Women's Soccer Kicks Off Four-Game Homestand Friday
9/17/2008 10:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Bluejay Season Leaders
Category Leader Number
Goals Gans 4
Assists Fyles 3
Gans 3
Gunther 3
Points Gans 11
Saves Casey 43
GAA Casey 1.25
About the Jays
The 5-3-0 Creighton women's soccer team is a mix of youth and experience. The squad, which had a record of 11-8-2, is coming off a 2007 MVC Tournament Championship.
Leading the team in scoring are the team's three preseason all-MVC selections (Emily Orbell, Marcy Gans and Lindsay Vaught). Gans leads the team with 11 points (4 G, 3 A), Vaught (2 G, 1 A) and, Orbell (2 G, 1 A) are tied for second with five, along with Nicole DeLue (2 G, 1 A). Kristen Casey, who was the first female Bluejay to play every minute of the season in goal last season, leads the team in wins with four.
The team is hoping to make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for just the second time in program history.
Last Week Recap
Last weekend Creighton split its two matches On Friday the Bluejays defeated Portland State at home, 3-1, before dropping a contest at Iowa, Sunday, 2-0.
In Friday's game against Portland State, the Bluejays benefited from a Viking own goal, in the second minute. Lindsay Vaught headed in a pass from Erin Gunther in the 37th minute to put the Creighton advantage at 2-1.The Bluejays finished the scoring in the 67th minute as Marcy Gans slid to finish off a crossing pass from Vaught.
In Sunday's game against Iowa, the Bluejays lost for the first time this season when holding their opponent to six shots on goal or fewer. Iowa was only able to send four shots at the net, two of which were stopped by Kristen Casey. Gans was unable to convert on a penalty kick in the 76th minute, the Bluejays best scoring chance of the day.
Three is a Lucky Number
Friday's 3-1 win marked the third time this season Creighton has scored three times in a game, matching the number of three-goal matches from last season. The game also marked the 29th straight time that the Bluejays have been victorious when scoring three or more goals. In program history, the team is 103-2-2 in those situations, a .972 winning percentage.
Own Goal
The first goal Creighton scored against Portland State came courtesy of an own goal by the Vikings. It was the first time since Sept. 23, 2007 that the Bluejays have benefited from an own goal.
Gans is Gold
Sunday's loss against Iowa was just the second time this season that senior Marcy Gans has not scored a point. Dating back to last season the Bluejays are 15-2-1 when Gans scores a point and 1-9-1 when she doesn't.
Defending Your Home Turf
Friday's game against Stephen F. Austin will begin a four-game homestand for the Bluejays. Morrison Stadium has been friendly to Creighton, where the team is 10-1-1 in its last 12 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.
Still the One
With last Friday's 3-1 win over Portland State, Creighton continued its good record when scoring at least one goal. In the last 31 games they've scored at least one goal, the Bluejays are 23-5-3, a .790 win percentage.
Program Milestone
With the Bluejays' next win, they will eclipse the 200 win mark. 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 49-34-13 (current) 96
Season High
Senior Lindsay Vaught was Creighton's high point scorer last weekend, earning a goal and an assist in the Bluejays 3-1 victory over Portland State. With the three points generated on Friday, Vaught now has five points for the year (2 G, 1 A) surpassing her total from last season when she had four points (1 G, 2 A).
Cutting Corners
In the first half on Friday against Portland State, the Bluejays were held without a corner kick for the third consecutive period, after being held without a corner against Minnesota on Sept. 7. It was their longest streak without a corner kick since Oct. 17-24, 2004 when Creighton went both overtimes against Illinois State without a corner, and the first half against Iowa.
High School Reunion
This weekend will feature a pair of high school reunions for Bluejay players. On Friday against Stephen F. Austin, freshman Beth Fyles will face off against a former classmate. Fyles went to the same high school, Ernest Manning, in Calgary, Alberta as Stephen F. Austin redshirt freshman Breanne Vernon.
On Sunday against Northern Illinois, Shawn Magrum will also be facing off against former classmate Sara McClard. Both attended Lincoln Way East High. Magrum was there from August 2003-June 2005, and played on the school soccer team both seasons.
Program Leaders
Seniors Kristen Casey and Marcy Gans have been two of the more decorated players in Creighton women's soccer history. 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. T-2nd 1.14
Saves 4th 204
Goalkeeper Minutes 5th 4326
Goalkeeping Victories 5th 23
Shutouts 5th 14
Marcy Gans
Category Rank Number
Goals T-3rd 27
Multiple Goal Games T-4th 5
Shots on Goal 5th 96
Points 5th 68
Shutouts 5th 14
Record Setting Day
On Aug. 31 against UC Riverside, several Morrison Stadium records were either tied or broken. Marcy Gans tied two records by equaling the single-game stadium mark for goals (2) and points (4). Kristen Casey, who extended her record of career shutouts at Morrison Stadium to 12 on Aug. 29 against North Dakota State, had a single-game record nine saves on Aug. 31 against UC Riverside.
MVC Players of the Week
This season Creighton has had three players named Offensive or Defensive MVC Players of the Week. That is second in the league only to Evansville, who has had five 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.
In Search of 100
Creighton head coach Bruce Erickson has built the Bluejay women's soccer program into an annual MVC contender. In his 10th season at the helm Erickson is 97-79-18. For his career he is a combined 167-140-24 in 17 years.
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 season, senior Marcy Gans set a Morrison Stadium single season record for points scored with 14. Gans broke her own record after setting the original mark with 13 in 2005. Below are all of Gans' Morrison Stadium Records.
Single Game Record Number
Goals 2 Points 4
Single Season Record
Goals 6
Points 14
Shots on Goal 18
Total Shots 47
Career Record Number
Goals 16
Points 40
Shots on Goal 37
Total Shots 126
Morrison Record Setter Part 2
This season senior goalkeeper Kristen Casey has added more records to an already impressive career at Morrison Stadium. On Aug. 29 against North Dakota State, Casey posted her 14th career shutout overall, and her 12th 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 12
Victories 16
Saves 90
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.
Scouting Stephen F. Austin
(2-3-0)
Offensive Drought
The Ladyjacks have had a rough go of it on the offensive end in their first five games, being shutout in three of them.
Dangerous Experience
Of Stephen F. Austin's five players that had double-digit points to end the season last year, four return for another season, (Kelli Wilson, Amanda Alders, Lauren Fricks and Kesia Broome). Unfortunately for the Ladyjacks, none of those four have registered a point this season.
Scouting Northern Illinois
(3-0-3)
Strong Start
Northern Illinois has gotten off to a good start through its first six games. The Huskies are 3-0-3, their best start since 2004 when they went 4-0-2.
New Offense
Although the Huskies lost their top two scorers from a year ago, they haven't had trouble replacing them. Thea Johnson who played on the team a year ago, has nine points (3 G, 3 A) to start the season, and is just four off the mark that led the team a year ago, when Karen Enockson led the team with 13 (6 G, 1 A).
