Women's Soccer Begins Three-Game Roadtrip Saturday at Indiana State
10/7/2008 3:45:00 PM | 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 64
GAA Casey 1.05
About the Jays
The 8-4-0 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 has scored the most career goals in Creighton history with 33, leads the team and is second in the 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 third in the MVC this season with a 1.05 goals against average.
Last Week Recap
Last Saturday Creighton lost its first conference game of the season, falling to Illinois State 1-0 at Morrison Stadium. Illinois State's goal came with 1.4 seconds to go in regulation.
The Redbirds scored after having a goal kick in its own end with 25.0 seconds to go in regulation. Jane Carlson flipped the ball to Mel Routledge who sent a desperation shot at the Creighton net, bouncing just over the head of goalkeeper Kristen Casey.
Although they didn't find the back of the net, it wasn't for a lack of opportunities for the Bluejays. Marcy Gans received a pass right in front of the Redbird net in the 81st minute, only to have her shot stopped by Illinois State goalkeeper, Sasha Reiber.
Favorable Matchup
On Saturday Creighton will head to Indiana State for its first conference road game. The Bluejays have had success in Terre Haute, Ind., going 3-0-0 in their previous matchups at Indiana State. Overall, Creighton has gone 10-0-0 in the series.
Road Warriors
Saturday's game against Indiana State will be the first 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.
First Time For Everything
Last Saturday's 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).
That's Peculiar
Saturday's game against Indiana State will feature a matchup of former high school classmates. Bluejay freshman Ariel Rank went to the same high school as Sycamore redshirt freshman, Shannon Peery. The two attended Raymore-Peculiar in Raymore, Mo.
Top 25 Performance
With her two-goal performance Sept. 28 against Drake, Marcy Gans 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 16th in goals per game with 0.833 and 21st in points per game with 1.92.
Getting Gans Involved
Marcy Gans was held scoreless for the first time in the last four games last Saturday. Dating back to last season the Bluejays are 18-2-1 when Gans scores a point and 1-10-1 when she doesn't.
Must Score Situation
With Saturday's 1-0 loss to Illinois State, the Bluejays showed the importance of 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.
Career Leader
Marcy Gans' two goals against Drake on Sept. 28 marked the second consecutive match that she had scored multiple goals. She 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 against Drake, Gans moved into second place on the all-time multiple goals scored in a match list with seven.
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 100-80-18 and 170-141-24 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 14-4 in the first 45 minutes. Overall they have outscored the opposition 22-13.
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 31-16-7 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 5.50 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.
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 225
Goalkeeping Victories T-4th 26
Goalkeeper Minutes 5th 4641
Shutouts 5th 16
Marcy Gans
Category Rank Number
Goals 1st 33
Points 2nd 80
Multiple Goal Games 2nd 7
Shots on Goal 3rd 106
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
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).
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.
