No. 5 Bluejays at Home Wednesday on National Television
9/30/2008 1:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer
#5 Creighton hosts Cal State Northridge
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 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. This week's home game with Cal State Northridge will be televised live on NET, NET-HD and CBS College Sports, while fans can also watch a free live video feed of this week's game by following the ?Free Live Video' link on Creighton's homepage.
This Week: The Bluejays play host to Cal State Northridge on Wednesday night and then travel to 11th-ranked Saint Louis for a top-25 match up on Saturday night. Both contests this week kick off at 7 p.m.
Last Week: Creighton posted its third straight shutout in a 2-0 blanking of Denver last Saturday at home. Tim Walters scored the game-winning goal early in the first half, while Andrei Gotsmanov added a late insurance tally. Freshman goalkeeper Brian Holt and the CU defense logged their fifth shutout of the year and Holt was honored as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Scouting Creighton (6-1-0): The fifth-ranked Bluejays are the defending Missouri Valley Conference regular-season co-champions and have been tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the conference again this year. Creighton's defense has been the story through seven matches, allowing just two goals, while posting five shutouts for a league-leading 0.29 goals against average, which ranks sixth in the NCAA this week. The Jays have out-scored their opponents 14-2 this season, led by three goals apiece from senior Andrei Gotsmanov, junior Jeff Thayer and freshman Ethan Finlay. All three of Finlay's tallies have accounted for game-winners. Thayer is tied with Seth Sinovic for the team-lead with three assists, and he tops the squad with nine points. Gotsmanov, a midfielder, is joined by junior forward Byron Dacy on the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Dacy, who redshirted last year because of a torn left ACL, leads the team with 25 shots and has a goal and two assists this year. Preseason All-American junior defender Chris Schuler joins Gotsmanov, Dacy and Sinovic on the all-MVC preseason team. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brian Holt has played all 630 minutes in net this year, stopping 19 shots while logging four shutouts for a 0.29 GAA in his first seven collegiate games.
Scouting Cal State Northridge (4-3-1): The Matadors of the Big West Conference have a 4-3-1 overall record on the season after a 7-7-6 mark last year. Northridge is coming off of a 2-2 tie at UCLA last weekend. Moy Gomez leads the Matador offense with four goals and eight points, while Dylan Riley tops the team with three assists. Northridge has a 0.85 goals against average and is allowing only 3.8 shots on goal and 10.1 shots per game. They have out-scored their opponents 11-7 on the year. Kevin Guppy has played all 740 minutes for Northridge in net this year, making 23 saves, logging three shutouts and posting a 0.85 GAA. This will be the first meeting between the schools on the soccer pitch.
On the Air Information: Wednesday's match will be Creighton's second nationally televised match this year, as Nebraska's NET feed will be carried live nationally on CBS College Sports (formerly CSTV). CBS College Sports is available on select cable systems across the country as well as DIRECTV and the DISH Network.
Head Coach: Head coach Bob Warming (Berea, 1975) is in his second stint as the Bluejays' head coach with a 173-56-27 (.729) record in his 13th season at CU. His overall record is 366-175-57 (.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.
West Coast Dominance: Creighton's match with Cal State Northridge will be its eighth of the season, and its sixth against a team from the West Coast. The Bluejays are 5-0-0 against West Coast teams, including 3-0-0 against teams from California already this season. The Jays have out-scored California-based teams 5-0 this season, posting shutouts of UC Riverside (2-0), Stanford (1-0) and sixth-ranked California (2-0).
California Kids: The Jays' final match against a California team in the regular-season this year gives four Bluejays a chance to battle a team from their home state. Freshman Kris Clark (Monte Sereno) and sophomore Sergio Castillo (Escondido) have each seen playing time this year, while reserves Nick Goldreich (Pasadena) and Alex Zanotto (Los Gatos) have yet to see action in a match.
Halting at Holt: Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Brian Holt and the Bluejay defense have been impressive through seven matches. Holt has twice been honored as the MVC Defensive Player of the Week, while he has logged five shutouts and allowed just two goals. His 0.29 goals against average and .905 save percentage both rank eighth in the nation this week. The Omaha Creighton Prep product stopped a career-best eight shots in a 2-0 shutout of sixth-ranked California on Sept. 21.
Defense Does It: Creighton has allowed just two goals through its first seven matches this year for a league-leading 0.29 goals against average, which ranks sixth in the NCAA this week. The two goals allowed through seven games is the fewest surrendered by a Bluejay squad to start the season since the 1999 team also allowed just two goals through seven matches played. That 1999 team tied the school record with 11 shutouts and established the school mark with a 0.47 goals against average.
Have We Mentioned Defense?: Not only is Creighton shutting out opponents, but it is rarely even allowing the opposition to get into a position to take shots. Through seven matches, opponents have managed only eight shots per game and a lowly three shots on goal per game. Both numbers are by far the lowest in school history. CU's 0.29 goals against average would better the 1999 school record of 0.47. The Bluejay defense has now gone over 344 minutes since last allowing a goal.
CU Opponents Shots & Shots on Goal
Year Shots PG SOG PG
2008 56 8.0 21 3.0
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
Offense is Good Too: While the Bluejay defense ranks sixth nationally in goals against average this week, the Bluejay offense ranks 23rd with 2.0 goals per game. Four different Bluejays have scored at least two goals, while five Bluejays have at least two assists and 10 different Bluejays have notched at least one helper. The Jays have 14 goals and 17 assists for 45 points through seven matches, compared to two goals, two assists and six points for their opponents during that span.
Poll Position: Creighton remains in the top-10 of every soccer poll this week after a 2-0 win over Denver last Saturday. The Jays are ranked fifth in the NSCAA/adidas poll, while both College Soccer News and Soccer Times have the Jays at No. 3. Soccer America ranks the Jays seventh this week. Meanwhile, TopDrawerSoccer.com's 48-team NCAA prediction poll also has the Jays ranked third.
Best in the Midwest: Creighton is ranked No. 1 in the Midwest in the NSCAA/adidas Regional Rankings this week, ahead of MVC foe Drake at No. 2. Nationally-ranked Tulsa and SMU are ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the region, while fellow Valley schools Evansville (8) and Eastern Illinois (9) also appear in the regional rankings.
Regional Showdown: Saint Louis, which plays in the Atlantic 10, has long been a Midwest Region power, but has now been shifted to the Middle Atlantic Region based on its conference affiliation. The 11th-ranked Billikens are ranked No. 1 in their region this week, just as the Bluejays are No. 1 in the Midwest Region. The pair of number ones face off Saturday in St. Louis.
Still Midwest Rivals: Traditional Midwest soccer powers Creighton and Saint Louis will face off at SLU's Hermann Stadium this Saturday night. The Bluejays are 8-5-1 all-time against SLU, but have amazingly not met in the regular-season since 1999, a 1-0 CU win in St. Louis. The Jays are 8-2-1 against SLU since re-starting the program in 1990, as all 11 meetings between the teams since 1992 have been between two top-25 teams.
Home Sweet Morrison: The Bluejays are now 41-9-10 (.767) all-time at Morrison Stadium, including a 4-1-0 mark this year. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 143-25-15 (.822) 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.
Walters is a Winner: Senior Tim Walters has scored the game-winning goal in both of CU's last two matches after having one career game-winner in his first two seasons at Creighton. Walters netted his first game-winner of the season at sixth-ranked California (Sept. 21), his second career game-winner over a top-10 team after topping No. 2 Indiana last year. He followed his Cal performance with the deciding goal in CU's 2-0 win over Denver last Saturday.
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, while his three goals are tied for the Bluejay lead.
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.
October Success: Since 2002, Creighton is 34-7-6 (.787) in the month of October, including back-to-back undefeated Octobers in 2002 and 2003. The Bluejays were unbeaten in October (5-0-2) last year and were 5-1-1 in October, 2006.
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 .743, including an 8-2-3 mark last 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 ?? ???
?02-07 34-12-9 56-16-10
No Road Trip Ups: Creighton continued an impressive streak with a pair of road wins (Sept. 19-21). The Jays have not lost a game away from Omaha since 2006, improving to 8-0-1 away from Omaha ? 6-0-1 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.
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. 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) and he now tops the team with three goals, three assists and nine points on the year.
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.
Battling the Best: Creighton met its first ranked opponent of the year at No. 6 California (Sept. 21). After its 2-0 win over Cal, CU is now a 48-37-9 all-time against the coaches top 25, including 21-15-6 in true road games against ranked foes. The Jays are 7-1-1 in their last nine true road meetings with top 25 teams.
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.
Transferring Starts: Junior Akin Akinrinade has started every game of his collegiate career, although he has started just seven 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.
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.
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.
