Men's Soccer Hosts Bradley to Conclude Regular-Season Saturday

Match 17 vs. Bradley • Saturday, Nov. 6 • 12:00 p.m.
Bradley Braves at #10 Creighton Bluejays
Morrison Stadium • Omaha, Neb.
Series History: CU leads 22-5-1

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 by clicking on the 'Live Stats' link. New this year – fans can also follow home live stats on their mobile device at www.gocreightonstats.com. Fans can subscribe to watch a live video stream of the Bluejays' home matches via the 'Live Video' link.

This Week: The 10th-ranked Bluejays clinched at least a share of their 10th MVC regular-season title with a 2-0 win over Missouri State on Wednesday, also securing a first-round bye in the upcoming State Farm MVC Tournament. The Jays now aim for their third undefeated MVC season in the past four years when they play host to Bradley on Senior Day Saturday at noon. Creighton has won seven straight matches on Senior Day, the last five via shutout.

Last Week: Creighton fell 1-0 in a closely contested match at No. 1-ranked Akron on Oct. 27 and played to a 2-2 draw against SIU Edwardsville at home last Saturday. Ethan Finlay scored a goal and assisted the other in the tie, becoming the all-time leading scorer in Morrison Stadium history.

Scouting #10 Creighton (12-3-1, 5-0-1 MVC): Creighton has clinched at least a share of its record 10th MVC regular-season title this year and is looking for its seventh undefeated Valley season. The Bluejays are 6-1-1 at home this season and 23-3-3 at home in MVC regular-season play all-time at Morrison Stadium. The Bluejays lead the MVC and rank 31st in the NCAA with 1.9 goals per game and top the league in points (99) and assists (37). Preseason All-American forward Ethan Finlay, a MAC Hermann Trophy candidate, leads the league and ranks sixth in the NCAA with 12 goals and leads the MVC and ranks eighth in the NCAA with 28 points – the most by a Bluejay since 2002. Finlay's 36 career points at home are a Morrison Stadium record, while his 14 home goals have tied the venue record. With six assists in his last eight matches, Dion Acoff leads the MVC with nine assists, which ranks ninth in the NCAA. Jose Gomez ranks 13th in the nation with his eight assists. Junior goalkeeper Brian Holt is the Creighton career record holder with 27 shutouts in just 51 starts and his 0.70 career goals against average ranks second in school and league history. Freshman Tyler Polak leads the Bluejays with 1,482 minutes played this year (of 1,490).

Scouting Bradley (8-8-2, 2-3-1 MVC): The Braves are 5-3-1 in their last nine matches, but are 0-2-1 on the MVC road this season. Bradley trails only Creighton in points (90), goals (29) and assists (32) on the season, but BU has allowed the most goals scored in the league (26). Junior Bryan Gaul is tied with Ethan Finlay for the league-lead with 12 goals and is second in the MVC with 27 points. Freshman Aodhan Quinn tops the Braves with eight assists, while 16 Braves have a point this season and seven have scored at least two goals. Freshman goalkeeper Brian Billings has claimed the starting role in net for the Braves, playing 1,221 minutes, making 58 saves and allowing 20 goals for a 1.47 goals against average.

Head Coach: Jamie Clark (Stanford, 1999) is in his first season at Creighton after spending two successful seasons at Harvard in his first head coaching assignment. A former MLS player and collegiate All-American, Clark is 38-13-2 (.736) in his third season as a head coach, guiding Harvard to the NCAA Tournament in his first two years as a head coach. He was named the NSCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2009 while leading Harvard to a top-10 ranking, Ivy League championship and third round of the NCAA Tournament. Prior to becoming a head coach he served as an assistant at New Mexico and Notre Dame.

CU-BU Series: Creighton has defeated Bradley more than any other opponent in school history, notching a 22-5-1 all-time record against the Braves. The Bluejays have won four straight in the series, all via shutout, out-scoring BU 8-0 in those meetings. BU last scored on the Jays in a 1-0 CU loss on Nov. 18, 2007. The Bluejays are 9-1-1 all-time against Bradley in Omaha.

We are the Champions: Creighton has clinched at least a share of its 10th MVC regular-season title – more than twice as many as the next closest teams (Bradley and SMU both have four regular-season MVC titles). The Bluejays are looking to go undefeated in league play for the third time in four years and for the seventh time overall. CU owns six of the previous 12 undefeated seasons in MVC history.

Earning a Bye: Along with earning at least a share of the MVC title, Creighton earned a bye in the upcoming State Farm MVC Tournament hosted by Bradley in Peoria, Ill., next week. First round matches start on Wednesday, but as one of the top two seeds in the tournament, the Jays will not play until the semifinals on Friday.

Senior Day: Creighton will honor the six members of this academic class before Saturday's match, though three of the Bluejays are expected to return in 2011. Sergio Castillo, Kyle Deremer and Josh Moran will conclude their eligibility after this season's NCAA Tournament, while goalkeepers Bryan Hoie and Brian Holt each redshirted their first season on campus and have one year of eligibility left. Andrew Duran suffered a season-ending injury in Creighton's fifth contest this year and will apply for a medical redshirt to return for his fifth year of eligibility next season. Creighton is 47-12-13 (.743) overall and 17-2-8 (.778) in MVC play over the past four seasons.

Senior Day Stats: Creighton has won on each of its last seven Senior Day games, including a 1-0 victory over No. 7 UCLA last year. The Bluejays have not allowed a goal on Senior Day since 2004, posting five straight shutouts since a 2-1 win over Western Kentucky in 2004. The Jays have out-scored their opponents 12-1 in their last seven Senior Day games.

Castillo's Goals: Senior Sergio Castillo has spent his career playing on the backline or as a defensive midfielder, rarely coming forward on the attack, which is why his goal against Missouri State on Wednesday was just the second of his career in 68 career matches. Both of his goals have been scored in November, his first career goal came last November at Drake. He has attempted only 39 shots in his entire career, just more than an average of one shot per every two matches.

Holt's Record: Junior Brian Holt set a school record with his 27th career shutout in a 2-0 win over Missouri State on Nov. 3. That shutout moved him past his predecessor Matt Allen's 26 for the school record. With his next shutout, he will set the MVC record which is currently held by Bradley's Chris Dunsheath (27.5).

Take a Break Tyler: Freshman Tyler Polak played every minute of Creighton's first 15 matches before being subbed for late in CU's match against Missouri State (Nov. 3). The rookie defender still leads the team with 1,482 minutes played, one more than goalkeeper Brian Holt.

First Half Heavy: Creighton has scored 18 of its 30 goals this season in the first half, out-scoring opponents 18-4 in the first 45 minutes of the match. The Jays have out-scored opponents just 13-10 after halftime, including a slim 10-9 edge in second-half points.

Quick Starts: Not only has CU out-scored its opponents 18-4 in the first half this year, but the Bluejays have scored some very quick goals after kick off this year. Ethan Finlay has recorded the sixth and seventh-fastest goals in school history to start a match this season, scoring in 41 seconds against No. 5 Tulsa (Oct. 5) and 43 seconds in against SIU Edwardsville (Oct. 30). Five of CU's 18 first-half goals have been scored in the game's first nine minutes.

CU's Fastest Scores From Start of Match
1. Brian Kamler, 0:16 vs. Bradley, 10-9-92
2. Vince Odorisio, 0:26 vs. UCLA, 9-10-04
3. Lance Hill, 0:30 vs. Missouri State, 11-5-94
4. Johnny Torres, 0:34 at Bradley, 10-6-95
5. Andrei Gotsmanov, 0:36 vs. Tulsa, 11-25-08
6. Ethan Finlay, 0:41 vs. Tulsa, 10-5-10
7. Ethan Finlay, 0:43 vs. SIUE, 10-30-10

Morrison Stadium Records: Junior Ethan Finlay is now the all-time leading scorer in Morrison Stadium history. With 19 points at home this year, Finlay now has 36 career points at Morrison Stadium, surpassing the former mark of 34 set by Andrei Gotsmanov. Finlay's eight goals this year give him 14 at home in his career, tying Gotsmanov for the venue record. Finlay has eight goals and 19 points at home this year, both are second in single-season Morrison Stadium history (behind Gotsmanov's nine goals and 21 points in 2008).

Bluejays are No Bird Brains: Kyle Deremer, Brian Holt and Andrew Ribeiro were each named to the ESPN Academic All-District VII First-Team on Tuesday. Deremer owns a 3.61 GPA as a history major with a minor in business administration. Holt is a finance major with a 3.70 GPA and Ribeiro is a nursing major with a 3.57 GPA.

Fantastic Fans: Creighton had at least 2,000 fans in each of its first seven home matches this year and again leads the MVC with an average of 2,489 fans per home match. The Bluejays are on pace to lead the MVC and rank in the NCAA top-10 in attendance for the eighth straight season. Notably, Creighton has played at the top-two attendance leaders this season, UCSB and Akron. See 2010 unofficial attendance leaders below:

Unofficial 2010 NCAA Attendance Leaders
1. UC Santa Barbara - 6,619
2. Akron - 3,500
3. Cal Poly - 3,346
4. Connecticut - 3,329
5. Maryland - 3,200
6. New Mexico - 2,731
7. Creighton - 2,489
8. Indiana - 2,423
9. Virginia - 2,256

Peters Plays: Junior transfer Jace Peters returned to play 79 minutes off the bench against SIU Edwardsville on Oct. 30 after missing eight matches with a leg injury. The defender had started Creighton's first six matches before injuring himself in CU's match against Dartmouth on Sept. 19.

MVC Starts: At 4-0-1, the Bluejays were undefeated through five MVC matches for the third time in four seasons – finishing 4-0-2 in 2007 and 4-0-1 in 2008. The Jays won their first four MVC matches this season for the first time since 1999. The Bluejays are looking to go undefeated in league play for the third time in four years and for the seventh time overall. CU owns six of the previous 12 undefeated seasons in MVC history.

NCAA Stats: The Bluejays lead the MVC and rank 31st in the NCAA with 1.9 goals per game after being shutout for the first time all season last week. Ethan Finlay ranks sixth in the NCAA with 12 goals and eighth with 27 points. Dion Acoff ranks ninth in the NCAA with nine assists, while Jose Gomez ranks 13th with his eight assists.

Creighton in the Polls: After receiving no votes in any preseason national poll, the Bluejays jumped into the top 25 after a solid opening week and have remained there, climbing all the way to the top-10. This week, the NSCAA and College Soccer News rank the Bluejays 10th. Soccer Times has CU at No. 12 and Soccer America has the Jays at No. 13 this week.

Creighton in the RPI: The Bluejays are ranked 17th in the RPI released by the NCAA on Nov. 2. The Jays debuted at No. 14, moved to No. 9 and then back to No. 14 before this week. Missouri State is second in the MVC with an RPI of 51. Six of CU's opponents this year are in the RPI top-50 – Akron (1), SMU (4), Indiana (9), Tulsa (22), UCSB (41) and UNC Greensboro (42). Each of Creighton's losses this year have come to teams inside the RPI top-10 (Akron, SMU and Indiana).

Home Sweet Morrison: Including a 6-1-1 start this season, Creighton is now 58-12-12 (.780) all-time at Morrison Stadium. Creighton has lost just one home match in four of its last six seasons. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 160-28-16 (.824) at home. The Jays are 23-3-3 (.845) at Morrison Stadium all-time in MVC play.

Finlay's a Winner: Junior Ethan Finlay has led the MVC in game-winning goals in each of his first two collegiate seasons and his five game-winners this year again lead the league. Of his 26 career goals, 14 are game-winners. Outside of Finlay's 14 game-winners, the rest of the team combined has seven game-winning goals.

Fit to be Tied: Creighton played to a draw against SIU Edwardsville last Saturday, its first draw in 15 matches this season. That was the longest the Jays had made it into a season without a tie since the 2004 team didn't draw until its 18th match of the season. CU has recorded at least two draws in every season since 2002. The tie marked the first time since 1981 that the Bluejays followed a home loss with a home tie.

The Streak Ends: Nearly four months to the day of their previous regular-season road loss, the Bluejays had their 22-match regular-season unbeaten streak snapped by top-ranked Akron on Oct. 27. Before the 1-0 loss at Akron, the Bluejays' previous regular-season road loss was a 2-1 defeat at Bradley on Oct. 28, 2006. The Jays went 15-0-7 in regular-season road contests between Oct. 7, 2007 and Oct. 23, 2010. Since the start of the 2007 season, the Bluejays are now 20-5-7 overall in matches away from Omaha, 15-1-7 in regular-season road matches (0-2-0 in postseason road matches) and 5-2-0 in neutral contests.

Playing No. 1: Creighton played at consensus No. 1-ranked Akron in its final non-conference match of the season on Oct. 27. The Bluejays dropped to 0-4-0 all-time against top-ranked teams with a 1-0 loss to the Zips. The Jays also lost on the road at Indiana 1-0 on Nov. 27, 1994 in NCAA Tournament, 4-2 at SMU on Oct. 14, 2001 and again to SMU, 2-1 in four overtimes on Nov. 18, 2001 in the MVC Tournament championship match in St. Louis.

Pulling Rank: Creighton is 2-2-0 against top-25 opponents this year, with wins over No. 5 Tulsa (Oct. 5) and at No. 21 UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 7) and losses to No. 18 SMU (Sept. 17) and No. 1 Akron (Oct. 27). The Bluejays are now 55-41-9 (.567) all-time against the coaches top 25, including 22-17-7 (.554) all-time on the road against top-25 teams. The Jays are 15-2-1 (.861) against the NSCAA top 25 at Morrison Stadium and 25-9-2 (.722) against nationally-ranked foes at home all-time.

Finlay's Streak Snapped: Ethan Finlay had a streak of nine straight matches with at least one point scored snapped in CU's 1-0 loss at No. 1 Akron (Oct. 27). Before Finlay's streak, the last Bluejay to score a point in more than eight straight matches was CU Hall of Famer and current MLS star Brian Mullan. Mullan had a point in 10 straight matches during the 2000 season. Finlay was the first Bluejay to score a point in eight straight matches since Julian Nash did so in the 2002 season. Following the lead of teammate Jose Gomez (who scored a point in six straight matches to start the season), the pair are the first Jays to record a point in six straight contests since Brian Biggerstaff in 2004.

2009 vs. 2010 Offense: Creighton has scored 31 goals in 16 matches this year after scoring 20 goals all of 2009 - which was 16 matches. The Jays started the week ranked 31st in the NCAA with 1.9 goals per game.
• In 2009 Creighton had only four players score at least two goals. This season, six players – Ethan Finlay (12), Jose Gomez (3), Andrew Ribeiro (3), Greg Jordan (3), Kris Clark (4), Josh Moran (2) – have at least a pair of goals scored.
• The Bluejays have scored at least two goals in 12 of their 16 games this year. They scored two or more goals in a match just four times in 2009.
• The Jays were shutout five times last season, all within their first 13 matches. CU was not shutout for the first time this season until its 14th match.

Ten: Ethan Finlay has joined Andrei Gotsmanov as the only two Bluejays to score at least 10 goals in a season since 2003. Gotsmanov scored exactly 10 in 2008. Finlay now has 12 goals on the season, the most by a Bluejay since Mike Tranchilla's 15 goals in 2002. Finlay's three multi-goal matches this year are the most by a Bluejay since Tranchilla had three in 2002.

Hot Starts: At 8-1-0, the Bluejays were off to their best start since the 1998 team posted an 8-1-0 start. The Jays won their first four games this season for the first time since 2000 – when that squad opened with six straight wins and advanced to the College Cup championship match. Creighton logged four straight shutouts to open the year for just the second time in school history, equalling the feat first accomplished by the 1999 team. Creighton started 4-0-0 in MVC play for the first time since that 1999 team and was undefeated through five MVC matches for the third time in four years.

10 Wins in a Dozen: Creighton won at least 10 of its first 12 matches for the eighth time since 1990. The Jays were exactly 10-2-0 for the fourth time in that span and for the first time since 2004. The previous three times the Jays have had 10 wins through 12 matches, they have advanced to at least the third round of the NCAA Tournament, including a 10-2-0 start in 2000 when they reached the NCAA Championship match.

Fantastic Freshman: Freshman Tyler Polak played every minute of Creighton's first 15 matches before being subbed for late in CU's match against Missouri State (Nov. 3). He has played a team-leading 1,482 minutes because of his outstanding play on defense. Playing every minute of important matches is nothing new to the newcomer, as he played every minute of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria and the U-17 CONCACAF Tournament in Mexico in 2009 with the U.S. U-17 National Team. Now a member of the U-20 U.S. National Team Pool, he was recently ranked by TopDrawerSoccer.com as the fifth-best freshman in the country, one of the top-15 freshman in the nation by Goal.com and was named a “Top 100 Freshman to Watch” by College Soccer News before the season.

Chart Climbing: With a career-high 12 goals this year, junior Ethan Finlay has started to climb up the Creighton career scoring charts. The forward now has 26 goals to rank 10th in school history, becoming the first Bluejay to crack the top-10 in career scoring since Mike Tranchilla finished his career second in goals (55) in 2002. His three multiple-goal matches this year are tied for seventh in single-season CU history and his four career multi-goal matches are tied for eighth in school history.

Finlay's Honors: Junior Ethan Finlay was named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week, MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week and College Soccer News National Player of the Week on Oct. 11 after an impressive week. The forward had two two-goal matches, striking twice against No. 5 Tulsa (Oct. 5) and also against nationally-ranked Indiana (Oct. 9).

Never Behind: Creighton scored first in its first nine matches of the season before falling behind to Indiana (Oct. 9). In fact, when Indiana scored in the first half, it marked the first time all season the Bluejays had trailed in a match with time still on the clock. The only time the Jays had been behind prior to the Indiana match this year was on SMU's double overtime game-winning goal on Sept. 17.

Home Shutout Streak Ends: Creighton posted four straight home shutouts to start the season, before allowing a second-half goal to No. 5 Tulsa on Oct. 5. Tulsa's goal snapped a streak of 420 consecutive scoreless minutes CU had held opponents at home to start the season. The four straight home shutouts were the longest single-season home shutout streak since the 2003 posted five consecutive home matches shutout. The Jays had posted shutouts in five straight home games dating back to last year's 1-0 home finale over UCLA and had an overall count of nearly 554 (553:46) straight shutout minutes at home dating back to last season.

Duran Done: Creighton has played a majority of the 2010 season without two of its starters on defense. Senior Andrew Duran suffered a torn meniscus in his knee against SMU on Sept. 17 and had surgery on Sept. 23, and will likely take a medical redshirt, returning for a fifth year in 2011.

Ribeiro's Firsts: Sophomore Andrew Ribeiro scored his first career goal against 18th-ranked SMU on Sept. 17, in his ninth career match off the bench for the Bluejays. He earned his first career start against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 1, after coming off of the bench in his first 11 career appearances.

Duran Duran: Senior Andrew Duran has been slowed by injuries throughout his career, limiting him to just 30 matches through his first three seasons. Duran, the 2006 NSCAA National High School Player of the Year, scored his first collegiate goal in a 1-0 win at No. 21 UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 7). Duran has again been bitten by the injury bug this season, suffering a torn meniscus against SMU on Sept. 17 and undergoing surgery on Sept. 23. With Duran on the pitch, the Bluejays did not allow a goal through four and a half matches.

First Two Weeks = Sweeps: Through two weeks of the season, Creighton accounted for all four weekly honors awarded by the Missouri Valley Conference. In week one, Kris Clark and Kyle Deremer were named Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively. In week two, Jose Gomez and Brian Holt notched the same honors. Deremer again earned MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 27.

A Hoie There!: Redshirt junior goalkeeper Bryan Hoie made his regular-season collegiate debut for the Bluejays in their shutout of UNC Greensboro (Sept. 4). Hoie, in his fourth year with the program, faced no shots while playing just over nine minutes in his first action as a Bluejay.

Bluejays Hit Blackjack: Creighton has its smallest roster since 1996, with just 21 student-athletes listed on the squad this year. The entire roster of 21 played in CU's 4-0 win over UNC Greensboro on Sept. 4. The small roster is in sharp contrast to the last decade at Creighton, where the average roster size was 30.2 between 2000-09. That 1996 team had 22 players on the squad, but capped the season by appearing in the first College Cup Final Four in school history.

Clark Wins Debut: Head coach Jamie Clark won 2-0 over Loyola Chicago on Sept. 1 in his first match as CU's leader. The win puts the six all-time Bluejay coaches at 5-1-0 in their debut match. (The only head coach to lose in his debut was Bret Simon, falling to No. 20 Duke in 1995.)

Scoring in Debut: Sophomore transfer Jose Gomez scored at Loyola Chicago on Sept. 1 to become the first Bluejay to score in his Creighton debut since another transfer did so in 2005. Brian Kallman (older brother of current sophomore Brent Kallman) scored in his first game of his only season at Creighton, helping the Bluejays tie Portland 1-1 on Sept. 2, 2005. Gomez, who has three goals and 14 points, has avoided Kallman's fate, as that proved to be the only goal of his season.

Don't Shoot: The Bluejays did not allow a shot on goal in their season-opening win at Loyola Chicago (Sept. 1). It marked the first time since Oct. 18, 2008 that the Bluejays held an opponent without a shot on goal. CU allowed only two shots total to the Ramblers, the fewest shots by a Bluejay foe since Memphis attempted only three shots on Oct. 8, 2008. Since 2000, the Jays have posted six matches in which they allowed three shots, but none with two or fewer before their 2010 opener.

Ethan Finlay Nets Preseason Honors: Junior forward Ethan Finlay has joined a long list of former Bluejays that have been candidates for college soccer's top individual honor, as he has been named to the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Finlay, who has also been tabbed to Soccer America's Preseason All-America Team, led the team with eight goals and 19 points as a sophomore and is CU's active career leader with 14 goals, seven assists and 35 points. He has led the team and MVC in game-winning goals in each of his first two seasons, as nine of his 14 career goals have been game-winners. Finlay is now on the long list of National Player of the Year candidates from Creighton, including the 1997 winner and current assistant coach, Johnny Torres.

Familiar Faces Return: Jamie Clark retained assistant coach Johnny Torres on his staff, while two other former Bluejay standouts have returned to the bench this fall. Matt Wieland, the 2003 MVC Defensive Player of the Year and 2005 NSCAA Third-Team All-American, is serving as CU's graduate manager this season. Michael Kraus, 2006 MVC Player of the Year, has returned to campus to complete his undergraduate work this semester and will be a student assistant coach for the Bluejays while finishing up his school work.

Torres is HOFer: Assistant coach Johnny Torres, already a Creighton Athletics Hall of Famer, will be inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame in March, 2011 – becoming the first soccer inductee into the Valley's Hall. A two-time National Player of the Year with the Bluejays between 1994 and 1997, Torres is arguably the greatest soccer player in school and league history, ending his career as the MVC's all-time leader in points (128) and assists (36).

Updated & Extended Coverage: Fans will notice Creighton home matches not only have a new live stats platform, but will also benefit from Creighton's change to BCS Stats. The new live stats provider allows fans to follow the live action on their mobile device at www.gocreightonstats.com. Fans can also find more info on Bluejay athletics on Facebook at the “Official Creighton Athletics Page” and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gocreighton. The men's soccer team also has its own Facebook page.

Men's Soccer Hosts Bradley to Conclude Regular-Season Saturday

Players Mentioned

Sergio Castillo

Kris Clark

Kyle Deremer

Andrew Duran

Andrew Duran

Ethan Finlay

Andrei Gotsmanov

Bryan Hoie

Brian Holt

Greg Jordan

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