Men's Soccer Hosts Northern Illinois to Open 2012 Season
8/22/2012 7:58:00 PM | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - The No. 3 Creighton Bluejays open the 2012 Men's Soccer season against Northern Illinois on Friday, Aug. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Scouting the No. 3 Creighton Bluejays:
Replacing seven starters from last year's NCAA College Cup Semifinal team that posted a 21-2-1 overall record will provide quite the challenge for the 2012 Creighton men's soccer squad, but don't expect the perennial powerhouse to lower its expectations. Second-year head coach Elmar Bolowich brings in 15 new faces to combine with a talented core of returners who have the desire to make it back to the school's fifth NCAA College Cup.
The Jays had a successful exhibition season, tying No 9 Maryland 3-3 on Aug. 17 and defeating Nebraska Omaha 1-0 on Aug. 19. In the match with the Terrapins, Creighton fell behind 2-0 in the opening 15 minutes before rallying to pull even at 2-2.
Down 3-2 as the game entered the final 15 minutes, Creighton sophomore Jose Ribas made the most of a direct kick offered by a Maryland foul. Ribas scorched a ball past Maryland keeper, Cody Niedermeier with 12:43 remaining in the game to knot things at 3-3.
For the match, Creighton outshot Maryland 18-12 and finished with a 6-2 edge on corner kicks.
Scouting the Northern Illinois Huskies:
NIU finished last season with a 15-6-0 record and reached as high as No. 13 in the adidas/NSCAA national ranking.
The Huskies return eight starters from last season's MAC Tournament Championship team, including senior goalkeeper Jordan Godsey (Ocean Springs, Miss./Ocean Springs) and leading scorer, junior forward James Stevenson (Falkirk, Scotland/St. Mungo's). Godsey started all 21 matches for the Huskies in goal last season and recorded 12 shutouts with a 0.70 goals against average. Stevenson scored a team-high 15 points with a team-best six goals.
NIU went 1-2 in the exhibition season, dropping two contests to Notre Dame on Aug. 12, and defeating DePaul 1-0 on Aug. 18.
The Huskies and Bluejays met in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season on Nov. 20 in Morrison Stadium. Creighton took the contest 3-0, outshooting NIU 13-7.
99 and Counting:
Friday's contest vs. Northern Illinois will be Creighton's 99th match at Morrison Stadium, The Jays enter the night 73-13-12. Next Friday's showdown with fellow Mid-American Conference contender Akron will be the program's 100th contest at the facility.
Deja Vu:
This is the first time Creighton will play a season-opener against a team it faced in the previous year's NCAA Tournament since 1998, and just the second time ever. The Jays were eliminated by the Billikens in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, only to turn the tables on SLU in the 1998 opener.
For Jays, Scoring First=Win:
Creighton's method to victory was pretty simple last year. Score first. The Jays went 20-0-0 last year when scoring before the opposition, but were 1-2 when the
opponent scored first. Creighton's only comeback win last year was a 2-1
overtime win at Wisconsin.
Jays are Stingy Hosts:
Creighton outscored opponents 28-2 at Morrison Stadium last year. Creighton has not allowed a first half goal at Morrison Stadium in a game since Nov. 6, 2010, when Bradley had a pair of first half tallies. Since then, the Jays have played 693:33 of scoreless first half soccer at Morrison Stadium.
Scouting the No. 3 Creighton Bluejays:
Replacing seven starters from last year's NCAA College Cup Semifinal team that posted a 21-2-1 overall record will provide quite the challenge for the 2012 Creighton men's soccer squad, but don't expect the perennial powerhouse to lower its expectations. Second-year head coach Elmar Bolowich brings in 15 new faces to combine with a talented core of returners who have the desire to make it back to the school's fifth NCAA College Cup.
The Jays had a successful exhibition season, tying No 9 Maryland 3-3 on Aug. 17 and defeating Nebraska Omaha 1-0 on Aug. 19. In the match with the Terrapins, Creighton fell behind 2-0 in the opening 15 minutes before rallying to pull even at 2-2.
Down 3-2 as the game entered the final 15 minutes, Creighton sophomore Jose Ribas made the most of a direct kick offered by a Maryland foul. Ribas scorched a ball past Maryland keeper, Cody Niedermeier with 12:43 remaining in the game to knot things at 3-3.
For the match, Creighton outshot Maryland 18-12 and finished with a 6-2 edge on corner kicks.
Scouting the Northern Illinois Huskies:
NIU finished last season with a 15-6-0 record and reached as high as No. 13 in the adidas/NSCAA national ranking.
The Huskies return eight starters from last season's MAC Tournament Championship team, including senior goalkeeper Jordan Godsey (Ocean Springs, Miss./Ocean Springs) and leading scorer, junior forward James Stevenson (Falkirk, Scotland/St. Mungo's). Godsey started all 21 matches for the Huskies in goal last season and recorded 12 shutouts with a 0.70 goals against average. Stevenson scored a team-high 15 points with a team-best six goals.
NIU went 1-2 in the exhibition season, dropping two contests to Notre Dame on Aug. 12, and defeating DePaul 1-0 on Aug. 18.
The Huskies and Bluejays met in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season on Nov. 20 in Morrison Stadium. Creighton took the contest 3-0, outshooting NIU 13-7.
99 and Counting:
Friday's contest vs. Northern Illinois will be Creighton's 99th match at Morrison Stadium, The Jays enter the night 73-13-12. Next Friday's showdown with fellow Mid-American Conference contender Akron will be the program's 100th contest at the facility.
Deja Vu:
This is the first time Creighton will play a season-opener against a team it faced in the previous year's NCAA Tournament since 1998, and just the second time ever. The Jays were eliminated by the Billikens in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, only to turn the tables on SLU in the 1998 opener.
For Jays, Scoring First=Win:
Creighton's method to victory was pretty simple last year. Score first. The Jays went 20-0-0 last year when scoring before the opposition, but were 1-2 when the
opponent scored first. Creighton's only comeback win last year was a 2-1
overtime win at Wisconsin.
Jays are Stingy Hosts:
Creighton outscored opponents 28-2 at Morrison Stadium last year. Creighton has not allowed a first half goal at Morrison Stadium in a game since Nov. 6, 2010, when Bradley had a pair of first half tallies. Since then, the Jays have played 693:33 of scoreless first half soccer at Morrison Stadium.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's SoccerWednesday, November 05
Sunday, November 02
Wednesday, October 29
Saturday, October 25
