Women's Soccer Opens Valley Play at Home Against Indiana State; Head to Northern Colorado Sunday
9/23/2009 12:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
This Weekend's Opponents
Conference play for the Bluejays begins this Friday night at Morrison Stadium, as they take on Indiana State. The Jays will then take on Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. on Sunday.
Sycamore Series
Creighton has never lost to Indiana State, as the Jays are 11-0-0 all-time against the Sycamores.
Bear Series
The Jays are 2-1-1 in the all-time series with Northern Colorado. The Jays posted a 2-1 win at Morrison Stadium in the team's last meeting on Aug. 31, 2007.
Recent Results
A four-match win streak fell by the wayside for the Jays on Friday, as Arizona State took a 2-1 decision at Morrison Stadium. It was the only game of the week for the Jays, who will now play three matches in nine days starting on Friday.
Follow the Jays Live
Live stats and video of Friday's match can be accessed by going to the women's soccer page at www.gocreighton.com. Click the links on the women's soccer schedule to access these features. Live video of Sunday's match will be available for free by registering at bigskytv.org
Orbell Continues to Roll
Emily Orbell assisted on the lone Creighton goal against Arizona State on Friday. The assist extended Orbell's streak of consecutive matches with at least one point to five.
Bucking the Trend
Emily Orbell's fine career has netted her a total of 39 career points (14g/11a). The Jays were 19-1-0 in matches when Orbell scored at least one point. Orbell tallied an assist in last Friday's match with Arizona State, but the Jays lost, moving that mark to a still impressive 19-2-0.
Conference Opener
The Jays open Missouri Valley Conference play on Friday against Indiana State. The Jays come into the match with a 7-3-2 all-time mark in conference openers.
Even Better
Creighton has been especially tough in its first conference home games. The Jays are an even better 10-1-1 all-time, with their only loss in a conference home opener coming to Evansville in 1997; the team's first year in The Valley.
Zach it too Me
Claire Zach gave Creighton an early boost in the Arizona State match on Friday. Zach scored the first goal of her season to give the Jays a 1-0 lead. It was also Zach's first points of the season, as the junior from Omaha now has five career points on two goals and an assist.
Mayhem at Morrison
Morrison Stadium saw its second largest crowd for a women's match on Friday, as ASU and Creighton played in front of 1,277 fans. The top crowd was 1,547 on Sept. 21, 2007 for a match against Iowa.
Where's My Ribbon?
For the first time this season, Creighton went without a MVC Player of the Week selection. The Jays had at least one player on either the defensive or offensive side selected in each of the first four weeks but were shutout on Monday. Alicia Montgomery leads the way for CU, as she has been named defensive player of the week twice.
Bluejays Ranked Ninth
Creighton found itself ranked for the fifth consecutive week in the NSCAA Great Lakes Regional poll. This week the Jays checked in at ninth, falling from seventh last week after the 2-1 loss to Arizona State on Friday.
Non-Conference Nuisance
With the loss to ASU, Creighton fell for the first time this season at Morrison Stadium. It was the first non-conference loss at home since 2007 when the Iowa bested the Jays 1-0. That same match was also the largest crowd in Morrison Stadium history, as the Jays have now lost before the two largest crowds in the facility's history.
Save Specialists
The second round of NCAA statistics came out on Monday. Creighton's Alicia Montgomery checked in at 12th on the individual save percentage list with a .895 mark and the team is seventh with a .909 percentage.
Eight is Great
Despite the loss to ASU, Alicia Montgomery played well between the posts as the sophomore recorded a career-high eight saves. Her previous high was seven, which came earlier this season against South Dakota State in Brookings.
Iron Women
Four members of the Bluejays have started all 10 matches this season. Those four are Kyle Hoskins, Kelly Connolly, Claire Zach and Eden Hingwing. Jordan Bruch has also appeared in every match this season and has missed just one game in her career, appearing in 68 of 69 games in her three-plus years at Creighton.
Not For Awhile
The Bluejays 7-2-1 start is the best record over the opening 10 games since 1998. The Jays best 10 game start came during the 1993 season when they started 9-1-0 en route to a 14-4-0 record.
The 600 Club
The Bluejays have had three players see over 600 minutes of action in the team's ten matches this year. Kelly Connolly leads that group with 678 minutes, and is followed by Eden Hingwing with 658 and Emily Orbell who has played 610 minutes.
Home Support
Creighton is averaging 851 fans at home this year, good for 30th among the 318 Division I women's soccer programs in the country. The Jays are outdrawing numerous BCS conference schools and are also packing their home, Morrison Stadium, better then 13 ranked teams in the latest NSCAA Poll. Texas A&M is generating the largest home turnout in the country with an average of 3,684 fans.
Indiana State Briefly
After starting the season winless after six matches, the Sycamores have won two of their last three (2-5-1). They are led by Kaitlin Owens, who has eight points (3g/2a) and won MVC Player of the Week honors on Sept. 14.
Northern Colorado Briefly
UNC is 3-3-1 on the season after falling in its last match to Toledo 3-0. Five different players have scored goals for the Bears, but they are lead by Sydney Vandervelde, who was three points (1g/1a) this season.
On Tap
Creighton will wrap up its three-match, nine day grind with a home match against Missouri State on Oct. 3 one week from this Saturday. After that the Jays will have an eight-day layover before their first Valley road match at Illinois State on Oct. 11
