No. 10 Men's Soccer Plays Defending NCAA Champion Akron Saturday

Exhibition Match #1 • Saturday, Aug. 20 • 7:30 p.m. (CST)
#2 Akron Zips vs. #10 Creighton Bluejays
Fort Wayne, Ind.

Exhibition Match #2 • Monday, Aug. 22 • 6:00 p.m. (CST)
#10 Creighton Bluejays at #12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame, Ind.

Scouting #10 Creighton: The Bluejays returns 13 letterwinners and eight starters from last year's Missouri Valley Conference championship team, which finished 13-5-2 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament ... Of Creighton's eight returning starters, six earned all-MVC honors last year and have been named to the preseason all-MVC team this fall ... The 2011 roster features 17 newcomers, including 11 true freshmen ... The Bluejays have been ranked in the top-10 in every national preseason poll released this fall and are favored to win the MVC again ... The Jays return their top six scorers from a team which ranked 15th in the NCAA in scoring in 2010 ... Heading up the returning starters is 2010 MVC Player of the Year and MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist Ethan Finlay. The senior forward led the MVC and ranked in the NCAA top-10 with 15 goals and 34 points scored last year and is again on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List this season ... Joining Finlay as a preseason All-American and on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List is sophomore defender Tyler Polak, the 2010 MVC Freshman of the Year ... Juniors Dion Acoff, Jose Gomez and Greg Jordan, along with record-setting senior goalkeeper Brian Holt round out the six Bluejays on the 2011 MVC preseason team ... Acoff led the MVC and ranked 12th in the NCAA with 10 assists last year, while Gomez added nine assists to rank 19th in the nation ... Holt, now in his fourth season as CU's starting keeper, already owns the school record with 27 shutouts and his 0.79 goals against average ranks second in school and league history ... Other returning starters include senior Kris Clark who ranked third on the team in goals (4), assists (5) and points (13) last year and seniors Andrew Duran and Jace Peters, who both battled injuries last year, with Duran taking a medical redshirt after an early-season knee injury.

Following the Bluejays: Saturday's exhibition opener against 2010 NCAA Champion Akron as part of the ShinDigz National Soccer Festival will have no live stats or video provided. Follow Creighton men's soccer on Twitter - @CreightonMSOC - for in-game updates. Monday's match at 12th-ranked Notre Dame is scheduled to have both live stats and free live video provided.

Meet Coach Bolowich: Elmar Bolowich comes to Creighton following a 22-run 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 280-144-40 (.647) in his 22-year head coaching career, all of which has been spent at UNC. Bolowich, a native of Edenkoben, Germany, 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.

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.

Preseason Polls: Creighton is ranked 10th in the NSCAA (coaches) poll to start this season, after ending 2010 ranked 14th in the same poll. CollegeSoccerNews.com ranks the Bluejays sixth to start the season, while Goal.com has the Jays eighth in the preseason.

Finlay, Polak are National Player of the Year 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 CollegeSoccerNews.com.

Seventeen Newcomers, Yes 17: After listing only 21 players on the 2010 roster, Creighton's 2011 roster has 30 student-athletes listed, including 17 newcomers. Of the 17 newcomers, three joined the team in January – transfers and Omaha natives Jake Brown and Taylor Reeves, and true freshman Eric Miller, who graduated high school a semester early to join the Jays. Eleven of the 17 new guys are true freshmen, while six are transfers. In addition to Brown (Saint Louis) and Reeves (Indiana), the Jays also have Division I transfers from Oral Roberts (Daniel Premenko), North Carolina (Bruno Castro) and FIU (Alex Bolowich), along with junior college addition Aaron Rygiel (Georgia Perimeter). With two redshirt freshmen as newcomers and 12 true rookies, the Bluejays have 14 freshmen on the roster this season. Rookies Miller and goalkeeper Jeff Gal each trained with the United States Under-18 National Team this year.

Senior Leaders: Creighton has six seniors on the roster, including three fifth-year players. Goalkeepers Bryan Hoie and Brian Holt each redshirted their 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 join the Bluejays.

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. The opening round of the 2011 tournament will take place on Nov. 9, with the semifinals falling on Nov. 11 and the championship match taking place on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Exhibition Tests: Creighton will get a pair of early tests this year, as the Bluejays will play two challenging exhibition matches this week. The Jays play reigning NCAA Champion and No. 2-ranked Akron this Saturday in Fort Wayne, Ind., as part of the ShinDigz National Soccer Festival. The Jays then travel to No. 12 Notre Dame for an exhibition on Monday night.

Strong Schedule: Following its difficult exhibition schedule, the Bluejays will open the 2011 season on the road with games at Denver (Aug. 27) and UMKC (Aug. 31). Denver won its division of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation last year and is ranked 29th by College Soccer News in its preseason top-30. The Bluejays host 2010 NCAA participant and Big East foe Providence on Sept. 17 and preseason No. 24 and reigning Big West champion UC Irvine on Oct. 15. Creighton will play two more 2010 NCAA Tournament teams on the road, playing at preseason No. 4 Maryland (Sept. 30) and at preseason No. 17 Indiana (Oct. 9) as part of a difficult four-game swing which also features a trip to Wisconsin (Oct. 5) and the MVC opener at Missouri State (Oct. 12).

Finlay, Holt Have CLASS: Seniors Ethan Finlay and Brian Holt have been named two of 30 candidates 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. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

Looking Ahead for History: Creighton has won 299 matches since restarting the program in 1990, which means Creighton will be looking for win No. 300 since restarting the program when it plays at Denver on Aug. 27. Creighton's average record since 1990 is an impressive 14-4-2, as the Bluejays are 299-92-44 (.737) since bringing the program back.

Did You Know?: Ethan Finlay became the 10th Creighton men's soccer player to be named MVC Player of the Year last year. In the storied history of Bluejay men's soccer, no player has repeated as MVC Player of the Year, although Matt Allen was twice named MVC Defensive Player of the Year.

Morrison Stadium is Tops: 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 Venue 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

The MVC Seven: After welcoming Central Arkansas and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as men's soccer affiliates in 2010, the MVC said goodbye to Eastern Illinois as an affiliate following the 2010 season. EIU, which had been an MVC men's soccer affiliate since 1996, is now an affiliate member of the Summit League, knocking the MVC men's soccer membership to seven.

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

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No. 10 Men's Soccer Plays Defending NCAA Champion Akron Saturday

Players Mentioned

Dion Acoff

Alex Bolowich

Jake Brown

Bruno Castro

Kris Clark

Byron Dacy

Andrew Duran

Ethan Finlay

Jeff Gal

Jose Gomez

Bryan Hoie

Brian Holt

Greg Jordan

Eric Miller

Jace Peters

Tyler Polak

Chris Schuler

Seth Sinovic

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