Bluejays Ready to Take California
9/5/2012 9:38:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Creighton men's soccer team looks to extended their dominance against California teams, the Jays are undefeated (13-0-3) in their last 16 matches against California squads. The Bluejays head to Northern California to face Santa Clara (Friday, Sept. 7 @ 9 p.m.) and Saint Mary's (Sunday, Sept. 9 @ 5 p.m.).
Scouting
the No. 3 Creighton Bluejays (2-0-1):
The Jays won the Ameritas Classic Championship last weekend with a
3-0 win over Rutgers on Sunday, Sept. 2 and a 1-1 draw with No. 7 Akron on
Friday, Aug. 31. Creighton claimed the
championship via the first tiebreaker, goal differential. The Bluejays finished
the tournament with a +3 goal differential, while Akron was +1.
Junior Sean Kim has been a surprising force for the Bluejays this season at the forward position. In three matches he leads Creighton with three goals and is second on the team with 10 shots.
Creighton's offensive attack has been widely dispersed in the opening three contests as six additional Jays have tallied at least one point for Creighton this season.
Defensively Creighton has been anchored by senior Andrew Ribeiro, who had played in the midfield for the majority of his career. Ribeiro's transition to defender has solidified a defense trying to repeat an epic 2011 season that saw the Jays allow just five goals.
Sophomore Alex Bolowich earned his first two starts of the season in goal during the Ameritas Classic. Bolowich shined, posting the Bluejays first shutout of the season against Rutgers and limiting Akron to one goal in 110 minutes of play. On the season, Bolowich has a 0.45 Goals Against Average (GAA) and a .875 save percentage.
Scouting
the Santa Clara Broncos (1-2-0):
The Broncos are off to a 1-2 start this season suffering one goal
losses to California (2-1 on Aug. 24) and North Carolina State (2-1 on Sept.
2). Santa Clara earned a 2-1 win over
Duke on Aug. 31.
Senior goalkeeper Larry Jackson has played in each of SCU's three matches, posting a 1.67 GAA.
Scouting the Saint Mary's Gaels (1-0-1):
The Gaels
will look to bounce back from a disappointing result last week. Saint Mary's entered their match with
Sacramento State on Sept. 2 ranked No. 18 in the National Soccer Coaches
Association of America (NSCAA) poll.
However a 0-0 draw with the Hornets dropped the Gaels to out of the
rankings, leaving them at 1-0-1 in 2012.
Saint Mary's hosts Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, Sept. 7 before the third-ranked Jays come to town.
