chris Schuler was honored as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week for his outstanding play in two Bluejay shutouts last week. Schuler was also named to the Soccer America Team of the Week for the second time. Brian Holt was recognized for his play on the College Soccer News Team of the Week. Seth Sinovic, who carries a 3.32 GPA in economics, was named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week as well.
Halting at Holt: Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brian Holt and the Bluejay defense have been impressive early on. Holt has twice been honored as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week, while the Jays have posted seven shutouts and allowed just two goals in nine matches. His 0.21 goals against average and .933 save percentage both ranked third in the nation to start the week. Holt needs to keep Memphis off the board just 3:39 into Wednesday's match to establish a school record for consecutive scoreless minutes.
Consecutive CU Shutout Minutes Streak
Kevin Doyle - 562:44, Oct. 11-Nov. 7, 1992
Brian Holt - 559:06, Sept. 13-present
Tom Zawislan - 500:20, Oct. 1-29, 1999
Matt Allen - 480:00, Oct. 26-Nov. 22, 2005
Tom Zawislan - 467:35, Sept. 5-24, 1999
CU's D Gets an A: Creighton begins the week ranked first in the NCAA with a 93.3 save percentage. The Jays are second in the nation with a 0.21 goals against average and 77.8 shutout percentage, having posted seven shutouts in nine matches. The two goals allowed are the fewest surrendered by a Bluejay team through nine matches in school history. The 1999 team allowed three goals through nine games and would tie the school record with 11 shutouts and establish the school mark with a 0.47 GAA.
Not a Chance: Not only is Creighton shutting out opponents, but it is rarely even allowing the opposition to get into a position to take shots. Through nine matches, opponents have managed only 7.8 shots per game and a lowly 3.3 shots on goal per game. Both numbers are by far the lowest in school history. CU's 0.21 goals against average would better the 1999 school record of 0.47.
CU Opponents Shots & Shots on Goal
Year Shots PG SOG PG
2008 70 7.8 30 3.3
2007 251 12.6 94 4.7
2006 238 11.3 94 4.5
2005 293 12.7 102 4.4
2004 288 14.4 109 5.5
2003 279 12.7 109 5.0
2002 262 10.9 110 4.6
2001 242 11.5 114 5.4
2000 294 11.3 127 4.9
1999 164 9.1 74 4.1
1998 230 10.5 103 4.7
1997 251 11.4 127 5.8
1996 251 10.5 122 5.1
1995 214 11.9 110 6.1
1994 248 11.8 105 5.0
1993 242 12.1 101 5.1
1992 NA NA 79 4.4
1991 NA NA 127 6.7
1990 209 10.5 134 6.7
No Road Trip Ups: The Bluejays have continued an impressive streak this year, as they are 2-0-1 on the road. The Jays have not lost a game away from Omaha since 2006, improving to 8-0-2 away from Omaha ? 6-0-2 in true road games ? since the beginning of last season. CU is the only Division I men's soccer team that has not lost away from home over the past two seasons. CU's last road loss came in its final game of the 2006 season, an NCAA Tournament loss at Washington.
Battling the Best: Creighton face its second ranked opponent of the season last week at No. 11 Saint Louis. The Jays defeated No. 6 California earlier this season and after its draw at SLU, CU is now a 48-37-10 all-time against the coaches top 25, including 21-15-7 in true road games against ranked foes. The Jays are 7-1-2 in their last nine true road meetings with top 25 teams.
Warming Trend: Bob Warming coached in his 600th match as a college head coach last Saturday at Saint Louis. It was his 258th game as CU's head coach, while he coached 87 as SLU's mentor.
West Coast Dominance: Creighton's match with Cal State Northridge (Oct. 1) was its sixth against a team from the West Coast this year. The Bluejays are 6-0-0 against West Coast teams, including 4-0-0 against teams from California this season. The Jays out-scored California-based teams 6-0 this year, posting shutouts of UC Riverside (2-0), Stanford (1-0), No. 6 California (2-0) and Cal State Northridge (1-0).
Start Me Up: Sophomores Sergio Castillo and Tucker Sindlinger both earned their first starts of the season in CU's 1-0 win over Cal State Northridge (Oct. 1). Castillo started 19 of 20 matches last year, but was slowed by a shoulder injury to start this year, and Sindlinger made seven starts as a freshman last year.
October Success: Since 2002, Creighton is now 35-7-7 (.786) in the month of October, including back-to-back undefeated Octobers in 2002 and 2003. The Bluejays are 1-0-1 this month and were unbeaten in October (5-0-2) last year.
Time to Turn it Up: Including this season, the Bluejays' pre-October winning percentage is .700 since 2002. Their October-on winning percentage since 2002 is .744, including an 1-0-1 mark this year. See the chart below:
Year Pre-Oct. Oct.-On NCAA
2002 5-2-1 13-2-1 College Cup
2003 3-3-2 9-3-2 Quarterfinals
2004 6-1-0 8-3-2 Third Round
2005 4-1-2 11-4-1 Quarterfinals
2006 6-3-2 7-2-1 First Round
2007 4-1-2 8-2-3 Third Round
2008 6-1-0 1-0-1 ???
?02-07 34-12-9 57-16-11
Home Sweet Morrison: The Bluejays are now 42-9-10 (.770) all-time at Morrison Stadium, including a 5-1-0 mark this year. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 144-25-15 (.823) at home. CU is 51-4-3 at home all-time in MVC play, including 16-1-2 at Morrison Stadium. CU's lone Valley loss at Morrison Stadium was a 1-0 defeat to No. 17 SMU on Oct. 1, 2004. The Jays have ranked in the top-10 in the nation in attendance all five years that Morrison Stadium has been open.
Freshman Finlay: Ethan Finlay has scored three goals in his rookie season this year, each of them accounting for the game-winning goal. His three game-winners not only lead the team, but also top the conference.
Byron Being Byron: Junior Byron Dacy tallied his second assist of the year in CU's 2-0 win over Denver (Sept. 27), moving the Jays to 3-0-0 this year when he records a point. Creighton is now 22-2-0 since 2005 when Dacy scores or assists a goal.
Change Up in Line Up: Creighton used the same 11 starters in its first four matches of the year, before switching them up in California (Sept. 19-21). Freshman Kris Clark, a native of the Bay Area, earned his first two career starts at Stanford and Cal, while junior Byron Dacy made his first two starts of the season. For Dacy, it was his first two starts since 2006, his healthy sophomore season. The Jays also made due without Andrei Gotsmanov on the pitch at all against sixth-ranked Cal (Sept. 21), as he missed the match with an injury after starting the first five matches of the year.
Thayer of Omaha: Junior forward Jeff Thayer, an Omaha native, scored three goals in 2007, all of which were game winners. While he hasn't scored a game-winner this year, he's already equalled last season's goal total and surpassed his assist total of last year. He notched his first career multiple-goal match against Gonzaga (Aug. 29).
Powering Past Pac-10: The Bluejays topped a pair of Pac-10 foes in September, knocking off Stanford, 1-0, and blanking sixth-ranked California, 2-0. The Jays are 3-0-2 against the Pac-10 in their last five meetings. Creighton is now 7-3-3 against the Pac-10 since Bob Warming returned to Omaha in 2001.
Early Arrivals: In Creighton's 2-0 win over UC Riverside (Sept. 7), both Bluejay goals were scored by true freshmen. However this isn't the first semester on the CU campus for either rookie, as both Ethan Finlay and Greg Jordan graduated high school early and joined the Bluejays for training in the spring semester. Their early arrival has paid dividends already, as both have started all four matches, and Finlay scored both game-winning goals on the Sept.5-7 weekend. Jordan recorded an assist and goal against UCR, in addition to his stellar defensive midfield play which contributed to a pair of Bluejay shutouts. Both were honored on the Diadora Challenge All-Tournament Team and Finlay was named to Soccer America's National Team of the Week.
Fantastic Fanatics: For the third time in school history, more than 4,000 fans turned out for a Bluejay regular-season home match, as 4,071 fans showed up for Creighton's season-opener. The Jays followed with over 3,000 fans for their second game to give the Bluejays two of the largest 10 crowds in all of college soccer through two weekends of play. The 4,071 fans ranks as the third-largest regular-season home crowd and the fifth-largest crowd in CU home history (including exhibitions).
Top Five Creighton Home Crowds
1 ? 5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007
2 ? 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
3 ? 4,407 vs. Saint Louis, Aug. 31, 1997
4 ? 4,345 vs. Virginia (Exh.), Aug. 28, 1993
5 ? 4,071 vs. Gonzaga, Aug. 29, 2008
Top Five Morrison Stadium Crowds
1 ? 5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007
2 ? 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
3 ? 4,071 vs. Gonzaga, Aug. 29, 2008
3 ? 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
4 ? 4,023 vs. Tulsa, Sept. 22, 2007
Offensive Output: Creighton's four goals in its season opener were the most since 2004, while the Bluejays followed with three goals in their second game. The seven goals through two games were the most for the Jays since the 1992 team poured in 13 goals in its first two matches.
No Shots For You: The Bluejay defense did not allow a shot on goal in their 2-0 win over UC Riverside (Sept. 7), marking the first time since 2005 that the Jays limited their opponent to zero shots on goal in a game. CU held Missouri State to no shots on goal in a 2-0 win on Oct. 12, 2005. UCR managed only four total shots in the game, followed by just three attempts by UMKC last Saturday, the fewest by a Bluejay foe since Brown attempted only three shots against CU on Sept. 19, 2003.
High Flyers: Creighton's No. 3 ranking in the NSCAA/adidas poll on Sept. 8 was the highest the Bluejays had been ranked in the regular-season since the 2000 team, which finished as the NCAA runners-up, was ranked third on Sept. 18. The Jays were then ranked second in the 2000 postseason poll and the 2001 preseason poll, but had not been this high since.
Transferring Starts: Junior Akin Akinrinade has started every game of his collegiate career, although he has started just eight games for the Bluejays. Akinrinade started 29 matches in playing his first two seasons at Central Florida, and has been in the starting lineup every game this year as a Bluejay.
First Things First: Freshman Kris Clark and sophomore Andrew Duran teamed up with Jeff Thayer on the final goal of the match against Gonzaga (Aug. 29). Duran and Clark both were credited with their first career assists on Thayer's second goal of the match. Sophomore Tucker Sindlinger recorded his first game-winning goal in the win as well.
Home-Opening Attendance: Bluejay fans typically make the home-opener a highly-attended contest. Since moving to Morrison Stadium in 2003, the average attendance at CU home-openers is now 3,306, following the crowd of 4,071 that attended this season's home-opener.
National Player of the Year Candidates: For the second straight season, two Bluejays have been placed on the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List, a preseason list for the award annually given to the top soccer player in Division I. Junior Byron Dacy is on the preseason watch list for the third straight year, even after playing just two matches and redshirting last year because of a torn ACL. Senior Andrei Gotsmanov, who led the team with six goals and 17 points last year, joins Dacy on the list. Last year, Matt Allen was nominated along with Dacy to begin the season. Gotsmanov and Dacy are now on the long list of National Player of the Year candidates from Creighton, including the 1997 winner and current assistant coach, Johnny Torres.
CU National Player of the Year Candidates
Year Player
2008 Byron Dacy & Andrei Gotsmanov
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
Keeping Keepers: There is no doubt experience in goal helps, but there is proof in Creighton's past that demonstrates that experience isn't necessary for success. This season the Bluejays return zero career minutes in goal, with three redshirt freshmen goalkeepers on the roster. The Jays have never previously returned zero minutes in net. In fact, both previous times CU returned 202 career minutes in goal or fewer, it reached the College Cup.
The fewest career goalkeeping minutes the Jays have returned prior to this season came during the 2000 campaign. Mike Gabb had played 179 career minutes before the 2000 season, a year the Bluejays would lead the NCAA with 22 wins and appear in the NCAA championship match. The second-fewest minutes the Jays have returned came in 1996, when Jon Epperson entered the year with 202 career minutes. He helped lead the Bluejays to their first College Cup Final Four that season.
Senior Citizens: Creighton has three seniors ? Andrei Gotsmanov, Seth Sinovic, Tim Walters ? listed on its roster this season, the fewest since the 1998 team also had just three seniors on the squad - Marc Madeley, Richard Mulrooney and Patrick Parker. Gotsmanov and Sinovic demonstrated their senior leadership and ability by combining on the first CU goal of the season this year.
In Attendance: Creighton ranked third in the nation in overall attendance in 2007, while it finished fourth in average attendance last year. The Jays brought in 34,308 fans for an average of 2,639 per game. CU's match against UCLA last year drew a school-record 5,812 fans, while two other 2007 crowds ranked in the CU top-10.
Preseason Favorites: The Missouri Valley Conference coaches have tabbed the Bluejays as preseason favorites for the fourth straight season. CU received five of the six first-place votes to total 35 points. Evansville is picked to finish second with 27 points, while Missouri State picked up the other first-place vote, despite being picked to finish last in the league.
Nine Newcomers: CU's incoming class of nine players ? six true freshmen and three transfers ? was ranked as the 16th-best recruiting class in the country according to College Soccer News. The Jays have 12 freshmen on their roster, five of whom redshirted with the Bluejays last year. Junior Akin Akinrinade (Central Florida), sophomore Kyle Deremer (St. Mary's) and freshman Tim Krueger (Hastings) have transferred into the program. Deremer and Krueger were teammates on Millard North's undefeated state championship team in 2007. Akinrinade, Krueger, along with freshmen Greg Jordan and Ethan Finlay all enrolled and trained at Creighton this spring.
Dairy State Products: A pair of freshmen from Wisconsin have been tabbed among “100 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On” according to College Soccer News. Ethan Finlay and Stew Brown, club teammates for FC Milwaukee, both earned the notice. Finlay was recognized by Rise Magazine as a top-30 national recruit and was an NSCAA Youth All-American, while Brown was an NSCAA High School All-American and named the most outstanding player at the US Youth Soccer National Championships in 2007.
Last Year in Brief: Creighton lost just one regular-season match in 2007 and finished the year with a 12-3-5 record in the third round of the NCAA Tournament - its 16th straight appearance in the NCAA postseason. The Jays ran off an 11-match unbeaten streak during their season, while posting a 4-0-2 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play for their first unbeaten record in MVC play since 1996. CU shared the MVC regular-season crown with Bradley for the second straight year. All-American Matt Allen became the first player in league history to twice be named MVC Defensive Player of the Year, while he wrapped up his career with CU records for minutes played and shutouts.
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 7:00 p.m. ? Morrison Stadium ? Omaha, Neb.
#3 Creighton hosts Evansville
Saturday, Oct. 11, 7:00 p.m. ? Morrison Stadium ? Omaha, Neb.
Following the Jays: Every Creighton home match this season can be followed on the internet via live stats and live video at www.gocreighton.com. Live stats for all home matches can be viewed free with gametracker by clicking on the ?Live Stats' link. Fans can subscribe to watch a live video stream of the Bluejays' home matches via the ?Live Video' link.
This Week: The Bluejays play host to Memphis on Wednesday to conclude non-conference play, before hosting Evansville on Saturday in their Missouri Valley Conference opener. Both games at Morrison Stadium kick off at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Creighton pushed its shutout streak to five games with a pair of double overtime blankings. CU topped Cal State Northridge 1-0, with Andrei Gotsmanov scoring the lone goal on a penalty kick in the 105th minute. The Jays then played to a 0-0 draw with 11th-ranked Saint Louis. Chris Schuler was honored as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week, while both Schuler and Brian Holt earned National Team of the Week honors.
Scouting Creighton (7-1-1): The Bluejays, ranked as high as No. 2 this week, have not allowed a goal in over 559 minutes entering the week, as they lead the NCAA with a 93.3 save percentage. CU ranks second in the nation in both goals against average (0.21) and shut out percentage (.778), as the Jays have logged seven shutouts in nine matches. The Jays have tied a school record with five straight shutouts (4-0-1) entering the week. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brian Holt has gone 559:06 without allowing a goal, the second-longest streak by a keeper in school history and just over three minutes shy of the school record. The Jays have out-scored their opponents 15-2 this season, led by four goals from senior MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Andrei Gotsmanov. Junior Jeff Thayer and freshman Ethan Finlay each have three goals, while Thayer and Gotsmanov are tied for the team-lead with nine points. Thayer is tied with Seth Sinovic for the team-lead with three assists. Gotsmanov, a midfielder, is joined by junior forward Byron Dacy on the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Preseason All-American junior defender Chris Schuler anchors the back four. Holt has played all 845 minutes in net this year and enters the week ranked third in the NCAA in both GAA (0.21) and save percentage (.933).
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea, 1975) is in his second stint as the Bluejays' head coach with a 174-56-28 (.729) record in his 13th season at CU. His overall record is 367-175-58 (.660) in his 31st year of coaching. Warming, the MVC All-Centennial Coach and the all-time winningest soccer coach at CU, has guided teams to 14 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 sixth among active Division I coaches in career victories to open this season.
Scouting Memphis (3-7-0): The Tigers have just three wins on the year, but two have come in the last three games, including an overtime 2-1 upset win of nationally-ranked SMU on Sunday. Memphis has been out-scored 17-9 this year, as Michael Goodlett has a 1.51 GAA and 41 saves in 774 minutes of play. Brian Farrell leads the team with three goals and six points, while Sean Goulding paces U of M with four assists.
CU-Memphis Series: The Jays are 3-0-1 all-time against the Tigers, with CU defeating U of M in each of the last three seasons. CU has played at Memphis in both of the previous two seasons, winning 3-2 and 3-1. The Jays topped Memphis 3-1 in 2005 at Morrison Stadium and played to a scoreless draw at home with U of M in 2001.
Scouting Evansville (7-3-1): After a 5-0-0 start and brief appearance in the national polls, the Purple Aces are 2-3-1 in their last six matches, including a scoreless tie with Lipscomb last Sunday. The Aces lead the MVC with 23 goals and 38 assists for 84 points in 11 matches. UE has posted a 1.15 GAA, with Alec Dufty seeing a bulk of playing time in net. Dufty has a 1.27 GAA and 38 saves for a 74.5 save percentage. Mike Luttrull leads the MVC with eight goals and 20 points, while Tom Irvin leads the league with seven assists, followed by Tyler Crawford's six helpers.
CU-UE Series: The Jays are 17-3-0 all-time against the Aces, including five straight wins and wins in 10 of the last 11 meetings. The Jays are 11-1-0 in meetings against UE in Omaha, with the only loss coming in overtime in 1996. Bob Warming is also 11-1-0 all-time against UE as CU's head coach. CU's last loss to UE was a 2-1 defeat on Oct. 29, 2004.
Best in the Midwest: Creighton is ranked No. 1 in the Midwest in the NSCAA/adidas Regional Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of conference foes Drake (4), Evansville (7) and Eastern Illinois (10).
Poll Position: Creighton remains in the top-10 and has climbed as high as its been this year in each respective poll. The Jays are ranked third in the NSCAA/adidas poll, while College Soccer News, Soccer Times and Soccer America each rank the Bluejays second. TopDrawerSoccer.com's 48-team NCAA prediction poll has the Jays ranked fourth this week.
Kicking Off Conference: Heading into Saturday's conference opener with Evansville, the Bluejays carry an 11-2-4 mark all-time in MVC openers. The Bluejays have out-scored their opponents 11-2 in their last three Valley openers ? a 2-2 tie with Bradley last year, 4-0 over Western Kentucky in 2006 and a 5-0 romp of Eastern Illinois in 2005. The Jays are 7-1-3 in MVC openers under Bob Warming.
Weekly Honors: For the second time this season, defender Chris Schuler was honored as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week for his outstanding play in two Bluejay shutouts last week. Schuler was also named to the Soccer America Team of the Week for the second time. Brian Holt was recognized for his play on the College Soccer News Team of the Week. Seth Sinovic, who carries a 3.32 GPA in economics, was named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week as well.
Halting at Holt: Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brian Holt and the Bluejay defense have been impressive early on. Holt has twice been honored as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week, while the Jays have posted seven shutouts and allowed just two goals in nine matches. His 0.21 goals against average and .933 save percentage both ranked third in the nation to start the week. Holt needs to keep Memphis off the board just 3:39 into Wednesday's match to establish a school record for consecutive scoreless minutes.
Consecutive CU Shutout Minutes Streak
Kevin Doyle - 562:44, Oct. 11-Nov. 7, 1992
Brian Holt - 559:06, Sept. 13-present
Tom Zawislan - 500:20, Oct. 1-29, 1999
Matt Allen - 480:00, Oct. 26-Nov. 22, 2005
Tom Zawislan - 467:35, Sept. 5-24, 1999
CU's D Gets an A: Creighton begins the week ranked first in the NCAA with a 93.3 save percentage. The Jays are second in the nation with a 0.21 goals against average and 77.8 shutout percentage, having posted seven shutouts in nine matches. The two goals allowed are the fewest surrendered by a Bluejay team through nine matches in school history. The 1999 team allowed three goals through nine games and would tie the school record with 11 shutouts and establish the school mark with a 0.47 GAA.
Not a Chance: Not only is Creighton shutting out opponents, but it is rarely even allowing the opposition to get into a position to take shots. Through nine matches, opponents have managed only 7.8 shots per game and a lowly 3.3 shots on goal per game. Both numbers are by far the lowest in school history. CU's 0.21 goals against average would better the 1999 school record of 0.47.
CU Opponents Shots & Shots on Goal
Year Shots PG SOG PG
2008 70 7.8 30 3.3
2007 251 12.6 94 4.7
2006 238 11.3 94 4.5
2005 293 12.7 102 4.4
2004 288 14.4 109 5.5
2003 279 12.7 109 5.0
2002 262 10.9 110 4.6
2001 242 11.5 114 5.4
2000 294 11.3 127 4.9
1999 164 9.1 74 4.1
1998 230 10.5 103 4.7
1997 251 11.4 127 5.8
1996 251 10.5 122 5.1
1995 214 11.9 110 6.1
1994 248 11.8 105 5.0
1993 242 12.1 101 5.1
1992 NA NA 79 4.4
1991 NA NA 127 6.7
1990 209 10.5 134 6.7
No Road Trip Ups: The Bluejays have continued an impressive streak this year, as they are 2-0-1 on the road. The Jays have not lost a game away from Omaha since 2006, improving to 8-0-2 away from Omaha ? 6-0-2 in true road games ? since the beginning of last season. CU is the only Division I men's soccer team that has not lost away from home over the past two seasons. CU's last road loss came in its final game of the 2006 season, an NCAA Tournament loss at Washington.
Battling the Best: Creighton face its second ranked opponent of the season last week at No. 11 Saint Louis. The Jays defeated No. 6 California earlier this season and after its draw at SLU, CU is now a 48-37-10 all-time against the coaches top 25, including 21-15-7 in true road games against ranked foes. The Jays are 7-1-2 in their last nine true road meetings with top 25 teams.
Warming Trend: Bob Warming coached in his 600th match as a college head coach last Saturday at Saint Louis. It was his 258th game as CU's head coach, while he coached 87 as SLU's mentor.
West Coast Dominance: Creighton's match with Cal State Northridge (Oct. 1) was its sixth against a team from the West Coast this year. The Bluejays are 6-0-0 against West Coast teams, including 4-0-0 against teams from California this season. The Jays out-scored California-based teams 6-0 this year, posting shutouts of UC Riverside (2-0), Stanford (1-0), No. 6 California (2-0) and Cal State Northridge (1-0).
Start Me Up: Sophomores Sergio Castillo and Tucker Sindlinger both earned their first starts of the season in CU's 1-0 win over Cal State Northridge (Oct. 1). Castillo started 19 of 20 matches last year, but was slowed by a shoulder injury to start this year, and Sindlinger made seven starts as a freshman last year.
October Success: Since 2002, Creighton is now 35-7-7 (.786) in the month of October, including back-to-back undefeated Octobers in 2002 and 2003. The Bluejays are 1-0-1 this month and were unbeaten in October (5-0-2) last year.
Time to Turn it Up: Including this season, the Bluejays' pre-October winning percentage is .700 since 2002. Their October-on winning percentage since 2002 is .744, including an 1-0-1 mark this year. See the chart below:
Year Pre-Oct. Oct.-On NCAA
2002 5-2-1 13-2-1 College Cup
2003 3-3-2 9-3-2 Quarterfinals
2004 6-1-0 8-3-2 Third Round
2005 4-1-2 11-4-1 Quarterfinals
2006 6-3-2 7-2-1 First Round
2007 4-1-2 8-2-3 Third Round
2008 6-1-0 1-0-1 ???
?02-07 34-12-9 57-16-11
Home Sweet Morrison: The Bluejays are now 42-9-10 (.770) all-time at Morrison Stadium, including a 5-1-0 mark this year. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 144-25-15 (.823) at home. CU is 51-4-3 at home all-time in MVC play, including 16-1-2 at Morrison Stadium. CU's lone Valley loss at Morrison Stadium was a 1-0 defeat to No. 17 SMU on Oct. 1, 2004. The Jays have ranked in the top-10 in the nation in attendance all five years that Morrison Stadium has been open.
Freshman Finlay: Ethan Finlay has scored three goals in his rookie season this year, each of them accounting for the game-winning goal. His three game-winners not only lead the team, but also top the conference.
Byron Being Byron: Junior Byron Dacy tallied his second assist of the year in CU's 2-0 win over Denver (Sept. 27), moving the Jays to 3-0-0 this year when he records a point. Creighton is now 22-2-0 since 2005 when Dacy scores or assists a goal.
Change Up in Line Up: Creighton used the same 11 starters in its first four matches of the year, before switching them up in California (Sept. 19-21). Freshman Kris Clark, a native of the Bay Area, earned his first two career starts at Stanford and Cal, while junior Byron Dacy made his first two starts of the season. For Dacy, it was his first two starts since 2006, his healthy sophomore season. The Jays also made due without Andrei Gotsmanov on the pitch at all against sixth-ranked Cal (Sept. 21), as he missed the match with an injury after starting the first five matches of the year.
Thayer of Omaha: Junior forward Jeff Thayer, an Omaha native, scored three goals in 2007, all of which were game winners. While he hasn't scored a game-winner this year, he's already equalled last season's goal total and surpassed his assist total of last year. He notched his first career multiple-goal match against Gonzaga (Aug. 29).
Powering Past Pac-10: The Bluejays topped a pair of Pac-10 foes in September, knocking off Stanford, 1-0, and blanking sixth-ranked California, 2-0. The Jays are 3-0-2 against the Pac-10 in their last five meetings. Creighton is now 7-3-3 against the Pac-10 since Bob Warming returned to Omaha in 2001.
Early Arrivals: In Creighton's 2-0 win over UC Riverside (Sept. 7), both Bluejay goals were scored by true freshmen. However this isn't the first semester on the CU campus for either rookie, as both Ethan Finlay and Greg Jordan graduated high school early and joined the Bluejays for training in the spring semester. Their early arrival has paid dividends already, as both have started all four matches, and Finlay scored both game-winning goals on the Sept.5-7 weekend. Jordan recorded an assist and goal against UCR, in addition to his stellar defensive midfield play which contributed to a pair of Bluejay shutouts. Both were honored on the Diadora Challenge All-Tournament Team and Finlay was named to Soccer America's National Team of the Week.
Fantastic Fanatics: For the third time in school history, more than 4,000 fans turned out for a Bluejay regular-season home match, as 4,071 fans showed up for Creighton's season-opener. The Jays followed with over 3,000 fans for their second game to give the Bluejays two of the largest 10 crowds in all of college soccer through two weekends of play. The 4,071 fans ranks as the third-largest regular-season home crowd and the fifth-largest crowd in CU home history (including exhibitions).
Top Five Creighton Home Crowds
1 ? 5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007
2 ? 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
3 ? 4,407 vs. Saint Louis, Aug. 31, 1997
4 ? 4,345 vs. Virginia (Exh.), Aug. 28, 1993
5 ? 4,071 vs. Gonzaga, Aug. 29, 2008
Top Five Morrison Stadium Crowds
1 ? 5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007
2 ? 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
3 ? 4,071 vs. Gonzaga, Aug. 29, 2008
3 ? 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
4 ? 4,023 vs. Tulsa, Sept. 22, 2007
Offensive Output: Creighton's four goals in its season opener were the most since 2004, while the Bluejays followed with three goals in their second game. The seven goals through two games were the most for the Jays since the 1992 team poured in 13 goals in its first two matches.
No Shots For You: The Bluejay defense did not allow a shot on goal in their 2-0 win over UC Riverside (Sept. 7), marking the first time since 2005 that the Jays limited their opponent to zero shots on goal in a game. CU held Missouri State to no shots on goal in a 2-0 win on Oct. 12, 2005. UCR managed only four total shots in the game, followed by just three attempts by UMKC last Saturday, the fewest by a Bluejay foe since Brown attempted only three shots against CU on Sept. 19, 2003.
High Flyers: Creighton's No. 3 ranking in the NSCAA/adidas poll on Sept. 8 was the highest the Bluejays had been ranked in the regular-season since the 2000 team, which finished as the NCAA runners-up, was ranked third on Sept. 18. The Jays were then ranked second in the 2000 postseason poll and the 2001 preseason poll, but had not been this high since.
Transferring Starts: Junior Akin Akinrinade has started every game of his collegiate career, although he has started just eight games for the Bluejays. Akinrinade started 29 matches in playing his first two seasons at Central Florida, and has been in the starting lineup every game this year as a Bluejay.
First Things First: Freshman Kris Clark and sophomore Andrew Duran teamed up with Jeff Thayer on the final goal of the match against Gonzaga (Aug. 29). Duran and Clark both were credited with their first career assists on Thayer's second goal of the match. Sophomore Tucker Sindlinger recorded his first game-winning goal in the win as well.
Home-Opening Attendance: Bluejay fans typically make the home-opener a highly-attended contest. Since moving to Morrison Stadium in 2003, the average attendance at CU home-openers is now 3,306, following the crowd of 4,071 that attended this season's home-opener.
National Player of the Year Candidates: For the second straight season, two Bluejays have been placed on the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List, a preseason list for the award annually given to the top soccer player in Division I. Junior Byron Dacy is on the preseason watch list for the third straight year, even after playing just two matches and redshirting last year because of a torn ACL. Senior Andrei Gotsmanov, who led the team with six goals and 17 points last year, joins Dacy on the list. Last year, Matt Allen was nominated along with Dacy to begin the season. Gotsmanov and Dacy are now on the long list of National Player of the Year candidates from Creighton, including the 1997 winner and current assistant coach, Johnny Torres.
CU National Player of the Year Candidates
Year Player
2008 Byron Dacy & Andrei Gotsmanov
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
Keeping Keepers: There is no doubt experience in goal helps, but there is proof in Creighton's past that demonstrates that experience isn't necessary for success. This season the Bluejays return zero career minutes in goal, with three redshirt freshmen goalkeepers on the roster. The Jays have never previously returned zero minutes in net. In fact, both previous times CU returned 202 career minutes in goal or fewer, it reached the College Cup.
The fewest career goalkeeping minutes the Jays have returned prior to this season came during the 2000 campaign. Mike Gabb had played 179 career minutes before the 2000 season, a year the Bluejays would lead the NCAA with 22 wins and appear in the NCAA championship match. The second-fewest minutes the Jays have returned came in 1996, when Jon Epperson entered the year with 202 career minutes. He helped lead the Bluejays to their first College Cup Final Four that season.
Senior Citizens: Creighton has three seniors ? Andrei Gotsmanov, Seth Sinovic, Tim Walters ? listed on its roster this season, the fewest since the 1998 team also had just three seniors on the squad - Marc Madeley, Richard Mulrooney and Patrick Parker. Gotsmanov and Sinovic demonstrated their senior leadership and ability by combining on the first CU goal of the season this year.
In Attendance: Creighton ranked third in the nation in overall attendance in 2007, while it finished fourth in average attendance last year. The Jays brought in 34,308 fans for an average of 2,639 per game. CU's match against UCLA last year drew a school-record 5,812 fans, while two other 2007 crowds ranked in the CU top-10.
Preseason Favorites: The Missouri Valley Conference coaches have tabbed the Bluejays as preseason favorites for the fourth straight season. CU received five of the six first-place votes to total 35 points. Evansville is picked to finish second with 27 points, while Missouri State picked up the other first-place vote, despite being picked to finish last in the league.
Nine Newcomers: CU's incoming class of nine players ? six true freshmen and three transfers ? was ranked as the 16th-best recruiting class in the country according to College Soccer News. The Jays have 12 freshmen on their roster, five of whom redshirted with the Bluejays last year. Junior Akin Akinrinade (Central Florida), sophomore Kyle Deremer (St. Mary's) and freshman Tim Krueger (Hastings) have transferred into the program. Deremer and Krueger were teammates on Millard North's undefeated state championship team in 2007. Akinrinade, Krueger, along with freshmen Greg Jordan and Ethan Finlay all enrolled and trained at Creighton this spring.
Dairy State Products: A pair of freshmen from Wisconsin have been tabbed among “100 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On” according to College Soccer News. Ethan Finlay and Stew Brown, club teammates for FC Milwaukee, both earned the notice. Finlay was recognized by Rise Magazine as a top-30 national recruit and was an NSCAA Youth All-American, while Brown was an NSCAA High School All-American and named the most outstanding player at the US Youth Soccer National Championships in 2007.
Last Year in Brief: Creighton lost just one regular-season match in 2007 and finished the year with a 12-3-5 record in the third round of the NCAA Tournament - its 16th straight appearance in the NCAA postseason. The Jays ran off an 11-match unbeaten streak during their season, while posting a 4-0-2 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play for their first unbeaten record in MVC play since 1996. CU shared the MVC regular-season crown with Bradley for the second straight year. All-American Matt Allen became the first player in league history to twice be named MVC Defensive Player of the Year, while he wrapped up his career with CU records for minutes played and shutouts.
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/ Men's SoccerCreighton Media Availability Men's Soccer - 11/5/25
Wednesday, November 05
Creighton MSOC Highlights & Postgame vs Seton Hall 11 1 25
Sunday, November 02
Creighton Men's Soccer Media Availability - 10/29/25
Wednesday, October 29
Creighton Men's Soccer Highlights at Butler -10-25-25
Saturday, October 25
