No. 2 Men's Soccer Hosts No. 15-seed UCSB Sunday in NCAA Third Round

NCAA Tournament Third Round Match vs. UC Santa Barbara
Sunday, November 27 • 1:00 pm
#13 UCSB Gauchos (15-6-1) at #2 Creighton Bluejays (19-2-0)
Morrison Stadium • Omaha, Neb.
Series History: Creighton leads 1-0-0
NCAA Tournament Bracket
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Following the Jays: This third round NCAA Tournament match will have free live video available and live stats will be provided by Gametracker throughout the NCAA Tournament. Fans can access both live video and live stats through the links at www.gocreighton.com. Tickets are available online here.

This Week: The No. 2-ranked an No. 2-seeded Bluejays play host to No. 13-ranked and No. 15-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays and Gauchos will kickoff at 1 pm at Morrison Stadium this Sunday. The winner will advance to face the winner between No. 10-seed New Mexico (18-0-3) and No. 7-seed South Florida (13-3-3) next weekend in NCAA Quarterfinal action.

Round Two Recap: Creighton improved to 12-0-0 at home this year and 8-1-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches played at Morrison Stadium with a 3-0 win over Northern Illinois last Sunday. Jose Gomez scored in the 21st minute off of a crossing pass from Eric Miller and Ethan Finlay added a tally in the 43rd minute to give the Jays a 2-0 lead at halftime. Finlay added his second goal of the match and league-leading 13th of the season, in the 88th minute to conclude scoring in the match. CU outshot NIU 13-4 in the contest, limiting the Huskies to only one shot on goal, as the Jays posted their eighth straight clean sheet.

Scouting #2 Creighton (19-2-0, 5-1-0 MVC): The Bluejays lead the NCAA with 19 wins and are the top defensive team in the country, having posted a nation's best 17 shutouts ... Creighton leads the NCAA in goals against average (0.19), save percentage (.933) and shutout percentage (.810) ... Creighton, the MVC regular-season co-champions and MVC Tournament champions, started the season with eight straight shutout victories and enters the third round of the NCAA Tournament on another eight-game shutout streak ... The Bluejays, who were ranked No. 1 in the NCAA RPI for the last two weeks of the regular-season, are appearing in their 19th NCAA Tournament over the past 20 seasons ... Creighton is 12-0-0 at home this season, outscoring opponents 25-1 in Omaha ... Creighton, which has not allowed a goal since Oct. 15, also ranks 18th in the NCAA with 37 goals scored this year ... The Bluejays are led by MVC Goalkeeper of the Year, MVC Tournament MVP and Senior CLASS Award Finalist Brian Holt, who leads the NCAA with a 0.19 GAA and 93.1 save percentage. Holt, who has played more minutes than anyone in school history, is also the CU and MVC career leader with 55 wins, 42 shutouts and a 0.63 career GAA ... Helping Holt lead the nation's best defense is MVC Defensive Player of the Year Andrew Duran and first-team all-MVC defender and MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Tyler Polak, both of whom were named to the MVC All-Tournament Team ... Two-time MVC Player of the Year and two-time MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Ethan Finlay ranks 13th in the NCAA with an MVC-best 32 points and his 13 goals rank 15th in the nation. The All-American is the MVC's active career leader in goals (42), assists (17) and points (101) ... Junior midfielder Greg Jordan was CU's fifth first-team all-MVC player this season, as 10 of CU's 11 starters earned an honor from the MVC ... Three CU midfielders earned second-team all-MVC honors – Bruno Castro (5 g, 8 a), Jose Gomez (4 g, 7 a) and Dion Acoff (3 g, 2 a).

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 21-13-4 (.658) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and now 299-146-40 (.658) 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 Tar Heel 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. The native of Germany led the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year in his debut season at Creighton.

Scouting #13 UCSB (15-6-1, 6-4-0 Big West): The Gauchos were ranked 13th in the final NSCAA poll and are the No. 15 seed in the NCAA tournament, equal to their final RPI ranking ... UCSB is appearing in its 10th straight NCAA Tournament (10th overall), with two College Cup appearances (2004, 2006) and a national title (2006) to boast ... The Gauchos are 17-7-2 in the NCAA Tournament, including 4-6-0 in true road matches ... UCSB finished second in the Big West (behind CU opponent UC Irvine) with a 6-4-0 record this year ... The Gauchos are 4-4-0 on the road in 2011 ... UCSB ranks third in the NCAA with 50 goals scored, but ranks 120th (of 200) with a 1.36 goals against average and 189th in save percentage (.670) ... Luis Silva is the Big West Midfielder of the Year, ranking third in the NCAA with 44 points, fifth with 17 goals and seventh with 10 assists ... James Kiffe (2 g, 6 a) is the Big West Defender of the Year ... Sam Garza (8 g, 4 a) and Tim Pontius (3 g, 1 a) joined Silva and Kiffe as Big West First-Teamers ... David Opoku has eight goals and Dom Sarle adds nine assists for UCSB's high-scoring offense ... Andre Grandt (1.36 GAA) has played every minute in goal for UCSB this season, allowing 31 goals, making 62 saves and posting seven shutouts for the Gauchos.

CU-UCSB Series: Creighton won the only previous meetings between these teams, 1-0, on Sept. 7, 2010 in Santa Barbara. Andrew Duran's header goal off of a Jose Gomez corner kick in the 37th minute stood up for the Bluejays. The goal remains Duran's only career tally. Brian Holt stopped three UCSB shots in the shutout.

NCAA Tournament History: Creighton is making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance, all in the past 20 seasons (missed in 2009). Creighton is 24-16-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 9-4-0 at home and 8-1-0 at Morrison Stadium. The Jays have now won at least one NCAA Tournament match in 13 of their 19 trips. The Jays are 14-6-3 in their last nine appearances, advancing to the quarterfinals in four of their previous eight trips to the tourney. Complete NCAA Tournament history on page nine of these game notes.

NCAA at Morrison: Creighton is 8-1-0 in its previous nine NCAA Tournament matches played in Morrison Stadium (since 2003). The Bluejays have scored at least two goals in each of their eight victories and have out-scored opponents 26-6 in the first eight NCAA matches here. CU beat UMKC 6-0 in the 2003 first round, out-did nationally-ranked Northwestern 3-2 in the 2004 second round, blanked Lafayette 3-0 in the first round in 2005, topped fifth-ranked SMU 3-0 in the 2007 second round, before falling to Illinois-Chicago 1-0 to end their 2007 season. The Jays won a pair of 2-1 matches against nationally-ranked Tulsa and Connecticut in the 2008 postseason and crushed New Mexico 4-1 in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament before their 3-0 win over NIU in the second round last Sunday.

Against the Field: Creighton has now played seven matches against NCAA Tournament teams this year, going 6-1-0 against those squads. CU owns two wins over Bradley, wins over No. 16 seed Indiana and No. 8 Seed UC Irvine, and wins over Saint Mary's and Northern Illinois. CU's only loss to the tournament field came to No. 5 seed Maryland.

And the Winner Has ...: The winner of Creighton's match with UC Santa Barbara will advance to play the winner between No. 10-seed New Mexico at No. 7-seed South Florida. Should Creighton prevail, that match would be played in Omaha on Dec. 3 at 1 pm. Creighton is the last team to defeat New Mexico (18-0-3), ending the Lobos' 2010 season with a 4-1 win in Omaha last year in the in the NCAA Tournament first round.

We're No. 1: Creighton leads the NCAA with 19 wins and 17 shutouts. The Bluejays are also tied for the national lead with seven road wins this year – even with Fordham, UC Irvine and Northern Illinois. Creighton continues to be the top defensive team in the NCAA, ranking first in the nation in goals against average (0.19), save percentage (.932) and shutout percentage (.800) – with a NCAA best 16 shutouts. Brian Holt leads the NCAA with his 0.19 GAA and 93.1 save percentage.

Streaking Note:
• Creighton's nine-game winning streak is its longest since the 2000 team won 11 straight in order to reach the the NCAA title match.
• Creighton entered the NCAA Tournament on an eight-game winning streak, the second-longest streak entering the NCAA postseason in school history (behind the 1993 team which entered the tourney on a 19-game streak).
• Creighton has now posted two winning streaks of at least eight games this season – a first in school history.
• CU has played its last six matches at home, a school record home stand. CU had previously played five-straight games at home on six occasions.
• Creighton has logged eight straight shutouts for the second time this season. Before this season, the CU record for consecutive shutouts was six. This Jays opened the season with eight straight clean sheets and enter their UCSB game with eight straight shutouts.
• CU's six-match shutout streak at home is also a school record.
• Creighton has not allowed a goal in its last 747:42, since UC Irvine scored in the second half on Oct. 15.
• Brian Holt has not allowed a goal in the last 737:42 he's played – 16 minutes shy of his own school record for consecutive shutout minutes. He now has the top three scoreless minute streaks in school history, all at least 720 minutes long.
• CU has won 13 straight home games, dating back to last year's 4-1 NCAA Tournament win over New Mexico. The 13 straight is CU's longest home winning streak since setting the school record of 15 between 1997 and 1999.
• CU has not allowed more than one goal in any of its 21 matches this season – the longest such streak in school history (the former mark was 14 in 1999).
• Ethan Finlay has scored at least one goal in each of Creighton's last three NCAA Tournament matches, including a pair of two-goal matches in his last two NCAA matches at home.
• Creighton is unbeaten in its last 15 matches against California-based schools (12-0-3).

California Dreaming: Creighton is looking to improve upon its 12-0-3 record against California-based school in its last 15 meetings. CU beat Saint Mary's 1-0 and UC Irvine 3-1 earlier this season in Omaha. In fact, before UCI scored against CU, the Bluejays had not allowed a goal to a California team in 10 straight meetings (including a 1-0 win at UCSB last year). CU last lost to a team from California on Sept. 7, 2003 (2-1, 2OT, at LMU). No school from California has won at Morrison Stadium, with CU going 7-0-2 in Omaha against teams from the Golden State since 2003. In fact, no California team has ever won in Omaha, going 0-9-3 all-time against the Bluejays at home.

Golden Staters: Creighton has three players from California on the roster, all key midfielders for the Bluejays. Junior Dion Acoff (Upland), the 2009 MVC Freshman of the Year, has started 16 of 19 matches and earned all-MVC second-team honors with three goals and eight points this year. Junior Jose Gomez (Santa Ana) has started 17 of 18 matches this year, also earning all-MVC second-team honors with four goals, seven assists and 15 points. Senior Kris Clark (Monte Sereno) has started 38 of his 73 career matches, including six starts this year. He has six goals, 13 assists and 25 points in his career.

Finlay's Figures: All-American Ethan Finlay has scored five goals in his last three NCAA Tournament matches, scoring two goals in each of his last two home matches. He scored twice in CU's 3-0 win over Northern Illinois last Sunday after he also had a brace against New Mexico at home in last year's tourney. He scored in CU's season-finale last year at SMU as well. His five goals in NCAA Tournament play are one shy of the CU school-record of six shared by Brian Mullan and Mike Tranchilla. Of Finlay's 13 goals scored this year, 11 have come at home, giving him 27 home goals (of 42) in his career.

RPI Report: Creighton was No. 1 in the RPI for the final two weeks of the regular-season before it finished No. 2 in the NCAA ratings heading into NCAA play. The Bluejays were No. 3 in the RPI poll in each of the first two weeks of the release. Six of CU's regular-season opponents finished in the RPI top-50: Maryland (5), UC Irvine (8), Indiana (14), Bradley (21), Providence (23) and Wisconsin (49). The Jays are 6-1-0 against the teams in the RPI top-50 this year. UCSB's final RPI was 15, while CU's second-round opponent Northern Illinois had an RPI of 24.

Simply the Best: Creighton brought home four of the five MVC specialty awards when postseason honors were handed out last week. Ethan Finlay became the first Bluejay to twice be named MVC Player of the Year (third two-time winner in MVC history), Andrew Duran was tabbed the MVC Defensive Player of the Year and Brian Holt was named the MVC Goalkeeper of the Year. For the third time in four years and with the third different head coach, Creighton earned MVC Coaching Staff of the Year honors – recognizing head coach Elmar Bolowich, assistants Johnny Torres and Justin Hughes and graduate manager Matt Wieland.

MVC Honors: In addition to the specialty honors, 10 of Creighton's 11 starters were recognized by the MVC this season.
MVC First-Team
Andrew Duran, Sr., D
Ethan Finlay, Sr., F
Brian Holt, Sr., GK
Greg Jordan, Jr., M
Tyler Polak, So., D
MVC Second-Team
Dion Acoff, Jr., M
Bruno Castro, So., M
Jose Gomez, Jr., M
MVC Honorable Mention
Andrew Ribeiro, Jr., M
MVC All-Freshman Team
Eric Miller, Fr., D

Morrison Stadium is Tops, UCSB's Harder Stadium Ranks Second
This summer CollegeSoccerNews.com made a top-12 list of the most exciting venues to watch a college soccer match and Creighton's Morrison Stadium topped the list. Creighton ranked eighth in the NCAA in attendance in 2010 and has ranked in the NCAA top-10 in attendance in each of the last eight years.

CollegeSoccerNews.com's Most Exciting Venues to Watch College Soccer

1.    Morrison Stadium – Creighton
2.    Harder Stadium – UC Santa Barbara
3.    Ludwig Field – Maryland
4.     Cub Cadet Field – Akron
5.     Morrone Stadium – Connecticut
6.     Armstrong Stadium – Indiana
7.     UNM Soccer Complex – New Mexico
8.    Spry Stadium – Wake Forest
9.    Spanos Stadium – Cal Poly
10.     Merlo Field – Portland
11.    Hermann Stadium – Saint Louis
12.     Belson Soccer Stadium – St. John's

Home Sweet Morrison: Creighton is 12-0-0 at home this season, having outscored opponents 25-1 in Omaha this year. CU completed its first undefeated home regular-season since 1998 (8-0-0) and is looking to finish an entire season unbeaten at home for the first time since that season. CU is now 71-13-12 (.802) all-time at Morrison Stadium (since 2003). The 12 wins at Morrison Stadium are a single-season record, while the Bluejays need one more win to equal the 1993 team's school-record for home wins in a season. The Bluejays are 18-2-1 (.881) against top 25 foes at Morrison Stadium and since 1990, the Bluejays are 172-29-16 (.829) at home.

Attendance Figures: Creighton is averaging 2,995 fans in 12 home matches this fall, which unofficially ranks sixth in the NCAA in national attendance figures compiled by the Creighton Sports Information office. The Bluejays drew 29,681 fans in nine regular-season home dates, compared to 24,974 fans combined drawn by the rest of the MVC in 47 home dates (531 average). Including this season, Creighton has ranked in the top-10 in the NCAA in attendance every season since moving into Morrison Stadium in 2003.

Unofficial NCAA Attendance Leaders
(through Nov. 22)
1. UC Santa Barbara – 4,782
2. Maryland – 3,874
3. Akron – 3,300
4. New Mexico – 3,749
5. Connecticut – 3,335
6. Creighton – 2,995
7. Louisville – 2,858
8. Cal Poly – 2,140
9. Clemson – 2,111
10. Wake Forest – 2,007

Protecting this House: Since moving into Morrison Stadium in 2003, more than half of Creighton's matches have resulted in a Bluejay shutout – 51 clean sheets in 96 matches. The Bluejays have outscored opponents 185-61 at the venue and posted an impressive 0.61 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    0.08    1    11    12-0-0
Totals    0.61    61    50    71-13-12

MVC Tournament Summary: Creighton won its MVC-best 12th Valley Tournament title with a pair of shutouts on Nov. 11 & 13, winning its first MVC tourney title in Omaha since 1994. CU topped Bradley 1-0 in the semifinals (Nov. 11) behind a Jose Gomez goal and then avenged one of its two losses this season by beating Missouri State 1-0 in the championship match, with freshman Jose Ribas scoring his first career goal for the game-winner. Senior goalkeeper Brian Holt was named the MVC Tournament MVP, while he was joined by senior defender Andrew Duran, sophomore defender Tyler Polak and senior forward Ethan Finlay on the All-Tournament Team.

MVC Title Town: Creighton captured its 11th MVC regular-season title this year (sharing with Missouri State) and followed by winning its 12th tournament title, making the seventh time the Bluejays have won both crowns in the same season – 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2006, 2008 and 2011. CU's 11 Valley regular-season titles are more than twice as many as the next closest teams – Bradley, Missouri State and SMU all have four regular-season MVC crowns. The regular-season title was CU's second straight and its fifth in the last six years. CU's 12 tournament crowns are more than all other MVC teams combined, while its 31 wins in MVC tourney play are also a school record.

CU vs. Top 25: Creighton owns four wins over top 25 teams this year, including three at home to move the Bluejays to an impressive 18-2-1 (.881) against the NSCAA top 25 at Morrison Stadium. The Jays are now 28-9-2 (.744) all-time against nationally-ranked opponents at home. The Jays are 4-1-0 against the NSCAA top 25 this year – with wins over No. 22 Kentucky, No. 7 UC Irvine, No. 22 Bradley and at No. 10 Indiana and a loss at No. 3 Maryland. CU is 59-42-10 (.577) all-time against the coaches top 25.

Holt's Repeat Streaks: 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 enters the third round of the NCAA Tournament on another impressive streak, not having allowed a goal in better than 737 minutes, just 16 shy of the record he set earlier this year. He has the top three scoreless minute streaks in CU history.

Consecutive CU Shutout Minutes Streak
B. Holt - 753:34, Nov. 21, 2010 – Sept. 10, 2011
B. Holt - 737:42, Oct. 15, 2011 – present
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

At Home in the Valley: Creighton is 26-4-3 (.833) all-time at Morrison Stadium in MVC regular-season play, compared to just 4-2-1 (.643) at the venue in MVC Tournament play. The Bluejays are an even more impressive 61-7-4 (.875) at home in Valley play all-time. The Jays are 14-2-1 (.853) in MVC Tournament matches held in Omaha all-time.

Shutout Records: Creighton leads the NCAA with 17 shutouts – which also stand as an MVC and school record. The former school mark of 13 was set in 2008, and the old MVC record of 14 was set by SMU in 2001. Creighton has posted 11 shutouts at home, breaking the former school record of seven home clean sheets set in 2003 – CU's first season at Morrison Stadium. Brian Holt has 15 solo shutouts, breaking his former CU record of 12 set as a freshman in 2008. His 42 career clean sheets have far surpassed the old MVC (27.5) and school (26) records.

Poll Position: Creighton was ranked second in the NSCAA's final regular-season poll, the third straight week and fourth overall week it has held down the No. 2 spot in the coaches poll. The Bluejays were ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Midwest Region all 12 weeks of the season. The Jays are also ranked second in the latest polls released by Soccer Times and College Soccer News, and third by TopDrawerSoccer and Soccer America.

NCAA Stats: In addition to leading the NCAA in goals against average, shutout percentage and save percentage, the Bluejays are ranked highly in other national categories. CU ranks second in the NCAA in win percentage (.905) and 18th in the nation with 37 goals scores. In addition to Brian Holt's NCAA-best 0.19 GAA and .931 save percentage, other Jays rank among national leaders. Ethan Finlay ranks 13th in the NCAA with 32 points and 15th with 13 goals. Bruno Castro ranks 18th in the NCAA with eight assists.

Winning: Brian Holt not only helped Creighton capture the MVC Tournament title and earn MVC Tournament MVP honors in CU's 1-0 win over Missouri State on Nov. 13, but he also became the winningest goalkeeper in school history in the victory. The win over MSU was the 54th of his career, moving him past the former record of Jay Fitzgerald (1991-95). He now has 55 career wins.

Dairy State Product: Two-time MVC Player of the Year Ethan Finlay has moved up the MVC and CU career charts this season. The All-American is the fifth player in CU history and ninth in league history to reach 40 career goals. His 101 career points rank sixth in school history and 10th in Valley history. Of his 42 career goals, 19 have been game-winners and 27 of his 42 goals have been scored at home. He has five multi-goal matches this year and 10 in his career. The senior owns Morrison Stadium career records for goals (27), points (64), shots (134) and shots on goal (64).

Finlay's Hat Trick vs. UC Irvine: All-American Ethan Finlay tallied his first career hat trick against No. 7 UC Irvine (Oct. 15), 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.

Multiplicity: Ethan Finlay scored twice in CU's second round win over Northern Illinois, his fifth multi-goal match of the season. Only Keith DeFini had more multi-goal matches in a single-season in school history, as DeFini had six multi-goal matches in 1990. Finlay also had four multi-goal matches last year and he now has 10 in his career to rank fourth in school history.

CU Multi-Goal Matches in a Season
    1.    6    Keith DeFini    1990
    2.    5    Ethan Finlay    2011
        5    Keith DeFini    1993

Special Day for Ribas: Freshman Jose Ribas picked the perfect time to score his first collegiate goal, scoring the only goal of the MVC Tournament championship match to help CU top Missouri State 1-0 (Nov. 13). Scoring a game-winner as your career first goal in the title match is exciting enough, but add the fact that Ribas' parents traveled from Ecuador to attend the match and the goal is that more memorable.

Not a Regular Season: Creighton won more games in the regular-season this year (16) than it finished with last year (13). The 16 regular-season wins were the second-most in school history and the most since the 2000 national runner-up CU squad had 15 regular-season wins en route to leading the nation with 22 victories that season. The 1993 team set the school record with 17 regular-season wins, going a perfect 17-0-0 that year.

1-0 W (x9) = Success: Nine of Creighton's 18 wins this season have been 1-0 finals after 1-0 victories over Bradley (Nov. 11) and Missouri State (Nov. 13) in the MVC Tournament. The nine 1-0 wins are the most in single-season school history, topping the 2002 College Cup team which posted six 1-0 victories en route to the NCAA semifinals.

Minuteman: Senior goalkeeper Brian Holt has played more minutes in goal than any player in school history, as his 7,009 have surpassed the former school mark of his predecessor Matt Allen (6,531). Holt now ranks fourth in MVC history in minutes played, as he is one of four keepers in league history to play better than 7,000 minutes in his career.

Another Record for Finlay: Senior Ethan Finlay was named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week five times this season – a league record. Never in league history had a player earned more than three MVC Offensive Player of the Week nods. Finlay was helped by his four multi-goal matches this year.

Dynamic Duo: Senior co-captains Ethan Finlay and Brian Holt have written their names all over the MVC and Creighton records books. Here is a look at how some of their numbers intertwine.
• Finlay has scored at least one goal in 25 of Holt's 55 career wins.
• Finlay has scored the game-winning goal in 15 of Holt's 42 career shutouts.
• Finlay has scored every goal in a Holt shutout eight times and scored every goal in a Holt victory nine times.

Polak Honored: Sophomore Tyler Polak became the fourth different Bluejay to be named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week this year on Oct. 31, following his play in shutout wins over Drake and Central Arkansas. Polak and the CU defense held both DU and UCA to just two shots each in the dominating performances. The left back also scored his first goal of the year and added his fifth assist in Creighton's 3-0 win over UCA.

Duran Recognized: On Oct. 24, senior Andrew Duran was honored for his outstanding play during Creighton's 1-0 shutouts at Bradley (Oct. 19) and SIUE (Oct. 22). Duran was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week and honored on the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week for his play in the pair of shutouts.

That's a Winner: Four different Bluejays have at least three game-winning goals this year, led by Ethan Finlay's five. Bruno Castro, Jose Gomez and Andrew Ribeiro also have three game-winners. In fact, all three goals Ribeiro has scored this year have been game-winners.

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 22-3-7 (.797) 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 27-8-8 (.721) overall in matches away from Omaha since 2007, including 0-3-1 in postseason road matches and 5-2-0 at neutral sites.

Acoff Doubles Up: Junior midfielder 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 goal.

Rare Jordan: Redshirt 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 ranks third 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 is 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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

Follow Us!: Creighton men's soccer can now be found on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
www.twitter.com/CreightonMSOC
www.facebook.com/CreightonSoccer
www.youtube.com/CreightonMSOC

No. 2 Men's Soccer Hosts No. 15-seed UCSB Sunday in NCAA Third Round

Players Mentioned

Dion Acoff

Jake Brown

Bruno Castro

Kris Clark

Andrew Duran

Ethan Finlay

Jose Gomez

Brian Holt

Greg Jordan

Eric Miller

Tyler Polak

Jose Ribas

Andrew Ribeiro

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