No. 3 Men's Soccer Set to Host Providence in Defensive Battle Saturday
9/14/2011 5:34:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Match 6 vs. Providence • Saturday, Sept. 17 • 6:00 p.m.
Providence Friars at #3 Creighton Bluejays
Morrison Stadium • Omaha, Neb.
Series History: First Meeting
Live Stats • Live Video
Providence Friars at #3 Creighton Bluejays
Morrison Stadium • Omaha, Neb.
Series History: First Meeting
Live Stats • Live Video
Following the Jays: Live stats and live video are provided for all Creighton home matches. Fans can access the live video and live stats by following the links provided on Creighton's homepage at www.gocreighton.com.
This Week: Creighton hosts Providence on Saturday at 6 pm in the first ever meeting between the programs.
Last Week: Creighton continued its unblemished season with a pair of 1-0 victories last week. The Bluejays topped Fordham at home last Friday night, as Jose Gomez scored in the first half and Brian Holt made six saves to preserve the shutout. The Jays played in their first overtime match of the season at DePaul last Sunday and Bruno Castro scored the game-winning goal with only 95 seconds remaining in the second overtime period to keep the Bluejays perfect in 2011. Jake Brown was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week for his play in the shutout wins.
Scouting #3 Creighton (5-0-0): The third-ranked Bluejays, defending MVC champions and preseason MVC favorites, are off to their best start since 2000 when they played in the NCAA Title match ... Creighton returns eight starters, including six all-conference players from the 2010 team, while it lists 17 newcomers on the roster this season ... The Jays return their top six scorers from a team which ranked 15th in the NCAA in scoring in 2010, but are led by a newcomer in scoring through five matches ... Sophomore transfer Bruno Castro, an ACC All-Freshman Team honoree at North Carolina last year, leads the team with three goals and seven points ... 2010 MVC Player of the Year and MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist Ethan Finlay 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 ... Finlay leads the team with three assists and with two goals is tied with Castro for the team-lead with seven points ... 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 were each all-MVC honorees last year ... Gomez has scored two goals and assisted two more this season, while Acoff has one assist after missing CU's first two games with injury ... Holt is the MVC and school record-holder with 31 career shutouts and his 0.73 goals against average ranks second in CU and MVC history. He has made 18 saves and not allowed a goal in 450 minutes of play this season.
Scouting Providence (5-1-0): The Friars, ranked as high as No. 23 in one national poll, enter the weekend on a five-match winning streak and a four-match shutout streak ... Providence has not scored more than two goals in any match this season, outscoring opponents 8-3 this year ... PC advanced to the Big East Tournament title match last year and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 13-6-3 record ... Wilder Arboleda leads the team with three goals, while Keith Jecewiz is coming off of a two-goal match against Holy Cross on Wednesday ... Jhojan Obando has played every minute in net for Providence this year, logging 19 saves and only three goals allowed in 542 minutes for a 0.50 GAA.
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 285-144-40 (.650) 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.
Players of the Week: A Bluejay has been named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week in each of the first three weeks of the 2011, with junior center back Jake Brown earning the honor most recently. Brown earned his first two Bluejay starts and played every minute of CU's shutouts against Fordham (Sept. 9) and DePaul (Sept. 11). Brian Holt was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week in each of the first two weeks of the season and has now earned that honor five times in his career. Holt 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 also posted a solo shutout of Drexel after splitting time in goal of CU's 5-0 win at UMKC. Ethan Finlay was tabbed the MVC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 6) after his two-goal, two-assist week. The All-American scored twice and assisted another goal at UMKC, before assisting a score against Drexel.
Hot Start: Creighton has logged five straight shutouts to start a season for the first time in program history, while they are off to their first 5-0-0 start since the 2000 team opened the year with six straight wins en route to their NCAA leading 22 wins and an appearance in the NCAA Championship match.
Goose Eggs: Creighton is one shutout shy of tying the school record of six straight clean sheets set by the 2008 team. In 2008, the Bluejays posted six straight shutouts from Sept. 19 through Oct. 8.
Holt Halt: Two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week Brian Holt has run his scoreless streak this season to 449:32 to start the season. Adding that streak to the final 20:15 of the 2010 season, Holt has not allowed a goal in his last 469:47 minutes played – the fifth-longest scoreless streak in school history. He set the school-record with better than 722 straight scoreless minutes during his freshman season in 2008.
Consecutive CU Shutout Minutes Streak
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
Brian Holt - 469:47, Nov. 21, 2010 – present
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. He is now tied for third in school history with Mike Gabb at 41 wins. Only Jay Fitzgerald (53) and Matt Allen (43) have won more games in goal for the Jays than Holt.
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
Home Sweet Morrison: With its 2-0-0 start at home this season, Creighton is now 61-13-12 (.779) all-time at Morrison Stadium (since 2003). Since 1990, the Bluejays are 163-29-16 (.822) at home.
Protecting this House: Since moving into Morrison Stadium in 2003, Creighton has not only won 77.9 percent of its games, but its has also recorded a shutout in 48.8 percent of its matches, posting 42 shutouts in 86 contests. The Bluejays have outscored opponents 164-60 at the venue and posted an impressive 0.67 home goals against average at Morrison Stadium.
CU's Defense at Morrison Stadium
Year GAA GA Sho W-L-T
2011 0.00 0 2 2-0-0
2010 0.88 9 5 7-2-1
2009 0.49 4 4 5-2-1
2008 0.53 6 6 10-1-0
2007 0.85 12 5 6-3-4
2006 0.62 6 5 6-1-2
2005 0.68 7 6 8-1-1
2004 0.90 11 2 10-1-1
2003 0.44 5 7 7-2-2
Totals 0.67 60 42 61-13-12
Poll Position: Creighton is ranked third in the latest NSCAA poll, up from fifth last week. The Bluejays remain No. 1 in the NSCAA Midwest Region ranking for the third straight week. Soccer America also ranks the Bluejays third, Soccer Times has CU at fourth and College Soccer News keeps the Jays fifth. Goal.com's J.R. Eskilson ranks the Bluejays first in his weekly rankings this week.
Statistical Rankings: Creighton leads the NCAA in goals against average, shutout percentage, save percentage and winning percentage this week, with goalkeeper Brian Holt leading the NCAA with his perfect 1.000 save percentage and 0.00 GAA. The Bluejays (5-0-0) and Xavier (3-0-0) are the only two teams left in Division I soccer to not have allowed a goal this season. The Jays are one of nine remaining unbeaten and untied teams in the nation.
Goal is Gol en Español: More than half of Creighton's first 11 goals scored this year have been scored by international players, including four between Costa Ricans Bruno Castro and Guido Peña. Castro, a sophomore transfer from North Carolina, leads the Bluejays with three goals, while Peña scored CU's first goal of the season at Denver – both are from San Jose, Costa Rica. Jose Gomez, who was born in Mexico City and attended high school in Santa Ana, Calif., has scored twice and assisted two goals this fall.
Five for Five: Creighton has spread its goals out this season, with seven players scoring goals through three matches. In each of CU's five wins, the Jays have had a different player record the game-winning goal. Bruno Castro, Ethan Finlay, Jose Gomez, Andrew Ribeiro and Guido Peña have each scored a game-winner this year.
Tyler Time: Sophomore Tyler Polak is picking up right where he left off last season by playing every minute through Creighton's first five matches. The preseason All-American played every minute of CU's first 15 matches in his rookie season and finished by playing the most minutes of any Bluejay field player last year (1,828). Polak is the only player on the team to not leave a match this season.
Duran Factor: Since the start of the 2010 season the Bluejays have outscored the opposition 20-0 when fifth-year senior Andrew Duran is on the pitch. The senior suffered a season-ending injury in the fifth match of last season, with the Jays having outscored foes 10-0 with him playing. This year he has been on the field for 10 of CU's first 11 goals.
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.
Home-Opening Attendance: Bluejay fans typically make the home-opener a highly-attended contest. After bringing in just the fourth crowd of better than 5,000 fans in school history to this year's opener, the average attendance at a Creighton home-opener since moving to Morrison Stadium in 2003 is 3,393.
Home-Openers at Morrison Stadium
Year Opponent Attendance
2011 Drexel - W, 3-0 5,425
2010 UNC Greensboro - W, 4-0 2,524
2009 Loyola (Ill.) - T, 0-0 2,758
2008 Gonzaga - W, 4-1 4,071
2007 San Diego State - T, 2-2 3,716
2006 Georgetown - W, 3-2 (ot) 3,746
2005 Loyola (Ill.) - W, 4-2 2,728
2004 Western Michigan - W, 4-0 2,089
2003 Butler - T, 0-0 3,483
Finlay's Climb: All-American Ethan Finlay continued his climb up the Creighton scoring charts in CU's 5-0 win at UMKC (Aug. 31). With two goals at UMKC, the senior now has 31 career goals, becoming the sixth player in school history to reach 30 career goals. He is alone in sixth in goals and with his two-goal game at UMKC is now tied for fourth in CU history with six career multiple goal matches. After CU's home opener, Finlay now owns the Morrison Stadium career records for goals (16), points (41), shots (83) and shots on goal (35).
Push the Clutch: Ethan Finlay notched his 15th career game-winning goal at UMKC (Aug. 31). The senior has led the MVC in game-winning goals in each of this first three collegiate campaigns, as 15 of his 31 career goals have been game-winners.
First Things First: Sophomore Liam Kelly scored his first collegiate goal at UMKC on Aug. 31. Sophomore transfer Bruno Castro later added his first goal as a Bluejay in the same match. In Creighton's win over Drexel (Sept. 4), Andrew Ribeiro's first goal of the season proved to be his first career game-winner. Freshman Guido Peña scored CU's first goal of the season, his first career score in the Jays' 1-0 win at Denver (Aug. 27) to open the season.
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).
300 Club: With a 1-0 win at Denver in its season-opener, Creighton captured its 300th victory since restarting the program in 1990. The Bluejays are now 302-92-44 since bringing the program back from a four-year hiatus.
Keeping Clean Sheets: With his 1-0 shutout at Denver (Aug. 27), Brian Holt became the Missouri Valley Conference record-holder with 28 career shutouts. He already owned the school record entering the season, but moved past Bradley's Chris Dunsheath (27.5) with his blanking.
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 Creighton debuts, it had not happened since Brian Kallman (older brother of current junior Brent Kallman) scored in his first match 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.
Seventeen Newcomers: 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 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.
Strong Schedule: Denver won its division of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays host 2010 NCAA participant and Big East foe Providence on Sept. 17 and reigning Big West champion UC Irvine on Oct. 15. Creighton will play two more 2010 NCAA Tournament teams on the road, playing at Maryland (Sept. 30) and 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.
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 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
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 ranked Ethan Finlay as the top senior pro prospect in all of college soccer to begin the season. Andrew Duran (35) and Brian Holt (79) were ranked on that same top-100 senior prospects list. Sophomore Tyler Polak was ranked 11th 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), Greg Jordan (74) and Duran (97) also ranking in the top-100 players in the NCAA according to TDS.
Free Play With the Jays: New this year for every men's soccer home match, fans are invited to arrive early to Morrison Stadium and take advantage of “Free Play With the Jays.” The pregame event will take place on the open field in front of the main entrance of the stadium and will feature selected men's soccer players at each match assisting in a few drills and goals set up for youth to play soccer games. The event will start 90 minutes before kickoff and last until 15 minutes before the start of each home match.
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
www.facebook.com/CreightonSoccer
www.youtube.com/CreightonMSOC
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