Women's Soccer Looks to Remain Perfect in the Dakotas
9/10/2014 1:04:00 PM | Women's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - One of just 22 teams without a loss or tie in the NCAA, the Creighton women's soccer team puts their record to the test at North Dakota (Sept. 12) and South Dakota (Sept. 14).
Last Week:
9/1: W, 4-0 - vs. Western Illinois - Morrison Stadium
9/5: W, 6-0 - vs. New Mexico State - Morrison Stadium
9/7: W, 4-3 - vs. Drake - Morrison Stadium
This Week:
9/12: at North Dakota - Grand Forks, N.D. - 4:00 p.m
9/14: at South Dakota - Vermillion, S.D. - 1:00 p.m
Series with North Dakota:
Creighton and North Dakota have met three times previously with the Bluejays taking each contest. The last meeting between the two squads came last season as the Jays handed North Dakota a 6-0 defeat on Aug. 30. This will be the first time, however, that the two teams have faced off in Grand Forks, N.D.
Series with South Dakota:
The Coyotes and Bluejays have met seven times previously, with Creighton holding a 7-0-0 series edge. Last season the Jays downed South Dakota 4-0 on Sept. 13. The two teams have met three times in Vermillion, S.D., the last coming on Aug. 28, 2012 (a 3-1 win for Creighton).
Following the Bluejays While in Flight:
Despite playing on the road, you are still able to follow your favorite Bluejay women's soccer team. The contest at North Dakota is available on both video (weather pending) as well as live stats. As North Dakota also hosts their website on Neulion, subcribers to gocreighton can watch the game at no additional cost. The South Dakota Game will only offer live stats.
Creighton is on the brink of the best start in school history as the Bluejays are tied for that title with the 1993 team presently.
Last week the Bluejays breezed to victories over Western Illinois (4-0) and New Mexico State (6-0), before earning a tough win against Drake (4-3) on Sunday, Sept. 7.
In five matches, Creighton has gotten offensive contributions from 14 different players. That total includes 10 different Bluejays with at least one goal.
Junior Kirstyn Corder leads the way with nine points on four goals and an assist. Although last week it was junior Alyssa Jara and senior Addison Nokels stepping to the forefront as Jara put up five points (two goals and an assist) against New Mexico State, while Nokels had an assist and the game-winning goal versus Drake.
Defensively the Bluejays a three-match shutout streak ended when Drake scored in the ninth minute of play. Creighton had held opponents scoreless for 295:09 minutes before the Bulldogs tallied their goal.
Scouting North Dakota (1-3-0):
North Dakota opened the season with a 1-0 loss to intrastate rival North Dakota State, then earned a 3-0 win at Chicago State.
Since that win North Dakota has been shutout, falling 6-0 at Green Bay (Aug. 31) and 4-0 at Nebraska on Sept. 7.
Second year head coach Matt Kellogg is looking to improve on his team's 2-16-1 showing last season, but North Dakota has scored just three goals and taken just eight shots in the opening four matches.
Friday will be the home opener for North Dakota after opening 2014 with four consecutive road contests.
North Dakota was picked to finish 11th in the 11-team Big Sky Conference.
Scouting South Dakota (4-2-0):
The Coyotes 4-2-0 record is a little misleading as South Dakota's first two opponents were NCAA Division II, Northern State (a 3-0 win) and NAIA, College of Saint Mary (a 4-0 win).
The NCAA Division portion of South Dakota's schedule began with an 11-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Aug. 29.
Since the 3-0-0 start, the Coyotes have dropped games to Arkansas-Little Rock and Northern Arizona and defeated Grand Canyon University.
The Coyotes have a team high four goals and nine points from junior Taylor Nivala, while junior Mackenzie Viktor is in her third season in goal.
South Dakota was picked to finish ninth in the nine-team Summit League.
The game time for Creighton's contest at South Dakota has been pushed back from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 14.
Reaching For Legendary Heights:
The 2014 Bluejays have equaled the best start in school history with a 5-0-0 mark to kick off the season. The last time a Bluejay squad earned five victories in its first five contests came in 1993. That team, however, earned a 2-2 draw with Marquette in its sixth match and fell in Tulsa (2-1) in the seventh game of the season.
Crossing the Summit:
Having already beaten South Dakota State and Western Illinois, Creighton will face two more Summit League opponents this season, facing South Dakota on Sunday and Omaha on Sept. 21.
South Dakota State was picked to finish second in the Summit's preseason poll, while the Leathernecks were picked to finish fifth, Omaha was eighth and South Dakota was ninth.
Unbeaten Streak: One, Two, Three, Four, Five ...
With five straight victories it is safe to say the Bluejays are on a roll.
Creighton's last streak of five or more wins was in 2013, a seven-match streak from Aug. 30 – Sept. 20.
The longest win streak in school history is a 10-match winning streak from Sept. 9 – Oct. 16, 2010.
The Definition of Clutch:
Senior Addison Nokels put a stamp on the Bluejays' early season success with a game-winning goal over Drake in the 86th minute.
It was the second goal of Nokels' Creighton career and came just under three minutes after Drake had tied the game at 3-3 in the 84th minute.
Sullivan Among NCAA Leaders in GWG:
With two game-winning goals (GWG) this season, sophomore Lauren Sullivan is tied for 15th in the country in that category. BIG EAST mate Abby Redd of DePaul is one of three players leading the country with four.
Three and Out:
With the 4-3 victory over Drake on Sunday, head coach Bruce Erickson moved to 78-1 when scoring three or more goals, including 62 straight wins. The only loss came in 2002, a 4-3
decision at Pacific on Sept. 15.
