No. 6 Bluejays Travel to Rival Bradley on Wednesday
10/18/2011 6:02:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Match 14 at Bradley • Wednesday, Oct. 19 • 7:00 p.m.
#6 Creighton Bluejays at Bradley Braves
Shea Stadium • Peoria, Ill.
Series History: CU leads 22-7-1
#6 Creighton Bluejays at Bradley Braves
Shea Stadium • Peoria, Ill.
Series History: CU leads 22-7-1
Following the Jays: Live stats, live video and audio will be provided by Bradley for this match. Fans can access the live video, audio and stats by following the links provided on Creighton's homepage at www.gocreighton.com.
This Week: No. 6 Creighton concludes a grueling stretch of six road matches in a seven-match span by playing its final two road matches of the season. The Bluejays will stay in Illinois all week while on Fall Break, playing at Bradley on Wednesday at 7 pm and at SIUE on Saturday at 7 pm.
Last Week: Creighton opened MVC play with a 1-0 loss at Missouri State last Wednesday, before bouncing back with an impressive 3-1 win over No. 7 UC Irvine last Saturday at home. All-American Ethan Finlay recorded the first hat trick by a Bluejay since 2004 in the 3-1 win, earning him MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the fourth time this season.
Scouting #6 Creighton (11-2-0, 0-1-0 MVC): The sixth-ranked Bluejays, defending MVC champions and preseason MVC favorites posted eight consecutive shutout victories to start the season for their best start since 1993 and their longest winning streak since 2000 ... Creighton was the last team in the country to allow a goal in 2011 and enter the week ranked second in the NCAA in shutout percentage (.692) and third in goals against average (0.30) ... CU has outscored its opponents 23-4 on the year and logged nine shutouts in 13 matches ... Creighton returns eight starters, including six all-conference players from the 2010 team, while it has 17 newcomers on the roster this season ... All-American, 2010 MVC Player of the Year and two-time MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Ethan Finlay leads the MVC with 23 points and is tied for the league-lead with nine goals and four game-winners ... He is the only MVC player with at least five goals and five assists ... Sophomore Bruno Castro, an ACC All-Freshman Team honoree at North Carolina last year, leads the team with six assists and is second with 12 points ... Sophomore defender Tyler Polak, CU's other National Player of the Year Candidate and the 2010 MVC Freshman of the Year, and junior midfielder Jose Gomez both have four assists this fall ... Senior CLASS Award Finalist, goalkeeper Brian Holt is the school and MVC record-holder with 35 career shutouts and his 0.70 career goals against average ranks second in CU and MVC history. He ranks third in the NCAA with a 0.31 goals against average and 91.7 save percentage, having allowed only four goals in better than 1,170 minutes played this season.
Scouting Bradley (9-3-2, 1-1-0 MVC): The Braves are ranked 28th this week in the College Soccer News top 30 and ranked as high at 18th in the coaches poll earlier this season ... Bradley was undefeated (4-0-2) through six matches and are 5-3-0 since, as the Braves last 13 matches have been decided by one goal or less ... BU is 4-1-1 at home on the season ... The BU offense is led by standout Bryan Gaul with eight goals and 18 points ... Gaul and Christian Meza (3G, 4A) are No. 1 & 2 in the MVC in shots attempted this season, at 64 and 54 respectively, as Bradley unloads a league-high 18.6 shots per game ... Despite the high number of shots, BU ranks fifth in the MVC with 59 points and 1.5 goals per game ... Brian Billings has made 48 saves and allowed 13 goals in 1,222 minutes in goal this year.
Head Coach: Elmar Bolowich is in his first year at Creighton following a 22-year stint at North Carolina, where he guided the Tar Heels to 15 NCAA Tournaments, four College Cup appearances and the 2001 NCAA Title. The 2001 NSCAA National Coach of the Year is now 291-146-40 (.652) in his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach. Bolowich guided UNC to back-to-back ACC championships in his final two seasons in Chapel Hill, while his final three UNC teams advanced to the College Cup. He is one of five active coaches in NCAA Division I soccer to lead a team to four College Cup appearances.
CU-BU Series: Creighton is 22-7-1 all-time against Bradley, the most wins it has over any opponent in school history. The Jays are 10-5-0 all-time in Peoria, including 3-1-0 in their last four trips to Shea Stadium. Creighton had a four-game winning streak (all shutouts) in the series snapped last year, as BU won 2-1 in Omaha to conclude the regular-season and then knocked the Bluejays out of the MVC Tournament with a 3-2 win in Peoria – just the second time in series history the Braves had won consecutive meetings. BU has never won three straight in the series.
Never Say Never: The Bluejays opened MVC play with a 1-0 loss at Missouri State last week. The Jays, who also lost their MVC finale last year, have never lost three consecutive MVC matches and have never started MVC play with consecutive losses. The Bluejays have also never lost to Bradley in three straight meetings.
On the Road Again: Creighton plays its first three MVC matches on the road this season before playing its final three at home. The Bluejays have played four of their last five matches away from home and are in the midst of a stretch where six of seven matches are on the road.
Hat Trick: All-American Ethan Finlay tallied his first career hat trick against No. 7 UC Irvine on Saturday, after he had previously scored two goals in a match seven times in his career. The three-goal match for Finlay was Creighton's first hat trick since Julian Nash turned in the feat on Oct. 3, 2004 against a nationally-ranked Tulsa team. He is just the 12th player in the storied history of Creighton soccer to record a hat trick. He joined Nash and Brian Biggerstaff (Nov. 22, 2003 vs. UMKC) as the only three players to notch a hat trick at Morrison Stadium.
Road Streak Snapped: Creighton had a 14-match unbeaten streak in MVC regular-season road matches snapped in a 1-0 loss at Missouri State on Oct. 12. The Bluejays were 8-0-6 on the MVC road since their previous loss – a 2-1 defeat at Bradley on Oct. 28, 2006. The Jays went 2-0-1 on the MVC road in 2007, 2-0-1 in 2008, 1-0-4 in 2009 and 3-0-0 in 2010. The loss also marked the first Bluejay defeat to a non-ranked team on the road in the regular-season since that same Bradley loss in 2006.
Road Warriors: Since the start of the 2007 season, the Bluejays are an impressive 20-3-7 (.783) in regular-season road matches. Two of the three losses have come to top-five teams, losing 1-0 at No. 1-ranked Akron in 2010 and 1-0 at No. 3-ranked Maryland this season. The Bluejays are 25-8-8 (.707) overall in matches away from Omaha since 2007, including are 0-3-1 in postseason road matches and 5-2-0 at neutral sites.
4x Offensive Player of the Week: Senior All-American forward Ethan Finlay has been named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week four times this season – after earning the honor three times in his first three years. He earned his first award on Sept. 6 following his two-goal, one assist match at UMKC (Aug. 31). The 2010 MVC Player of the Year scored twice and assisted another goal at UMKC, before assisting a score against Drexel (Sept. 4). Finlay scored two goals against Providence (Sept. 17) to again earn the accolade on Sept. 19. He played a part in every goal against No. 22 Kentucky (Sept. 21) and Saint Mary's (Sept. 24) to earn the honor and then was rewarded for his hat trick against No. 7 UC Irvine on Oct. 15.
RPI Report: The NCAA released its first official RPI rankings this week and Creighton ranks third, trailing UConn and Maryland. Seven of CU's 18 opponents this season are ranked in the top-33 of the report: Maryland (2), UC Irvine (4), Indiana (19), Wisconsin (22), Bradley (25), Drake (28) and Providence (33). The Jays are 4-1-0 against the teams in the top-33 which they have already played.
Poll Position: Creighton is ranked sixth in the NSCAA poll this week. The Bluejays have been ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Midwest Region all eight weeks of the season. The Bluejays are ranked fifth by College Soccer News and sixth by Soccer America.
NCAA Statistical Rankings: Creighton has allowed only four goals through its first 13 matches and it starts the week ranked second in the NCAA in shutout percentage (.692) and third in the nation in save percentage (.918) and goals against average (0.30). Goalkeeper Brian Holt ranks third in the NCAA with a 0.31 GAA and .918 save percentage. Ethan Finlay now ranks 14th in the NCAA with 1.77 points per game and 19th in the NCAA with nine goals scored. Bruno Castro ranks 24th in the NCAA with his team-leading six assists.
MVC Openers: Creighton's match at Missouri State on Oct. 12 marked the first time since 2002 that the Bluejays started the MVC schedule on the road. Following the 1-0 loss to MSU, the Jays are 13-4-4 all-time in MVC openers, with three of the four losses coming to Missouri State.
Bouncing Back: Creighton lost its MVC opener for just the fourth time in 21 seasons at M issouri State on Oct. 12. In two of the previous three seasons during which CU lost its MVC opener, the Bluejays advanced to at least the third round of the NCAA Tournament (2000, 2004). In 2000, CU lost its Valley opener 2-1 at Missouri State, before winning 16 of its next 17 matches and advancing to the NCAA championship match.
Finlay Facts: Ethan Finlay has scored an MVC-leading nine goals this season, including three multiple-goal matches. He now has eight career multiple-goal matches, ranking him fourth in school history. His 38 career goals ranks fifth in Bluejay history and ninth in MVC history. His 92 points rank sixth in school history and 12th in league history. Of his 38 career scores, a Morrison Stadium-record 23 have come at home and 18 of his career goals have accounted for game-winners. The All-American owns Morrison Stadium career records for goals (23), points (56), shots (108) and shots on goal (49).
Acoff Doubles Up: Junior forward Dion Acoff scored his first two goals of the season to earn MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors and be named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Oct. 10. Acoff scored his first goal at Wisconsin (Oct. 5) and then scored the game's only goal in a 1-0 win at 10th-ranked Indiana (Oct. 9). The score at IU was Acoff's first career game-winning score. The forward, who has 15 career assists, now has four career goals after scoring two goals in his first 42 career games.
CU vs. Top 25: Creighton owns three wins over top 25 teams this year, including two at home to move the Bluejays to an impressive 17-2-1 (.875) against the NSCAA top 25 at Morrison Stadium. The Jays are now 27-9-2 (.737) all-time against nationally-ranked opponents at home. The Jays are 3-1-0 against the NSCAA top 25 this year – with wins over No. 22 Kentucky, No. 7 UC Irvine and at No. 10 Indiana and a loss at No. 3 Maryland. CU is 58-42-10 (.573) all-time against the coaches top 25.
Clean Sheet Records: Creighton tied its single-season consecutive home shutout record (1999, 2003) this season by starting the year with five straight clean sheets at home – going 512:18 before allowing a goal in Omaha. Earlier this season, CU set a school record by recording eight straight shutouts to start this campaign, topping the former mark of six established by the 2008 team. The Jays did not allow a goal in their first 752:12 minutes this season. In 2008, the Bluejays posted six straight shutouts and went more than 722 minutes between goals that season.
Home Sweet Morrison: With its 6-0-0 start at home this season, Creighton is now 65-13-12 (.789) all-time at Morrison Stadium (since 2003). The Bluejays have outscored opponents 13-1 in Omaha this year, including five straight shutouts to start the season at home. The Bluejays are 17-2-1 (.875) against top 25 foes at Morrison Stadium and since 1990, the Bluejays are 167-29-16 (.825) at home.
Protecting this House: Since moving into Morrison Stadium in 2003, half of Creighton's matches have resulted in a Bluejay shutout – 45 clean sheets in 90 matches. The Bluejays have outscored opponents 173-61 at the venue and posted an impressive 0.65 home goals against average at Morrison Stadium.
CU's Defense at Morrison Stadium
Year GAA GA Sho W-L-T
2003 0.44 5 7 7-2-2
2004 0.90 11 2 10-1-1
2005 0.68 7 6 8-1-1
2006 0.62 6 5 6-1-2
2007 0.85 12 5 6-3-4
2008 0.53 6 6 10-1-0
2009 0.49 4 4 5-2-1
2010 0.88 9 5 7-2-1
2011 0.00 1 5 6-0-0
Totals 0.65 61 45 65-13-12
October Success: At 3-1-0 this month, Creighton has improved to 50-11-12 (.767) in the month of October since 2002, compared to a winning percentage of .692 in all other months of the season between 2002 and 2010. The Bluejays have gone unbeaten in four Octobers since 2002 (2002, 2003, 2007, 2008).
Bluejays in October Since 2002
Year Oct. Season NCAA
2002 6-0-1 18-4-2 College Cup
2003 7-0-1 12-6-4 Quarterfinals
2004 6-3-0 14-4-2 Third Round
2005 5-3-1 15-5-3 Quarterfinals
2006 5-1-1 13-5-3 First Round
2007 5-0-2 12-3-5 Third Round
2008 4-0-2 16-2-2 Quarterfinals
2009 4-1-3 7-4-5 DNQ
2010 5-2-1 13-5-2 Second Round
2011 3-1-0 11-2-0 ???
Total 50-11-12 131-40-28
Rare Jordan: Junior Greg Jordan scored just his second career game-winning goal when he knocked in the golden goal to beat Wisconsin in overtime on Oct. 5. Jordan, who is tied for second on the team with three goals this year, now has seven career goals. His previous game-winner came against DePaul last September.
Holt Has CLASS: Senior Brian Holt has been named one of 10 national finalists for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Fans can vote for Holt once a day every day through Nov. 14 on Facebook and at www.seniorclassaward.com. Holt and teammate Ethan Finlay were among the 30 preseason candidates for the award.
Holt Breaks His Own Record: Senior goalkeeper Brian Holt opened this season by not allowing a goal in his first 733:19 played. Adding that streak to the final 20:15 of the 2010 season, Holt did not allowed a goal in 753:34 minutes played – establishing a school-record for consecutive minutes between goals allowed. He surpassed his own school record of better than 722 straight scoreless minutes set during his freshman season in 2008.
Consecutive CU Shutout Minutes Streak
B. Holt - 753:34, Nov. 21, 2010 – Sept. 10, 2011
Brian Holt - 722:12, Sept. 13-Oct. 11, 2008
Kevin Doyle - 562:44, Oct. 11-Nov. 7, 1992
Tom Zawislan - 500:20, Oct. 1-29, 1999
Matt Allen - 480:00, Oct. 26-Nov. 22, 2005
Bolowich's Best: With an 8-0-0 start this season, Creighton helped head coach Elmar Bolowich to the best start of his 23-year coaching career. In 22 seasons at North Carolina, Bolowich never won more than four matches to start a season. His 2005 team started 7-0-1 after winning its first four matches for the longest unbeaten start to a season in his career.
Historic Start: Creighton's 8-0-0 start was its best since the 1993 team won its first 19 matches of the season en route to earning the No. 1 ranking for the final five weeks of the regular-season. The last two times Creighton started a season with six straight wins it advanced to the College Cup (1996 and 2000). The 2000 team advanced to the NCAA Championship match and led the NCAA with 22 wins. The Bluejays posted a school-record eight straight shutouts, never before had CU started a season with more than four straight clean sheets.
Winning: Brian Holt became the fourth goalkeeper in school history to record 40 career wins when he picked up his 40th victory against Fordham on Sept. 9. With his 1-0 win over Saint Mary's (Sept. 24) he picked up his 44th career win to move past two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year Matt Allen into second place on the CU career victories chart. He now has 47 wins, trailing only Jay Fitzgerald's school-record 53 victories.
Defensive Players of the Week: A Bluejay was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week in four of the first five weeks this season, with Brian Holt bringing home the honor three times and junior center back Jake Brown winning the honor in week three. Brown earned his first two Bluejay starts and played every minute of CU's shutouts against Fordham (Sept. 9) and DePaul (Sept. 11). Holt has now earned the honor six times in his career as he made seven saves (one shy of his career high set as a freshman in 2008) at Denver to open the season in CU's 1-0 win and posted a solo shutout of Drexel after splitting time in goal of CU's 5-0 win at UMKC. His latest honor came after he shut down the second-highest scoring offense in the NCAA in a 2-0 win over No. 22 Kentucky (Sept. 21).
Our Attendance vs. Yours: Creighton is averaging 3,621 fans through six home matches this year, bringing in 21,725 fans. The other six MVC schools have welcomed 15,662 fans through 29 home matches this year for an average of 540 fans.
Fantastic Fans: Creighton drew 5,425 fans for its home opener against Drexel on Sept. 4, the fourth-largest crowd in school history and the third-largest in regular-season play. The fans were among the largest home crowd to witness a home victory, as the Bluejays are 0-2-1 in their highest three attended matches. CU's second home game against Fordham on Sept. 9 brought in 4,242 fans, the seventh-largest crowd. Creighton has ranked in the top-10 in the NCAA attendance in each of the first eight seasons of Morrison Stadium.
Top 10 Creighton Home Crowds
1 – 5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007
2 – 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
3 – 5,609 vs. Missouri State, Sept. 19, 2009
4 – 5,425 vs. Drexel, Sept. 4, 2011
5 – 4,407 vs. Saint Louis, Aug. 31, 1997
6 – 4,345 vs. Virginia (Exh.), Aug. 28, 1993
7 – 4,242 vs. Fordham, Sept. 9, 2011
8 – 4,071 vs. Gonzaga, Aug. 29, 2008
9 – 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
10 – 4,023 vs. Tulsa, Sept. 22, 2007
Offensive Output: Creighton's five goals against UMKC (Aug. 31) matched its highest scoring match of the previous four seasons and with nine goals through three matches, the Bluejays equalled the 2008 and 2004 teams for the most goals through three matches in the last 12 seasons. The 2008 team advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, while the 2004 team made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Push the Clutch: Ethan Finlay leads the team and MVC with four game-winning goals this year, nothing new for the senior as he has led the MVC in game-winning goals in each of this first three collegiate campaigns. Of his 38 career goals, 18 have been game-winners.
Big Win: Creighton toppled UMKC 5-0 for the Bluejays' most lopsided victory in five years on Aug. 31. CU's last give-goal win came over Central Arkansas (6-1) on Sept. 27. It was the Jays' most lopsided shutout since a 6-0 win at Georgetown on Oct. 19, 2005.
Debut Note: Freshman Guido Peña scored Creighton's only goal in its 1-0 season-opening win at Denver (Aug. 27). The rookie from Costa Rica was one of five Bluejay newcomers to debut in the win, as he was joined by fellow Costa Rican, sophomore transfer Bruno Castro (North Carolina), along with junior transfer Jake Brown (Saint Louis) and true freshmen Jose Ribas and Eric Miller. Miller and Castro each started their first Bluejay match, while Peña, Brown and Ribas came off the bench. The match was also the debut for new Bluejay head coach Elmar Bolowich. JT Seger and Alex Bolowich then made their collegiate debuts at UMKC (Aug. 31).
Scoring in Debut: Freshman Guido Peña scored Creighton's only goal in his debut at Denver (Aug. 27). It marked the second straight season a Bluejay newcomer scored in his debut, following Jose Gomez's goal at Loyola (Ill.) last year. Prior to Gomez and Peña scoring in their CU debuts, it had not happened since Brian Kallman (older brother of current junior Brent Kallman) did so in 2005.
MVC Preseason Favorite: The defending MVC regular-season champion Bluejays have been picked by league coaches to again win the title in 2011. The Jays received six of seven first-place votes and 48 of the possible 49 points in the poll. Ethan Finlay, Tyler Polak, Dion Acoff, Jose Gomez, Greg Jordan and Brian Holt were each named to the preseason all-MVC team, taking up six of the 11 spots on the squad. The Bluejays, who have been picked to win The Valley 13 times, own a league record 10 regular-season titles.
Finlay, Polak are MAC Hermann Candidates: Senior forward Ethan Finlay and sophomore defender Tyler Polak have been named to the preseason Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List. Finlay was an NSCAA Second-Team All-American last year in recording the highest scoring season by a Bluejay in a decade, while Polak was the 2010 MVC Freshman of the Year. In addition to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, both players have been named preseason All-Americans by College Soccer News and Soccer America.
Senior Leaders: Creighton has six seniors on the roster, including three fifth-year players. Goalkeepers Bryan Hoie and Brian Holt each redshirted his first season on campus in 2007 behind two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year Matt Allen, while Andrew Duran took a medical redshirt last year and is back for his fifth season with the Bluejays. Kris Clark and Ethan Finlay are back for their fourth year with the Bluejays and Jace Peters is also a senior (in his second year at Creighton). In addition to the six seniors listed on the roster, fourth-year junior Greg Jordan (medical redshirt in 2009), is on pace to graduate in December. Both Finlay and Jordan joined Creighton a semester early, finishing high school early to be here.
MVC Tournament Hosts: For just the third time since the venue was dedicated in 2004, Morrison Stadium will serve as host to the State Farm MVC Men's Soccer Championship in November. The Bluejays also hosted the MVC Tournament at Morrison Stadium in 2004 and 2007. The Jays have yet to win the MVC Tournament at Morrison Stadium, as SMU (2004) and Bradley (2007) claimed tourney titles in Omaha the previous two times it was held here.
Finlay, Polak Join Long List: Senior Ethan Finlay and sophomore Tyler Polak are each on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, joining a 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
2011 Ethan Finlay, Tyler Polak
2010 Ethan Finlay
2009 Byron Dacy, Chris Schuler, Seth Sinovic
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
Finlay is Top Prospect: TopDrawerSoccer.com has ranked Ethan Finlay as the top senior pro prospect in all of college soccer. Greg Jordan (6) Andrew Duran (33) and Brian Holt (49) are also ranked on that same top-100 senior prospects list. Sophomore Tyler Polak is ranked seventh on a list of the top-25 underclassmen by TDS. Polak was the highest ranked Bluejay by TDS in its first weekly ranking of the top-100 sophomores, juniors and seniors on Aug. 22. The sophomore defender was ranked fifth in the initial list, with Finlay (14), Jordan (74) and Duran (97) also ranking in the top-100 players in the NCAA according to TDS.
Soccer Luncheons: The 2011 Elmar Bolowich Jays Kicks Club Luncheons will be held at Anthony's Restaurant & Lounge (72nd & F Streets) on Sept. 2, Oct. 3 and Nov. 2. All of the luncheons start at noon and a season pass is $60 per person. Individual luncheons may also be purchased, if space is available, at $20 per person 48 hours prior to the event. Highlights of each luncheon will include insight on how the team is progressing, what to look for in upcoming matches plus newsletters with updated statistics and door prizes. To register and purchase your season pass online, go to www.creighton.edu/athleticevents. For more information or to make a reservation by phone or email, contact Barb Epps (402-280-5577, bepps@creighton.edu).
Follow Us!: Creighton men's soccer can now be found on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
www.twitter.com/CreightonMSOC
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www.youtube.com/CreightonMSOC
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