Women's Soccer Shoots for MVC Title at Missouri State
10/20/2010 11:28:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Creighton (12-2-2, 4-0-0)
at Missouri State (8-5-2, 2-1-1)
Plaster Sports Complex
Springfield, Mo.
7:00 p.m.
Series: Tied at 5-5-5
Scouting the Bluejays
The Jays currently sit at 12-2-2 overall and are on a 10 match winning streak, outscoring their opponents 29-5. It is the longest the Jays have put together since they won 10 in a row in 1994. The streak also breaks an MVC record set by Eastern Illinois, nine straight wins, way back in 1996. The Jays have a chance to tie or surpass the school record for wins in a season at 14, set in 1993 and 1994. Creighton has nine shutouts on the season, with goalkeepers Alicia Montgomery putting up five and Katie Jo Swanson posting three, to go along with one combined team shutout. The 2009 team set a school record with 11 shutouts in one season. Brittney Neumann currently leads the team in goals scored with eight, giving her 15 career goals. Andrea Zuniga, Erin Gunther and Lauren Cingoranelli have each added six goals as well. Zuniga also leads the team in assists with seven, after dishing off three assists last week (one in the 1-0 win over Drake and two in the 3-0 CSUB victory.) Creighton is averaging 15.9 shots per match and 2.38 goals. Swanson and Montgomery have split time in the net and have a combined 0.61 goals against average on the year.
Recent Results
Drake - Creighton and Drake battled all 90 minutes but the Jays were able to pull out a 1-0 victory at home. Freshman Lauren Cingoranelli scored her sixth goal of the season when she headed a ball crossed into the middle of the field after a Andrea Zuniga and Brittney Neumann give-and-go combination. Cingoranelli's header went up and over the outstretched hands of Bulldog goalkeeper Kalena Litch. Creighton finished the match with 21 shots and eight shots on goal, while Drake had 18 shots, six on goal. Bluejay goalkeeper Alicia Montgomery recorded her fifth shutout of the season, with six saves in 90 minutes of play. The win moved the Jays to 11-2-2 on the season, and 4-0-0 in The Valley.
CSU Bakersfield - Creighton accomplished everything they wanted to in the 3-0 victory over the Roadrunners; won on senior day, played a lot of people, got better and played well enough defensively to get another shutout. Creighton was led on the day by Andrea Zuniga. The junior forward had two assists and a goal. Rachelle Holt scored her second goal of the season when she headed a Zuniga corner kick into the top right corner of the net in the 22nd minute. The Jays got on the board again in the first half when Erin Gunther executed a give-and-go combination with Zuniga and shot from five yards out in the 29th minute. Creighton's final goal of the match came in the 59th minute when Katie Jo Swanson booted a ball three forths of the field, and Lauren Cingoranelli crossed the ball into mid field. Zuniga was there to finish the play with a shot from five yards out.
Sizing Up the Competition
Missouri State – The Bears are coming off their best overall conference finish in school history, as they went 4-1-1 and finished second in 2009. This season, they return just five starters from last season's squad and have 11 newcomers. The Bears currently sit at 8-5-2 overall and 2-1-1 in The Valley. They had a four match winning streak from Sept. 19 - Oct. 3, outscoring opponents 6-2. Brooke Williams is leading the team with five goals and one assist, giving her 11 points on the season. Tiffany Laughlin has three goals while Nia Williams has dished off a team high five assists. Jessica Teahan has started all 15 matches in goal, giving up 14 goals for a 0.97 goals against average. The Bears have posted seven shutouts on the season while being shutout four times. They are winless in their last two matches, playing a scoreless draw at Illinois State and then falling 2-0 at Drake last Sunday.
Following the Jays
Follow all your favorite Bluejay soccer action at www.gocreighton.com. Live stats and live video will be provided MVC match against the Bears. Video for this match will be free for all viewers. Just click on the links provided on the Creighton home page at www.gocreighton.com.
Series History
The two teams are all knotted up 5-5-5 in the overall history. Creighton won both meetings between the two last season, winning 3-0 at home during the regular season and then pulling out a 2-1 double overtime victory in the semi-finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
Title Chase
The Jays are playing for the Missouri Valley regular season championship in the match on Friday. A victory or tie over the Bears and the final regular season MVC foe Illinois State will give the Jays the outright championship. It will be just the second MVC regular season title in Creighton's history, with the first coming in 2002. The Jays have won The Valley Tournament four times in program history, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
Perfection
The Jays are 4-0-0 in conference play for only the second time since the league started regular season play in 1997. During the 2002 season, Creighton swept through the conference regular season play without a loss, finishing 6-0-1.
Road Troubles
Creighton is 1-4-1 when playing at Plaster Sports Complex. The Bears have outscored the Jays 11-6 in those six meetings, including a 3-2 defeat in the most recent meeting in Springfield. Creighton's only victory at Missouri State was a 2-1 double overtime victory during the 2001 season.
Happy at Home
Creighton has had five straight home shutouts and currently sit at 6-1-2 when playing at Morrison Stadium. Alicia Montgomery and Katie Jo Swanson have split time in goal and not allowed a goal in over 459 minutes at home. Montgomery alone has allowed just one goal in 405 minutes played at home this season, giving her a 0.22 goals against average.
Records Are Meant to be Broken
Creighton is on a 10 match winning streak, tying the school record for the same length streak set in the 1994 season. The winning streak is also now the longest in Missouri Valley history, breaking the nine-match record set by Eastern Illinois way back in 1996. The Jays haven't lost in 11 matches, going back to the Iowa State 1-0 loss on September 3.
National Numbers
The Jays are again putting up big numbers and have made it onto the national lists again. On the individual side, Alicia Montgomery is ranked seventh in the nation in save percentage at .894 and sits at 14th in GAA. As a team the Jays sit at 10th in overall save percentage at .881 and 18th in overall GAA with a .61. They also sit in a tie for 18th in scoring offense (2.38 goals per match), shutout percentage (.563) and win-loss-tie percentage (.813).
Hit Her in Stride
Brittney Neumann has scored a goal in four of the last six Bluejay matches, including two goals in a 6-2 victory over Wyoming and two goals in the 3-0 conference win over Evansville. She has scored in each of the three MVC matches thus far, with the game winner against Indiana State (2-0 Creighton victory) and Evansville. Neumann has also recorded an assist in two of the last four matches, bringing her total to four.
On A Roll
Creighton has won ten matches in a row, with victories at South Dakota (4-1), at Weber State (1-0), and at Morrison Stadium over Wyoming (6-2), Cal State Fullerton (3-0) and UMKC (3-0). Creighton has won all four MVC matches this season - a 2-0 victory over Indiana State, a 3-2 win over the Panthers of Northern Iowa, a 3-0 victory over Evansville and the most recent 1-0 victory over Drake. The Jays won the first four matches of the 2008 season and had a four match win-streak from Sept. 6 through Sept. 13 last year. The last time the Jays won more than five matches in a row was 2002, when they won six in a row. The all-time Bluejay record, which is currently tied, sits at 10 matches in a row, set in 1994. That team finished the season 14-4-0 under then head coach Cathy Klein.
Valley's Best
The 2010 Bluejay team is on track to break MVC records when all is said and done. Creighton currently has a .813 winning percentage, which puts them in second place for a season all-time. The current record is .833, with the 1999 Illinois State team going 14-4-4. The Jays have already broke the most consecutive wins streak, at 10 and counting. Goalkeeper Alicia Montgomery currently sits in first all time in goals against average, as her .53 is just ahead of the current leading .56. Montgomery's career .56 GAA is also in first all-time in The Valley books.
Regionally Ranked
Creighton has entered the NSCAA/HendricksCars.com Great Lakes Regional Ranking this week for the first time this season. This is the eighth week the polls have been released. The Jays currently sit in 10th in the region, but are the only Missouri Valley school to break into the rankings. Ohio State sits in the top spot, with Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and UW-Milwaukee rounding out the top five. Michigan State, Toledo, Central Michigan and Michigan all sit ahead of the Jays in this week's rankings.
In High Status
Creighton's offensive output has landed them in high company with many of the top teams in the country. The only teams that ranked in the nation's top 33 in both goals per game and goals against average last week were Creighton, #1 Stanford, #4 Notre Dame, #8 BYU, #9 Virginia, #10 Florida State, #13 Florida, #22 UNC Greensboro and Southeastern Louisiana.
Top of the League
Bluejay junior Andrea Zuniga has again been tabbed the MVC Offensive Player of the Year for her play during the last week. She assisted on the goal in the 1-0 victory over Drake last Thursday, and then dished out two assists and scored a goal in the 3-0 victory over Cal State Bakersfield. She now has a team and conference high seven assists and is tied for second on the team with six goals.
Starting Off Strong
The Jays have come out strong in the first half throughout the season. They currently are outscoring their opponents 22-5 in the first half this season, while outscoring them 38 to 1- overall. They currently have taken 254 shots and scored 38 goals.
MVC Success
After the 2-0 victory over Indiana State, the Jays are 9-3-2 all-time in Valley conference openers, including winning the last five in a row. A 2005, 3-1 loss at Illinois State is the last time the Jays fell in their opener. Creighton is 8-2-2 in conference openers under current head coach Bruce Erickson.
Non-Conference Success
The Missouri Valley Conference has a non-conference record of 37-31-10 (.538), and one more win will ensure the league's best-ever non-conference performance. Two non-conference tilts are on the slate this week. The league's best two non-conference seasons were in 2001 (45-41-2, .522) and 2005 (40-38-12, .511). Creighton finished the regular season non-conference schedule at 8-2-2, after finishing the 2009 season at 10-4-1.
Conference Tops
As a team the Jays are ranked atop in the Missouri Valley Conference in shots (254), points (104), goals (38), goals per match (2.38), assists (28), assists per match (1.75), goals allowed (10), goals against average (0.61) and shutouts (nine). Brittney Neumann is first in shots (54 total, averaging 3.38 per match) and points (21), while Andrea Zuniga is leading the league in assists (7) and tied for second in points (19). Freshman Lauren Cingoranelli sits at fourth in points (15) while Erin Gunther is fifth with 14 and first in game-winning goals with three on the season. Neumann (8), Zuniga (6), Cingoanelli (6) and Gunther (6) sit at 2-5 in the league in goals scored while Emily Orbell has six assists, putting her in second.
Put Her Name in the Books
Bluejay junior Alicia Montgomery is set to have her name all over the record books when she leaves Creighton. After a record setting season last year (with 11 team shutouts and a 0.60 goals against average as a team), she sits at third in goals against average in a season (0.58 in 2009) and tied for second in shutouts in a season (eight in 2009). She is also the current goals against average career leader, with a 0.56 GAA right now. Montgomery needs just four more shutouts to make it on the top five list for ca reer shutouts, as well as needing 76 saves over the next season and a half to get on the all time career save list.
Just Score More Than Them
Creighton has outscored opponents 29-5 while on its ten match winning streak. The streak includes seven shutouts, while the Jays have scored three or more goals in seven of the 10 matches in the streak.
One Point Deficits
The Jays have only lost two matches during the 2010 season – both of which have been 1-0 losses. Creighton had three 1-0 losses in the 2009 season, including in the championship of the MVC tournament to Illinois State. The Jays have been on the winning side of two 1-0 matches this season, including the most recent Valley victory over Drake.
Putting up the Doughnuts
Creighton has shut out opponents in nine of its sixteen matches, as well as both of the exhibition matches. Last season, the Jays recorded a school record 11 shutouts, including the first four matches of the season. In the past three years, the Jays have shut out their opponents in at least two out of the first four matches each season.
Bicentennial
Bruce Erickson is one win away from reaching his 200th victory as a college head soccer coach. He currently sits at 199-151-29 overall in 19 years and 129-90-23 while at Creighton. Prior to coming to Creighton, Erickson coached both men's and women's soccer at Viterbo.
In the Record Books
Senior Emily Orbell is working hard in the final season of her career to get her name into the record books. The midfielder's six assists this season has landed her in the fifth spot, all-time, in Creighton history for career assists. She is the current career leader in goals on the team with 18 and needs five more this year to make it into the top five all time in Creighton history. Orbell is also the active leader in assists (18) and points (54).
Double Trouble
Three Bluejays, Erin Gunther, Brittney Neumann and Andrea Zuniga have each scored two goals in a match this season for the Jays. Zuniga recorded the double first, scoring both goals in the 4-1 win at South Dakota. Gunther's double day happened in the 6-2 victory over Wyoming, while Neumann has recorded two multi-goal matches, once in the 6-2 win over Wyoming and also in the 3-0 victory over Evansville. Last year four different Bluejays recorded double-goal matches, with Annemarie Hengel, Kyla Hoskins, Beth Fyles and Neumann each completing the feat at one point in the season.
Clutch Performers
Lauren Cingoranelli's goal in the Drake match makes her the newest Jay to record a match-winning goal this season. She joins Erin Gunther, Andrea Zuniga, Emily Orbell, Kelly Connolly and Brittney Neumann, who have each scored game-winning goals this season. Gunther has three on the year, scoring in the 2-1 victory over Loyola Maryland, the 5-0 victory over Loyola Chicago and the 6-2 win over Wyoming. Zuniga has two, with her game-winners coming in the 4-1 victory at South Dakota and the 1-0 win at Weber State. Connolly recorded her only game-winner when she scored the first, and only needed goal, in the 3-0 victory over Cal State Fullerton. The game-winners were the first two in her career for Gunther, while the two for Zuniga give her a current career leading four. Connolly now has three game-winners, as scored four goals last season and two of them were game-winners. Orbell's game winner in the UMKC match gives her four career game winners. She had two her freshman season and one last year.
Streaking
The Jays have not let an opponent score three or more goals in 39 straight matches, dating back to Oct. 30, 2008. In the Oct. 25 match at Evansville, the Jays lost 5-2. Creighton was in jeopardy of losing the streak Sept. 7 at Morrison Stadium, when the Bison of North Dakota State scored two goals in the first half. A solid defensive line and hard work from goalkeeper Katie Jo Swanson helped to keep the streak in tact.
Newbie Success
Freshman Lauren Cingoranelli has scored six goals this season while starting in 14 of the 16 matches. The first goal of her career in the 5-0 victory over Loyola Chicago in the adidas Husker Classic while her most recent goal was the match winner in the 1-0 victory over Drake. She currently leads all MVC freshman in goals (6) and is tied for second in the whole conference. Last season, Brittney Neumann ended her freshman campaign with seven goals and six assists. You have to go back to 2007 to find the next highest output as a freshman, when Emily Orbell scored six goals and had three assists.
Broken Records
Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Jo Swanson had a busy day in the 6-2 victory over Wyoming Sept. 17 at Morrison Stadium. Swanson had 10 saves and gave up two goals. The 10 saves are the most by one Bluejay goalkeeper in a match since Jaimie Thompson had 10 saves at Iowa on Nov. 1, 2001.In the match Wednesday against UMKC, Emily Orbell and Andrea Zuniga broke the record for shots taken in a single match at Morrison Stadium. Each player took 10 shots, breaking the previous record of eight set by Marcy Gans in the 2007 season.
Coming Up Next
Creighton will close out the regular season by hosting MVC preseason favorite Illinois State at Morrison Stadium on Oct. 28. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. The Redbirds hold an 11-5-3 record over the Jays, including two victories last season (a 2-1 win in the regular season and a 1-0 victory in the MVC Tournament Championship match.) The Jays then begin play in the MVC Tournament in the quarterfinals on Oct. 31. Stay connected with www.gocreighton.com for the latest information.
