Seniors Shine as No. 3 Men's Soccer Tops No. 24 Drake, 2-0

OMAHA, Neb. ? Senior Andrei Gotsmanov scored both goals and the Creighton defense tied a school record with its 11th shutout of the season as the third-ranked Bluejays topped No. 24 Drake, 2-0, Saturday afternoon at Morrison Stadium. The win moves Creighton into first place in the Missouri Valley Conference at 3-0-1 and pushes its undefeated streak to 10 matches, as the Jays are now 11-1-2 on the year. Drake drops to 11-4-0 overall and 3-1-0 in the MVC.

Gotsmanov got the scoring started in the 14th minute when he bent a 22-yard free kick past the Drake wall and a shielded Michael Drozd in net for the Bulldogs.

A fantastic build up led to Gotsmanov's second tally of the afternoon in the 58th minute. The senior benefitted from a series of passes between Jeff Thayer and Ethan Finlay, before the ball ended up on Gotsmanov's foot and he tucked it away for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

“What a dream day for Senior Day,” said head coach Bob Warming after the victory. “I think Tim Walters played his best game of the year today, working hard for every ball that came his way. Not one ball came down Seth Sinovic's side of the field and Andrei scores two goals.”

Creighton came into the game leading the NCAA in shutout percentage, while the Bulldogs ranked 16th in the NCAA in scoring. CU's defense prevailed as it tied the school record of 11 shutouts set by the 1996 team and equalled by the 1999 squad.

The win moved CU to 8-1-0 at home this year. One home game after the largest MVC home crowd in school history, CU's fans turned in the largest regular-season crowd to watch a November game in school history. In fact, the 2,882 fans that turned out for a November contest on Saturday, trailed only the 3,860 fans which attended an NCAA Tournament match with SMU on Nov. 21, 1992.

Gotsmanov, a preseason MAC Hermann Trophy candidate, has now scored five of CU's last six goals this season and is tied for the MVC and team-lead with three game-winning scores. He also now owns Morrison Stadium records for goals in a season (8) and a career (13), despite playing just two seasons at Creighton. CU is 16-0-0 over the past two seasons when he scores or has an assist in a match.

Creighton will look to claim its third straight regular-season MVC title next Saturday, when it concludes the regular-season at Eastern Illinois. The Jays and Panthers wrap up the year at 2 p.m. in Charleston.

NOTES: Gotsmanov picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the 88th minute and must sit out CU's regular-season finale at Eastern Illinois ... Gotsmanov has also tied the Morrison Stadium record with 30 points in a career ... 13 of Gotsmanov's 15 career goals have come at home ... Not only is CU unbeaten in its last 10 matches this year, it has an undefeated streak in MVC play of 10 matches as well (7-0-3) ... The Jays followed a tie with a win for the 10th straight time, dating back to 2005 ... CU is now 10-1-1 all-time at Morrison Stadium against NSCAA top-25 teams and 20-8-2 at home all-time against ranked foes ... CU is 18-1-2 in the MVC regular-season at Morrison Stadium and 53-4-3 all-time at home in Valley play ... CU is 2-0-1 against top-25 teams this year.

Seniors Shine as No. 3 Men's Soccer Tops No. 24 Drake, 2-0

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Finlay

Andrei Gotsmanov

Seth Sinovic

Jeff Thayer

Tim Walters