Sunday, November 22
1:00 pm
Creighton University
vs
Drake
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Men's Soccer Hosts Former-MVC Rival Drake In NCAA Second Round Action
11/21/2015 4:56:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Twelfth-seeded Bluejays square off with Drake on Sunday at 1pm
NCAA Second Round • Sunday, Nov. 22 • Drake at #12 Creighton • Omaha, Neb. • 1:00 p.m. CST
Getting Up To Speed
In a rematch of an Oct. 14 contest in which the Bluejays came from behind to win, 2-1, twelfth-seeded Creighton (17-3-0) will host Missouri Valley Conference tournament champion Drake (13-4-3) in an NCAA Second Round match on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 1:00 p.m., in Omaha.
The Bluejays received an at-large bid and first-round bye in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship after posting a 17-3 record throughout the regular season and BIG EAST tournament. Creighton, which spent eight consecutive weeks atop the NSCAA Top 25 rankings this season (Sept. 8-Oct. 27), will be seeking to clinch the program's sixth NCAA Third Round appearance in the last nine years. Head Coach Elmar Bolowich, in his fifth season in Omaha, tallied a 7-2-3 record in NCAA postseason play in his first four seasons at Creighton, including three quarterfinal appearances ('11, '12, '14), and back-to-back College Cup appearances in 2011 and 2012.
Meanwhile, Drake punched its ticket to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship by winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champion, knocking off top-seeded SIU-Edwardsville, 1-0, on the road last Sunday (Nov. 15). Appearing in the program's third national tournament ('08, '09, '15), the Bulldogs defeated 17th-ranked Kentucky, 2-1, in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday (Nov. 19) in NCAA First Round action.
Sunday's second-round match will kick off at 1:00 p.m. CST and will take place at Morrison Stadium in Omaha where the Bluejays are 54-7-3 all-time under Elmar Bolowich.
Follow The Match
Sunday's match will be broadcast on Fox Sports GO via FOXSportsGO.com and its accompanying mobile application. The BIG EAST is the first and only collegiate conference to be hosted on FOX's mobile platform, FOX Sports GO.
FOX Sports Go is currently available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and phones, select Windows devices, and on desktops. Fans can download the mobile app for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store, and Windows Store.
Live stats for the match can be accessed via Creighton.StatBroadcast.com and CBSi Gametracker.
Scoring updates, infographics, and periodic video highlights will be provided via Twitter at @CreightonMSOC.
Scouting Creighton
The ninth-ranked and 12th-seeded Bluejays are 17-3-0 on the season after wins versus Michigan (1-0), Milwaukee (4-0), CSUN (2-1), No. 13 UC Irvine (4-0), Michigan State (1-0), Tulsa (1-0), Northern Illinois (2-0), Seton Hall (4-2), Missouri State (4-0), DePaul (1-0), Drake (2-1), St. John's (2-1), Butler (1-0), Marquette (3-1), Villanova (5-1), Providence (3-1, 2-1), and losses to Xavier (2-1) and No. 6 Georgetown (2-1, 2-1).
The Bluejays return eight starters and 13 lettermen from last year's team that won the BIG EAST Conference regular-season title, advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, and ranked No. 7 in the year-end NSCAA poll.
Creighton returns 30 of its 32 goals from last year, including each of its top six scorers. The Bluejays also return 24-of-30 assists from a year ago, and all but five minutes of the nearly 2,044 minutes in goal from last season.
Junior forward Fabian Herbers (15g, 12a this year) has emerged as a frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors, as he's contributed at least one point in 18 of Creighton's 20 games, including a point in the Bluejays' first 10 matches. With 42 total points, Herbers is the leading point scorer in NCAA Division I and the only player to rank in the top 10 in both goals (15) and assists (12). This season, Herbers was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year for a second-consecutive year. Last season, he led the conference with 28 points, was second in the league with four game-winning goals, and third in both goals (10) and assists (8) en route to earning First-Team All-America accolades. Herbers was also a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American last year. He ranks fourth among active NCAA D-I players for career points per game (1.36). He ranks sixth among active players with 80 career points.
Senior Timo Pitter (8g, 3a this year) paced the league in assists (9), shots (75) and shots on goal (36) during a 2014 campaign that saw him add Second Team All-America plaudits. Joining teammates Fabian Herbers and Vincent Keller on the All-BIG EAST First Team this season, Pitter was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year for a second-consecutive year. He ranks fifth among active NCAA D-I players with 82 career points.
Senior goalkeeper Connor Sparrow (0.75 GAA this year) returns in net after ranking second nationally in goals against average (0.49) and 10th in save percentage (.841) a year ago. Sparrow's career 0.58 goals against average as a Bluejay is the best in Creighton history among goalies with at least 2,000 minutes in net. This season, Sparrow was named BIG EAST Co-Goalkeeper of the Year alongside Xavier's Dallas Jaye. After making four saves in Creighton's narrow, 2-1 loss to No. 3 Georgetown in the BIG EAST tournament final, Sparrow was named to the All-Tournament team alongside teammates Timo Pitter and Ricardo Perez.
Five players have scored at least nine points for the Bluejays this season: Fabian Herbers (42), Timo Pitter (19), Ricardo Perez (10), Myles Englis (9), and Fernando Castellanos (9).
Creighton is 12-1-0 at home this season.
Scouting Drake
Drake will enter Sunday's match in the midst of a six-match unbeaten streak, having not suffered a setback since Oct. 31. Drake has won four consecutive matches.
Junior midfielder James Wypych (7G, 1A) leads the Bulldogs in points (15) and goals (7). Nic Jaimes (4G, 2) and Gabe Edel (3G, 4A) join Wypych as double-digit point scorers for Drake.
Wypych and Jaimes were named to the All-MVC First Team and All-Freshman Team, respectively.
Joining Wypych on the All-First Team were teammates Alec Bartlett and Mueng Sunday. This season marked the third-consecutive year Bartlett has earned All-MVC First Team honors.
Drake is 8-3-1 in road or neutral-site matches this season, and 5-3-1 in true road contests.
Series History
Creighton is 26-3-8 all-time against Drake, including a 15-1-2 mark in Omaha. The Bluejays came from behind to defeat Drake, 2-1, on Oct. 14 in Omaha. Click here for a recap of the teams' regular-season match-up.
Rivals during the Bluejays' time in the MVC, Creighton and Drake have squared off each year since 1990.
Elmar Bolowich is 5-0-1 against Drake as headman of the Bluejays.
Home Cooking
Creighton owns a 113-20-15 (.814) record all-time record at Morrison Stadium. The Bluejays' Oct. 28 loss to Xavier snapped a 15-game unbeaten streak (14-0-1) inside Morrison Stadium dating back to Nov. 14, 2014.
The Bluejays are 113-8-8 all-time at Morrison Stadium when scoring at least one goal, including victories in 24 of 25 such matches. At all sites, Creighton is 30-1-2 since the start of the 2014 season when scoring at least one goal.
With Creighton's victory over DePaul on Oct. 3, Elmar Bolowich earned his 50th win inside Morrison Stadium, joining Bob Warming as the only coaches to eclipse 50 home wins at Creighton. Bolowich is currently 54-7-3 (.867) at home as headman of the Bluejays.
Shades of Blue
Two key players for Drake, Alec Bartlett (R-Sr.) and Alex Prusa (R-So.) began their collegiate careers at Creighton.
Barlett, who has started in 77 of Drake's 80 games since 2012, has been named to the All-MVC First Team each of the past three seasons.
Prusa, an Omaha native, played in eight matches for the Bluejays in 2014 before transferring to Drake.
All-BIG EAST Honors
Five Creighton players earned All-BIG EAST honors: Fabian Herbers, Vincent Keller, Timo Pitter, Joel Rydstrand, and Connor Sparrow.
Herbers, Keller, and Pitter were each selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team.
For the second-consecutive year, Pitter was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year.
Sparrow, who shared BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year honors with Xavier's Dallas Jaye, was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Rydstrand was a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team.
Balanced Bluejays
Creighton's offense attack, which is averaging 2.25 goals per contest, ranks sixth in the nation for scoring offense.
Complementing its stellar offense, Creighton's defense has been one steady this season. The Bluejays' goals against average of 0.74 is 17th-best in the nation, while Creighton's shutout percentage of 0.45 ranks 21st nationally.
Herbers For Hermann
Junior forward Fabian Herbers finished the regular season as the nation's leading point scoring (14G, 12A, 40PTS). In postseason play, he has added one goal, improving his season total to 15 to go along with 12 assists (42PTS). Herbers scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in Creighton's semifinal win versus Providence. He leads Creighton with five game-winning goals this season.
With his game-winning penalty kick against Providence, Herbers became the first Creighton player to convert four penalty kicks in a single season since Mike Tranchilla did so in 2002.
Herbers is the only player in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer to rank in the national top 10 for both goals (15) and assists (12).
This season marked Herbers' second-consecutive season in which he earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and All-BIG EAST First Team honors. He was unanimously chosen as Offensive Player of the Year.
Herbers recorded at least one point (a goal or an assist) in each of Creighton's first ten regular-season games this fall. He was the first Bluejay to start a season in such fashion since restarting the program in 1990. MLS standout and Creighton alumnus, Ethan Finlay, had a run of nine straight such games from Sept. 17-Oct. 23, 2010.
The junior forward has notched a point in 18 of Creighton's 20 contests.
Herbers Dominates BIG EAST Stats
The BIG EAST Conference tracks nine different offensive categories, and as of the league's most recent report (11/15), unanimous BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Fabian Herbers ranked first or second in all nine (shots, shots per game, goals, goals per game, assists, assists per game, points, points per game, and game-winning goals).
Starting Strong
Creighton's 15-0-0 start to the season marked the program's best start to a season since 1993 when the Bluejays began 19-0-0.
Creighton was the nation's last remaining unbeaten and untied team in Division I (men's or women's) remaining in 2015 prior to the Bluejays' narrow, 2-1 loss to Xavier on Oct. 28.
The Bluejays' 15-0-0 start to a season marked the best start in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer since 2009 when Akron began its campaign with 23 consecutive wins en route to a College Cup appearance.
Pitter Continues To Shine
With his goal versus Georgetown in the BIG EAST final, Timo Pitter moved past Ray Nikoden (1980-82) into eighth-place among Creighton's all-time point scorers (82). He ranks seventh on Creighton's all-time list for career goals (31), and fifth among active NCAA D-I players for career points (82).
Postseason Success
Since arriving at Creighton in 2011, Head Coach Elmar Bolowich 7-2-3 in NCAA postseason play, including consecutive trips to the NCAA College Cup in 2011 and 2012. Creighton has advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals three times under Bolowich ('11, '12, '14).
Ethan Finlay, All-Star
Former Creighton All-American Ethan Finlay is having a splendid summer.
Finlay ended the regular season ranked fifth in the MLS with 13 assists to go with 12 goals in 34 starts with the Columbus Crew this year.
In the Crew's playoff match-up versus the Montreal Impact, Finlay scored a game-tying goal in the 77th minute to force overtime. The Crew went on to win the match in the 111th minute and advance to the Eastern Conference Championship against the New York Red Bulls which will be played on Nov. 22 following the World Cup Qualifiers.
Earlier this summer, Finlay played in the MLS All-Star Game.
Finlay played at Creighton from 2008-11, leading the Bluejays to a pair of College Cups before being 10th overall in the 2012 MLS Super Draft.
Getting Up To Speed
In a rematch of an Oct. 14 contest in which the Bluejays came from behind to win, 2-1, twelfth-seeded Creighton (17-3-0) will host Missouri Valley Conference tournament champion Drake (13-4-3) in an NCAA Second Round match on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 1:00 p.m., in Omaha.
The Bluejays received an at-large bid and first-round bye in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship after posting a 17-3 record throughout the regular season and BIG EAST tournament. Creighton, which spent eight consecutive weeks atop the NSCAA Top 25 rankings this season (Sept. 8-Oct. 27), will be seeking to clinch the program's sixth NCAA Third Round appearance in the last nine years. Head Coach Elmar Bolowich, in his fifth season in Omaha, tallied a 7-2-3 record in NCAA postseason play in his first four seasons at Creighton, including three quarterfinal appearances ('11, '12, '14), and back-to-back College Cup appearances in 2011 and 2012.
Meanwhile, Drake punched its ticket to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship by winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champion, knocking off top-seeded SIU-Edwardsville, 1-0, on the road last Sunday (Nov. 15). Appearing in the program's third national tournament ('08, '09, '15), the Bulldogs defeated 17th-ranked Kentucky, 2-1, in Lexington, Ky., on Thursday (Nov. 19) in NCAA First Round action.
Sunday's second-round match will kick off at 1:00 p.m. CST and will take place at Morrison Stadium in Omaha where the Bluejays are 54-7-3 all-time under Elmar Bolowich.
Follow The Match
Sunday's match will be broadcast on Fox Sports GO via FOXSportsGO.com and its accompanying mobile application. The BIG EAST is the first and only collegiate conference to be hosted on FOX's mobile platform, FOX Sports GO.
FOX Sports Go is currently available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and phones, select Windows devices, and on desktops. Fans can download the mobile app for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store, and Windows Store.
Live stats for the match can be accessed via Creighton.StatBroadcast.com and CBSi Gametracker.
Scoring updates, infographics, and periodic video highlights will be provided via Twitter at @CreightonMSOC.
Scouting Creighton
The ninth-ranked and 12th-seeded Bluejays are 17-3-0 on the season after wins versus Michigan (1-0), Milwaukee (4-0), CSUN (2-1), No. 13 UC Irvine (4-0), Michigan State (1-0), Tulsa (1-0), Northern Illinois (2-0), Seton Hall (4-2), Missouri State (4-0), DePaul (1-0), Drake (2-1), St. John's (2-1), Butler (1-0), Marquette (3-1), Villanova (5-1), Providence (3-1, 2-1), and losses to Xavier (2-1) and No. 6 Georgetown (2-1, 2-1).
The Bluejays return eight starters and 13 lettermen from last year's team that won the BIG EAST Conference regular-season title, advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, and ranked No. 7 in the year-end NSCAA poll.
Creighton returns 30 of its 32 goals from last year, including each of its top six scorers. The Bluejays also return 24-of-30 assists from a year ago, and all but five minutes of the nearly 2,044 minutes in goal from last season.
Junior forward Fabian Herbers (15g, 12a this year) has emerged as a frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors, as he's contributed at least one point in 18 of Creighton's 20 games, including a point in the Bluejays' first 10 matches. With 42 total points, Herbers is the leading point scorer in NCAA Division I and the only player to rank in the top 10 in both goals (15) and assists (12). This season, Herbers was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year for a second-consecutive year. Last season, he led the conference with 28 points, was second in the league with four game-winning goals, and third in both goals (10) and assists (8) en route to earning First-Team All-America accolades. Herbers was also a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American last year. He ranks fourth among active NCAA D-I players for career points per game (1.36). He ranks sixth among active players with 80 career points.
Senior Timo Pitter (8g, 3a this year) paced the league in assists (9), shots (75) and shots on goal (36) during a 2014 campaign that saw him add Second Team All-America plaudits. Joining teammates Fabian Herbers and Vincent Keller on the All-BIG EAST First Team this season, Pitter was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year for a second-consecutive year. He ranks fifth among active NCAA D-I players with 82 career points.
Senior goalkeeper Connor Sparrow (0.75 GAA this year) returns in net after ranking second nationally in goals against average (0.49) and 10th in save percentage (.841) a year ago. Sparrow's career 0.58 goals against average as a Bluejay is the best in Creighton history among goalies with at least 2,000 minutes in net. This season, Sparrow was named BIG EAST Co-Goalkeeper of the Year alongside Xavier's Dallas Jaye. After making four saves in Creighton's narrow, 2-1 loss to No. 3 Georgetown in the BIG EAST tournament final, Sparrow was named to the All-Tournament team alongside teammates Timo Pitter and Ricardo Perez.
Five players have scored at least nine points for the Bluejays this season: Fabian Herbers (42), Timo Pitter (19), Ricardo Perez (10), Myles Englis (9), and Fernando Castellanos (9).
Creighton is 12-1-0 at home this season.
Scouting Drake
Drake will enter Sunday's match in the midst of a six-match unbeaten streak, having not suffered a setback since Oct. 31. Drake has won four consecutive matches.
Junior midfielder James Wypych (7G, 1A) leads the Bulldogs in points (15) and goals (7). Nic Jaimes (4G, 2) and Gabe Edel (3G, 4A) join Wypych as double-digit point scorers for Drake.
Wypych and Jaimes were named to the All-MVC First Team and All-Freshman Team, respectively.
Joining Wypych on the All-First Team were teammates Alec Bartlett and Mueng Sunday. This season marked the third-consecutive year Bartlett has earned All-MVC First Team honors.
Drake is 8-3-1 in road or neutral-site matches this season, and 5-3-1 in true road contests.
Series History
Creighton is 26-3-8 all-time against Drake, including a 15-1-2 mark in Omaha. The Bluejays came from behind to defeat Drake, 2-1, on Oct. 14 in Omaha. Click here for a recap of the teams' regular-season match-up.
Rivals during the Bluejays' time in the MVC, Creighton and Drake have squared off each year since 1990.
Elmar Bolowich is 5-0-1 against Drake as headman of the Bluejays.
Home Cooking
Creighton owns a 113-20-15 (.814) record all-time record at Morrison Stadium. The Bluejays' Oct. 28 loss to Xavier snapped a 15-game unbeaten streak (14-0-1) inside Morrison Stadium dating back to Nov. 14, 2014.
The Bluejays are 113-8-8 all-time at Morrison Stadium when scoring at least one goal, including victories in 24 of 25 such matches. At all sites, Creighton is 30-1-2 since the start of the 2014 season when scoring at least one goal.
With Creighton's victory over DePaul on Oct. 3, Elmar Bolowich earned his 50th win inside Morrison Stadium, joining Bob Warming as the only coaches to eclipse 50 home wins at Creighton. Bolowich is currently 54-7-3 (.867) at home as headman of the Bluejays.
Shades of Blue
Two key players for Drake, Alec Bartlett (R-Sr.) and Alex Prusa (R-So.) began their collegiate careers at Creighton.
Barlett, who has started in 77 of Drake's 80 games since 2012, has been named to the All-MVC First Team each of the past three seasons.
Prusa, an Omaha native, played in eight matches for the Bluejays in 2014 before transferring to Drake.
All-BIG EAST Honors
Five Creighton players earned All-BIG EAST honors: Fabian Herbers, Vincent Keller, Timo Pitter, Joel Rydstrand, and Connor Sparrow.
Herbers, Keller, and Pitter were each selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team.
For the second-consecutive year, Pitter was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year.
Sparrow, who shared BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year honors with Xavier's Dallas Jaye, was named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
Rydstrand was a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team.
Balanced Bluejays
Creighton's offense attack, which is averaging 2.25 goals per contest, ranks sixth in the nation for scoring offense.
Complementing its stellar offense, Creighton's defense has been one steady this season. The Bluejays' goals against average of 0.74 is 17th-best in the nation, while Creighton's shutout percentage of 0.45 ranks 21st nationally.
Herbers For Hermann
Junior forward Fabian Herbers finished the regular season as the nation's leading point scoring (14G, 12A, 40PTS). In postseason play, he has added one goal, improving his season total to 15 to go along with 12 assists (42PTS). Herbers scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in Creighton's semifinal win versus Providence. He leads Creighton with five game-winning goals this season.
With his game-winning penalty kick against Providence, Herbers became the first Creighton player to convert four penalty kicks in a single season since Mike Tranchilla did so in 2002.
Herbers is the only player in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer to rank in the national top 10 for both goals (15) and assists (12).
This season marked Herbers' second-consecutive season in which he earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and All-BIG EAST First Team honors. He was unanimously chosen as Offensive Player of the Year.
Herbers recorded at least one point (a goal or an assist) in each of Creighton's first ten regular-season games this fall. He was the first Bluejay to start a season in such fashion since restarting the program in 1990. MLS standout and Creighton alumnus, Ethan Finlay, had a run of nine straight such games from Sept. 17-Oct. 23, 2010.
The junior forward has notched a point in 18 of Creighton's 20 contests.
Herbers Dominates BIG EAST Stats
The BIG EAST Conference tracks nine different offensive categories, and as of the league's most recent report (11/15), unanimous BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Fabian Herbers ranked first or second in all nine (shots, shots per game, goals, goals per game, assists, assists per game, points, points per game, and game-winning goals).
Starting Strong
Creighton's 15-0-0 start to the season marked the program's best start to a season since 1993 when the Bluejays began 19-0-0.
Creighton was the nation's last remaining unbeaten and untied team in Division I (men's or women's) remaining in 2015 prior to the Bluejays' narrow, 2-1 loss to Xavier on Oct. 28.
The Bluejays' 15-0-0 start to a season marked the best start in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer since 2009 when Akron began its campaign with 23 consecutive wins en route to a College Cup appearance.
Pitter Continues To Shine
With his goal versus Georgetown in the BIG EAST final, Timo Pitter moved past Ray Nikoden (1980-82) into eighth-place among Creighton's all-time point scorers (82). He ranks seventh on Creighton's all-time list for career goals (31), and fifth among active NCAA D-I players for career points (82).
Postseason Success
Since arriving at Creighton in 2011, Head Coach Elmar Bolowich 7-2-3 in NCAA postseason play, including consecutive trips to the NCAA College Cup in 2011 and 2012. Creighton has advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals three times under Bolowich ('11, '12, '14).
Ethan Finlay, All-Star
Former Creighton All-American Ethan Finlay is having a splendid summer.
Finlay ended the regular season ranked fifth in the MLS with 13 assists to go with 12 goals in 34 starts with the Columbus Crew this year.
In the Crew's playoff match-up versus the Montreal Impact, Finlay scored a game-tying goal in the 77th minute to force overtime. The Crew went on to win the match in the 111th minute and advance to the Eastern Conference Championship against the New York Red Bulls which will be played on Nov. 22 following the World Cup Qualifiers.
Earlier this summer, Finlay played in the MLS All-Star Game.
Finlay played at Creighton from 2008-11, leading the Bluejays to a pair of College Cups before being 10th overall in the 2012 MLS Super Draft.
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