#1 Men's Soccer Hosts Missouri State on Tuesday
9/28/2015 1:59:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Game 9 • Tuesday, Sept. 29 • Missouri State at #1 Creighton • Omaha, Neb. (Morrison Stadium) • 7 pm
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Top-ranked Creighton Men's Soccer (8-0-0, 1-0-0 BIG EAST) steps out of BIG EAST action on Tuesday when it hosts former Missouri Valley rival Missouri State (3-2-2, 1-0-0 MVC).
The game will kick off at 7 pm and take place at Michael G. Morrison, S.J., Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
Follow The Match
Tuesday's game will have a free high-definition video webcast via Jays Video. To access the feed, click on the TV screen icon on the top right corner of GoCreighton.com.
Live stats of the match will be available at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
La Nueva (1020 AM) will broadcast Tuesday's soccer match vs. Missouri State in Spanish. Jose Munoz and Juan Munoz will be on the call.
Scouting Creighton
Top-ranked Creighton is 8-0-0 on the season after wins over 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) and Seton Hall (4-2). 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 finished last season 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 (7g, 6a this year) has emerged into a frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors, as he's contributed at least one point in all eight wins to date. He currently leads the nation's top-ranked team in goals, assists and points after earning First Team All-America accolades and BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors during a magnificent 2014 season. 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). Herbers was also a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American last year.
Senior Timo Pitter (4g 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. Pitter was also named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year in 2014.
Senior goalkeeper Connor Sparrow (0.38 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 0.45 goals against average as a Bluejay is the best in Creighton history among goalies with at least 2,000 minutes in net.
Scouting Missouri State
Missouri State is 3-2-2 this fall through seven games and enters Tuesday after Saturday's emotional 1-0 victory over SIU Edwardsville on a header in the final seconds of overtime.
Jake Buckle has two of MSU's four goals this season, with Jack Griffin and James Routledge owning the other tallies. Liam Priestley has surrendered just four goals all season and owns a 0.52 goals against average, including four shutouts.
The defending MVC regular-season champion Bears bring back five starters and 10 lettermen from a team that went 9-5-4 a year ago.
Series History vs. Missouri State
Creighton is 21-8-4 all-time against Missouri State, including a 12-3-0 mark in Omaha.
Each of the last nine meetings have seen at least one team get shut out, and the last three encounters have all been 1-0 affairs.
Elmar Bolowich is 2-1-0 against the Bears since coming to Creighton.
Getting Defensive
The last nine meetings between Missouri State and Creighton have contained a total of eight total goals, as there's been one 2-0 score, six 1-0 finals and two scoreless ties.
Creighton is 107-7-8 all-time at Morrison Stadium when scoring at least one goal, including 18 straight victories.
At all sites, Creighton is 23-0-2 since the start of the 2014 season when scoring at least one goal.
Nationally, Creighton and Missouri State tied for the national lead last season (along with Monmouth and Cornell) by allowing just 11 goals.
Creighton has played eight games this season and allowed just three goals. Nationally, only two teams (St. Francis [N.Y.] and Coastal Carolina) have allowed fewer goals this season. In seven games to date Missouri State has scored four goals and allowed just four goals.
Since the start of 2014, no programs have allowed fewer goals than Creighton's 14 and Missouri State's 15. St. Francis (N.Y) is a distant third, having allowed 18 scores.
Eight Is (Not) Enough
Creighton is off to a 8-0-0 start. It's the first time since the program's 2011 College Cup team that it won its first eight games, and third time in program history.
The only team to start 9-0-0 was CU's 1993 team that ran the table in the regular-season and went 19-0-0.
Creighton is the nation's only unbeaten and untied team in Division I (men's or women's) remaining in 2015.
Creighton's 8-0-0 Starts or Better
Year Start First Non-Win Postseason
2015 8-0-0* ??? ???
2011 8-0-0 at #3 Maryland College Cup
1993 19-0-0 Air Force NCAA 1st Rd.
*active
Bluejay Flurry Keys Comeback
Creighton trailed 2-1 late vs. Seton Hall before unleashing three goals in less than six minutes to lock up a hard-fought 4-2 road win.
After Lucas Stauffer was fouled in the box, Fabian Herbers tied the game at 2-2 on a penalty kick with 10:14 to play. Just 128 seconds later Myles Englis scored to make it 3-2. And 5:45 after Herbers' initial score it was Stauffer who found the back of the net for the first time in 2015 to add an insurance tally.
Creighton had not scored three goals in less than a six minute span since Sept. 21, 2003, when it did so vs. Yale.
Saturday's comeback was Creighton's first victory under Elmar Bolowich in a game in which it's trailed with less than 11 minutes left, and first time since a 2-1 overtime win on Oct. 16, 2010 at Evansville under Jamie Clark.
The last time Creighton trailed with 11 minutes left and won a game in regulation came Oct. 17, 2007, when it won 2-1 at Western Kentucky with Bob Warming as coach.
Herbers Dominates BIG EAST Stats
The BIG EAST Conference updates stat leaders after each set of games, and the latest stat provides a glimpse at just how dominant junior forward Fabian Herbers has been.
The league tracks nine different offensive categories, and Herbers ranks first or tied for first in all nine.
Category Total BIG EAST Rank
Shots 41 1st
Shots Per Game 5.12 1st
Points 20 1st
Points Per Game 2.50 1st
Assists 6 1st
Assists Per Game 0.75 1st
Goals 7 T-1st
Goals Per Game 0.88 T-1st
Game Winning Goals 3 T-1st
Grin And Bear It
Creighton owns a 107-19-15 (.812) record all-time record at Morrison Stadium, including an 11-game unbeaten streak (10-0-1).
Tuesday's foe, Missouri State, is one of just four teams to have beaten Creighton twice in the venue after claiming 1-0 wins in 2003 and 2009.
The only other visiting teams to beat Creighton twice at Morrison Stadium have been Bradley, Illinois-Chicago and Saint Louis.
Overtime, Over Time
Three of the last 10 meetings with Missouri State have gone to overtime, but all three of those match-ups took place in Springfield.
Creighton is 9-3-15 all-time in the 27 games to go to overtime at Morrison Stadium, including a 5-2-0 mark in games decided in the first overtime and a 4-1-15 mark in games to go to double-overtime.
Herbers From The Spot
Creighton is a perfect 3-for-3 on penalty kicks this season, with Fabian Herbers converting all three kicks.
This is just the second time in the last dozen years that Creighton has made three or more penalty kicks in the same season, joining the 2011 club that was 4-for-6 from the spot.
Herbers is the first Creighton player to make three penalty kicks in the same season since Mike Tranchilla converted four in 2002.
September More
Creighton is 6-0-0 in September this season, and with a win on Tuesday can secure its first seven-win September since 1995.
All-time under Elmar Bolowich, Creighton is 25-6-4 in the month of September.
League Openers?
Saturday's win at Seton Hall improved Creighton to 16-4-5 all-time in conference openers, including a 3-1-1 mark under Elmar Bolowich.
Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton is a perfect 3-0-0 in league lid-lifters, picking up 1-0 wins over St. John's (in OT in 2013) and at Villanova (in 2014) before Saturday's triumph.
In league road openers, Creighton improved to 13-5-7 overall and 2-1-2 under Bolowich.
NSCAA Team Academic Award
The Creighton men's soccer program was recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) with the organization's team academic award for 2014-15.
It is the seventh honor in the last eight seasons (2008-12, 2014-15) for Creighton.
The NSCAA annually recognizes college and high school soccer programs that have excelled in the classroom, in addition to their work on the field and requires a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
Herbers For Hermann
Fabian Herbers owns at least one point (a goal or an assist) in each of Creighton's first eight regular-season games this fall.
He's the first Bluejay to start a season in such fashion since restarting the program in 1990.
Herbers is the first Bluejay with a streak of eight straight games with a point since Ethan Finlay had a run of nine straight such games from Sept. 17-Oct. 23, 2010.
Herbers, along with Princeton's Thomas Sanner, is also one of two players nationally with either a goal or an assist in every one of his team's games this year.
Through games of Sept. 27th, Herbers is the nation's only player with at least six goals and six assists this season.
Sparrow Finds A Way To Win
Senior GK Connor Sparrow has allowed one goal or less in 32 of his 34 career starts.
The only team to score against him multiple times in the same game has been Seton Hall, which did it in both 2014 and 2015, though Creighton won both matches (3-2 in 2014 and 4-2 in 2015).
In his other 32 starts as a Bluejay, Sparrow has allowed just 12 total goals.
Morrison Stadium Records Fall
Morrison Stadium has been open since 2003, but there were a number of records that fell in last Tuesday in a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois.
Fabian Herbers set a Morrison Stadium men's record with six shots on goal last Tuesday. The old mark was five, something that Timo Pitter also notched in the game.
Northern Illinois goalkeeper Andrew Glaeser tied a Morrison Stadium men's record with 12 saves.
Northern Illinois set a Morrison Stadium men's record with 13 saves as a team.
Huge Crowd, Huge Win
A crowd of 6,453 fans turned out to watch the Sept. 19 1-0 win over Tulsa, the second largest home crowd in school history, and fourth largest in the nation this fall.
It was also the largest home crowd to see the Bluejays pick up a win.
Below is a list of the largest home crowds in program history:
Att. Opponent CU Result Date
6,848 #14 Old Dominion L 1-2 9/14/02
6,453 Tulsa W 1-0 9/19/15
5,812 #11 UCLA T 0-0 9/8/07
5,743 Stanford (Ex.) L 0-1 9/26/05
5,609 Missouri State L 0-1 9/19/09
5,425 Drexel W 1-0 9/4/11
Simon Says Bolowich Is #1
Saturday's win improved Elmar Bolowich to 71-18-9 as Creighton head coach, good for a .770 winning percentage.
With the win on Saturday at Seton Hall, Bolowich passed Bret Simon atop Creighton's all-time coaching list for best win percentage. Simon went 96-26-8 in six seasons from 1995-2000, good for a .769 win percentage.
Simon, like Bolowich, also took Creighton to a pair of College Cups.
Milestone Win #350 For Bolowich
Elmar Bolowich picked up his 350th career win last Tuesday vs. Northern Illinois, becoming the 10th active Division I coach to reach 350 career wins.
Here's a look at the top-12, through games of Sept. 27. The list includes all victories as a head coach at a four-year institution, but the individual must have been a Division I head coach for a minimum of the last five years:
Most Victories, Active Division I Head Coaches
Rk. Coach, Team Years W Next
1. Mark Berson, South Carolina 39 477 10/2
2. Bob Warming, Penn State 38 445 9/30
3. Bob Gray, Marshall 39 435 10/2
4. Ralph Lundy, Charleston 40 429 9/30
5. Ray Reid, Connecticut 27 407 9/30
6. Rich Posipanko, Winthrop 37 384 10/7
7. Dave Masur, St. John's 29 383 9/29
8. Seamus McFadden, San Diego 36 365 10/10
9. Sasho Cirovski, Maryland 25 364 10/2
10. Elmar Bolowich, Creighton 27 351 9/29
11. Bobby Clark, Notre Dame 29 341 9/29
12. Alan Dawson, Old Dominion 28 340 9/30
We're No. 1, We're No. 1
For the fourth straight week, Creighton is ranked first nationally in the NSCAA, Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News polls this week. It's the 11th time in program history the coaches have voted CU to the top spot.
Creighton was ranked No. 1 the final five weeks of the 1993 season by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America.
Since the NSCAA poll became the poll of record in 1996, Creighton has been No. 1 for one week each on Sept. 15, 1999 and Sept. 10, 2013. CU moved into the top spot in this year's NSCAA poll on Sept. 8 poll and has remained there since.
During Creighton's 2013 stint atop the poll, the Bluejays lost 3-2 in double-overtime vs. William & Mary to drop to fifth, and would actually end the season unranked.
Below is a list of the last time the Bluejays were ranked No. 1 by each organization before this season:
NSCAA - Sept. 10, 2013
Soccer America - Oct. 21, 2014
College Soccer News - Nov. 11, 2014
Top Drawer Soccer - Oct. 21, 2014
At Home, Ranked First, At Last
The 1-0 win over Tulsa on Sept. 19 was Creighton's first home game as the nation's No. 1 team since a Nov. 14, 1993 four-overtime loss to Air Force.
Including last Tuesday's game vs. Northern Illinois, Creighton is 7-1-0 all-time when playing at home as the nation's top club, losing only that game to Air Force 21 years ago.
Since then, Creighton has also played six games as the nation's No. 1 team at road or neutral venues and has gone 4-1-1 in those contests.
Miller's Time
Former Creighton defender Eric Miller continues to make his mark on the international level, as he's been named to the 20-player roster for CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship.
The event will be played from Oct. 1-13 as the US looks to clinch a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The United States plays Canada on Oct. 1 and Oct. 3 vs. Cuba, both in Kansas City, before meeting Panama on Oct. 6 in Commerce City, Colo.
The top two teams in the eight-team field will qualify for the Olympics, while the third-place team must defeat Colombia to qualify.
The US last qualified for the Olympics in 2008, when it went 1-1-1 in Beijing.
The U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team is coached by Andi Herzog.
Pitter Sets Another Morrison Mark
Timo Pitter has attempted 151 shots in his career at Morrison Stadium to break the all-time mark formerly held by Ethan Finlay (141) from 2008-11.
Earlier this year Pitter broke the stadium record for career shots on goal, passing the 66 by Finlay.
Pitter is also second in Morrison Stadium history in career goals and points, trailing Finlay in both categories.
Statistical Leaders Across The Board
Creighton enters Tuesday's game vs. Missouri State ranked near the top of nearly every major statistical category, as well as several other individual categories, through Sept. 27:
Team Category Rank Stat
Win Percentage 1st 1.000
Wins 1st 8
Shots/Game 1st 19.88
Shots on Goal/Game 1st 9.13
Total Home Attendance 1st 22,865
Average Home Attendance 4th 3,811
Shutout Percentage 2nd 0.75
Team Goals Against Average 3rd 0.38
Fewest Yellow Cards 6th 6
Points Per Game 7th 6.88
Goals Per Game 7th 2.38
Save Percentage 8th .857
Total Goals 10th 19
Name Category Rank Stat
Fabian Herbers Shots Per Game 1st 5.13
Fabian Herbers Game-Winning Goals 2nd 3
Fabian Herbers Shots on Goal/Game 2nd 2.63
Fabian Herbers Total Assists 3rd 6
Fabian Herbers Total Points 4th 20
Fabian Herbers Points Per Game 4th 2.50
Fabian Herbers Assists Per Game 4th 0.75
Timo Pitter Shots on Goal/Game 5th 2.38
Fabian Herbers Goals Per Game 6th 0.88
Connor Sparrow Goals Against Avg. 6th 0.383
Bolowich Keeps CU Winning
Creighton ranks second nationally with 71 wins in the last five years, which coincides with the arrival of head coach Elmar Bolowich. Bolowich was named BIG EAST Co-Coach of the Year last season after helping the Bluejays to a league title.
Below is a list of the nation's most wins since Bolowich arrived before the 2011 season, through games of Sept. 27, 2015.
2011-14 2015 Total Next
Rk. Team Wins Wins Wins Game
1. Coastal Carolina 73 6 79 9/30
2. Creighton 63 8 71 9/29
3. Akron 63 5 68 9/30
North Carolina 61 7 68 10/2
Maryland 64 4 68 10/2
Herbers Earns National Honor
Fabian Herbers was named the National Player of the Week on Sept. 14 by College Soccer News for his role in a 1-0 win at Michigan State.
It was the first time in his career he was named the National Player of the Week by CSN, and second time this fall he's been named to their National Team of the Week.
Keller Repeats Defensive Honor
Vincent Keller repeated the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolade on Sept. 14 when the league office recognized him for his work in a win at Michigan State.
Keller played a key role in helping Creighton remain unbeaten in a 1-0 win at Michigan State. The Spartans managed just one shot on goal, its fewest in a home game since Nov. 3, 2010, as they were shut out at home for just the second time since Nov. 6, 2013.
It was the second straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honor for the Bluejay co-captain, and second such honor of his career.
Keller & Pitter Up For Senior Class Award
Vincent Keller and Timo Pitter are among 30 men's soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field that were selected as candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate soccer.
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.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the 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.
Pitter is one of four men (along with CSU Bakersfield's Christian Duarte, Cal Poly's Chase Minter and Stanford's Brandon Vincent) who are also on the preseason watch list for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, which recognizes the top player in collegiate soccer. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates also have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.
The candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December.
Former Creighton goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.
BIG EAST Honors Keller & Sparrow
Capping its second straight 2-0-0 weekend, seniors Vincent Keller and Connor Sparrow showed their defensive mettle earning the BIG EAST Defensive and Goalkeeper of the Week honors on Monday, Sept. 7.
After allowing the first goal of the season in the second minute of play (1:31), Keller and the Creighton defense stiffened to hold the Matadors without a shot for the remaining 88:29. Keller got in on the offense as well; the senior defender assisted the game-tying goal against Cal State in the 58th minute. Two days later, Keller was an instrumental part of a Creighton defense that shut out No. 13 UC Irvine, limiting the Anteaters to two first half shots and just eight overall.
Following the lead of his defensive center back, Sparrow limited the damage of the goal by Cal State Northridge in the second minute by holding the Matadors scoreless the rest of the way. He went on to blank No. 13 UC-Irvine for more than 74 minutes before giving way in the Bluejays' 4-0 win. Sparrow notched three saves during the weekend. It was Sparrow's second straight Goalkeeper of the Week accolade.
A Big Win Over A Big-Time Team
Creighton's 4-0 win over No. 13 UC Irvine on Sept. 6 was its largest margin of victory against a ranked team since a 4-0 win versus No. 23 Tulsa on Oct. 3, 2004.
Creighton's last win by four or more goals against a top-20 team had been a 6-2 victory over No. 6 Boston College on Dec. 8, 2002.
Herbers Play Gets Noticed
Fabian Herbers was a First Team All-American last year, and the junior picked up where he left off as the forward was named to College Soccer News' National Team of the Week on Aug. 31 and the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week on Sept. 1. He repeated his honor from Top Drawer Soccer on Sept. 8 with two goals and two assists in two wins. Herbers earned recognition for a third straight week when he was named the National Player of the Week by College Soccer News on Sept. 14.
Herbers has tallied at least one point in every game this year and has scored in all but two contests.
His five points against No. 13 UC Irvine on Sept. 6 were a personal high, and the most by a Bluejay since Ethan Finlay had six points on Oct. 15, 2011, also against UC Irvine.
In addition, Herbers performance vs. UC Irvine included his second career multiple-game as a Bluejay. Twelve times in his 47 career contests he's scored the first goal of the game for either team.
In 10 games against outside competition this fall (two exhibitions, eight regular-season games), Herbers owns nine goals and 10 assists:
Opponent Goals Assists Final Score
at Bradley (Ex.) 1 2 W 3-0
Northwestern (Ex.) 1 2 W 5-0
Michigan 1 0 W 1-0
Milwaukee 1 1 W 4-0
CSUN 0 1 W 2-1
#13 UC Irvine 2 1 W 4-0
at Michigan State 1 0 W 1-0
Tulsa 0 1 W 1-0
Northern Illinois 1 1 W 2-0
at Seton Hall 1 1 W 4-2
Total (10 games) 9 10 CU 27-3
Top 10 Preseason Jays, Again
Creighton was ranked sixth nationally in the preseason edition of the NSCAA Top 25 Coaches poll.
This was the fourth time in the last five years the Bluejays have been ranked in the top-10 of the preseason poll, and 11th time since 1998.
Creighton has now spent at least one week in the top 10 of the NSCAA poll in each of the last 24 seasons.
Dynamic Duo
Timo Pitter and Fabian Herbers form one of the nation's top offensive duos, and the numbers continue to bear that out.
Either Pitter or Herbers has scored or assisted on 37 of Creighton's 51 goals since the start of the 2014 season, including 24-of-32 tallies a year ago.
That pair have combined for 27 goals and 23 assists in that span. Eleven of those 27 goals have been assisted by the other half of their star duo.
Top 10 Crowds
Creighton finished last season 10th nationally in average home attendance and fifth overall in total home attendance.
It was the 11th straight season the Bluejays have finished in the top-10 nationally in average home attendance.
Creighton is currently averaging 3,811 fans through six home dates, which ranks fourth nationally through games of Sept. 27. CU is also first with 22,865 total home fans.
The 4,838 fans for Michigan on Aug. 28 ranked as the largest crowd in school history to witness a season-opener, while the crowd of 4,907 vs. CSUN on Sept. 4 was the program's largest crowd since 2012. CU's crowd of 6,453 on Sept. 19 vs. Tulsa was the second-largest home crowd in program history.
Weekly Awards
Connor Sparrow was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Aug. 31 after a posting a pair of shutouts during the opening weekend. It was the fourth such honor of his Creighton career, and second straight season he's won the honor following the opening weekend of the fall. He won his fifth career honor from the BIG EAST on Sept. 7th after allowing just one goal in wins on Sept. 4 & 6.
In 23 career starts in a Bluejay uniform at Morrison Stadium, Sparrow has allowed just one first half goal.
Ethan Finlay, All-Star
Former Creighton All-American Ethan Finlay is having a splendid summer.
Finlay entered the week fourth in the MLS with 13 assists to go with nine goals in 31 games with the Columbus Crew this year.
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.
Jays Favored In Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton and Georgetown tied for first in the preseason BIG EAST poll that was released on Aug. 18th. Both teams had 77 points and five first-place votes in the poll.
GK Connor Sparrow, M Timo Pitter and F Fabian Herbers were each named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Pitter was a unanimous selection, while Sparrow was named BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
This is the eighth time in the last 11 years, and 15th time since 1990, that Creighton has been picked to win its league in the preseason.
Perennial Power
Creighton won the program's first BIG EAST title last season when it claimed the regular-season crown with a 7-1-1 mark.
The Bluejays now own 13 regular-season and 13 conference tournament titles in program history, all since 1992.
Another Strong Class
College Soccer News has dubbed Creighton's recruiting class as the nation's 31st best. Among the newcomers the website highlights are Evan Waldrep, Jacob Rooth and Peter Prescott.
Herbers & Pitter Earn Preseason Acclaim
Fabian Herbers and Timo Pitter have both been recognized nationally in the preseason. Both men are among the 30 players on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Creighton is one of six schools with two players on the list, joining Charlotte, CSU Bakersfield, Georgetown, Kentucky and Stanford.
Top Drawer Soccer also honored Herbers and Pitter on their Preseason Best XI Teams. Herbers was a first-team pick at forward, while Pitter was a second-teamer as a midfielder.
College Soccer News also acknowledged Herbers and Pitter on its Preseason All-America Teams. Herbers was a first-team choice at forward, while Pitter was a second-team midfielder.
Top 100 Trio
Fabian Herbers, Timo Pitter and Connor Sparrow all earned a spot on Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Top 100 list of the nation's top players. Herbers checked in at No. 5, while Pitter (No. 18) and Sparrow (No. 74) made the Bluejays one of eight teams nationally with three players in the top-75.
Sparrow A Rare Bird
Senior GK Connor Sparrow remains Creighton's all-time leader in goals against average, allowing just 0.45 goals per 90 minutes in a Bluejay uniform.
Sparrow's numbers are even more impressive at home, where he owns a 0.34 GAA in a Creighton uniform at Morrison Stadium.
Of the 16 goals that Sparrow has allowed as a Bluejay, only three have come prior to halftime.
Sparrow has moved into third place on Creighton's all-time leaders in winning percentage with a .800 win percentage (26-5-4).
With a win on Tuesday, Sparrow would have an .806 win percentage and overtake Mike Gabb (.802) for second on CU's all-time list.
Tough 2015 Slate
The Bluejays' 2015 schedule features five regular-season contests against teams that were nationally-ranked in the preseason NSCAA poll, as CU meets No. 3 Georgetown, No. 7 Providence, No. 9 Michigan State, No. 19 Xavier and No. 20 UC Irvine.
Creighton also has a game vs. Tulsa and won an exhibition vs. Northwestern, two teams that were listed among those 'also receiving votes.”
All told, Creighton's 2015 schedule will see it face nine teams that finished last year in the top 55 of the RPI, including five games against teams that reached the Sweet 16.
You Play To Win The Game
Creighton's 16-3-3 record last year led the nation in winning percentage (.795). The Bluejays were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament after falling in penalty kicks vs. UMBC during the team's 10th appearance in the national quarterfinals in the last 19 years.
So Close
Each of Creighton's last 14 losses have been by a single goal, including every setback in 2013 and 2014.
Creighton has fallen behind by two goals just four times in 98 games under Elmar Bolowich, and lost by two goals just twice.
Streaks To Watch
Creighton is 38-0-2 under Elmar Bolowich when leading at halftime.
Creighton is 22-0-1 in its last 23 games when scoring first, and 62-3-2 under Bolowich.
Creighton has trailed at the half in just one of its last 31 games (1-0 vs. CSUN on Sept. 4, 2015).
Creighton is unbeaten in its last 11 games at all sites (10-0-1).
Creighton has not lost a true road game since late in the 2013 campaign, going 6-0-3 away from Morrison Stadium in that stretch.
Creighton is 13-0-0 in home matches under Bolowich that kick off prior to 6 pm.
Creighton Soccer's European Vacation
Creighton spent nearly two weeks in Europe in early July, spending most of that time in Germany and Austria. The team went 2-2-0 against strong competition, but also bonded in a foreign culture that included trips Neuschwanstein Castle, Allianz Arena and Munich's Olympic Stadium, among other areas.
O Captain! My Captain!
Seniors Vincent Keller and Eric DeJulio have been named captains on this year's team. Both men started all 22 games a season ago for Creighton's BIG EAST champion club.
Up Next
Top-ranked Creighton Men's Soccer (8-0-0, 1-0-0 BIG EAST) steps out of BIG EAST action on Tuesday when it hosts former Missouri Valley rival Missouri State (3-2-2, 1-0-0 MVC).
The game will kick off at 7 pm and take place at Michael G. Morrison, S.J., Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
Follow The Match
Tuesday's game will have a free high-definition video webcast via Jays Video. To access the feed, click on the TV screen icon on the top right corner of GoCreighton.com.
Live stats of the match will be available at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
La Nueva (1020 AM) will broadcast Tuesday's soccer match vs. Missouri State in Spanish. Jose Munoz and Juan Munoz will be on the call.
Scouting Creighton
Top-ranked Creighton is 8-0-0 on the season after wins over 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) and Seton Hall (4-2). 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 finished last season 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 (7g, 6a this year) has emerged into a frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors, as he's contributed at least one point in all eight wins to date. He currently leads the nation's top-ranked team in goals, assists and points after earning First Team All-America accolades and BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors during a magnificent 2014 season. 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). Herbers was also a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American last year.
Senior Timo Pitter (4g 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. Pitter was also named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year in 2014.
Senior goalkeeper Connor Sparrow (0.38 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 0.45 goals against average as a Bluejay is the best in Creighton history among goalies with at least 2,000 minutes in net.
Scouting Missouri State
Missouri State is 3-2-2 this fall through seven games and enters Tuesday after Saturday's emotional 1-0 victory over SIU Edwardsville on a header in the final seconds of overtime.
Jake Buckle has two of MSU's four goals this season, with Jack Griffin and James Routledge owning the other tallies. Liam Priestley has surrendered just four goals all season and owns a 0.52 goals against average, including four shutouts.
The defending MVC regular-season champion Bears bring back five starters and 10 lettermen from a team that went 9-5-4 a year ago.
Series History vs. Missouri State
Creighton is 21-8-4 all-time against Missouri State, including a 12-3-0 mark in Omaha.
Each of the last nine meetings have seen at least one team get shut out, and the last three encounters have all been 1-0 affairs.
Elmar Bolowich is 2-1-0 against the Bears since coming to Creighton.
Getting Defensive
The last nine meetings between Missouri State and Creighton have contained a total of eight total goals, as there's been one 2-0 score, six 1-0 finals and two scoreless ties.
Creighton is 107-7-8 all-time at Morrison Stadium when scoring at least one goal, including 18 straight victories.
At all sites, Creighton is 23-0-2 since the start of the 2014 season when scoring at least one goal.
Nationally, Creighton and Missouri State tied for the national lead last season (along with Monmouth and Cornell) by allowing just 11 goals.
Creighton has played eight games this season and allowed just three goals. Nationally, only two teams (St. Francis [N.Y.] and Coastal Carolina) have allowed fewer goals this season. In seven games to date Missouri State has scored four goals and allowed just four goals.
Since the start of 2014, no programs have allowed fewer goals than Creighton's 14 and Missouri State's 15. St. Francis (N.Y) is a distant third, having allowed 18 scores.
Eight Is (Not) Enough
Creighton is off to a 8-0-0 start. It's the first time since the program's 2011 College Cup team that it won its first eight games, and third time in program history.
The only team to start 9-0-0 was CU's 1993 team that ran the table in the regular-season and went 19-0-0.
Creighton is the nation's only unbeaten and untied team in Division I (men's or women's) remaining in 2015.
Creighton's 8-0-0 Starts or Better
Year Start First Non-Win Postseason
2015 8-0-0* ??? ???
2011 8-0-0 at #3 Maryland College Cup
1993 19-0-0 Air Force NCAA 1st Rd.
*active
Bluejay Flurry Keys Comeback
Creighton trailed 2-1 late vs. Seton Hall before unleashing three goals in less than six minutes to lock up a hard-fought 4-2 road win.
After Lucas Stauffer was fouled in the box, Fabian Herbers tied the game at 2-2 on a penalty kick with 10:14 to play. Just 128 seconds later Myles Englis scored to make it 3-2. And 5:45 after Herbers' initial score it was Stauffer who found the back of the net for the first time in 2015 to add an insurance tally.
Creighton had not scored three goals in less than a six minute span since Sept. 21, 2003, when it did so vs. Yale.
Saturday's comeback was Creighton's first victory under Elmar Bolowich in a game in which it's trailed with less than 11 minutes left, and first time since a 2-1 overtime win on Oct. 16, 2010 at Evansville under Jamie Clark.
The last time Creighton trailed with 11 minutes left and won a game in regulation came Oct. 17, 2007, when it won 2-1 at Western Kentucky with Bob Warming as coach.
Herbers Dominates BIG EAST Stats
The BIG EAST Conference updates stat leaders after each set of games, and the latest stat provides a glimpse at just how dominant junior forward Fabian Herbers has been.
The league tracks nine different offensive categories, and Herbers ranks first or tied for first in all nine.
Category Total BIG EAST Rank
Shots 41 1st
Shots Per Game 5.12 1st
Points 20 1st
Points Per Game 2.50 1st
Assists 6 1st
Assists Per Game 0.75 1st
Goals 7 T-1st
Goals Per Game 0.88 T-1st
Game Winning Goals 3 T-1st
Grin And Bear It
Creighton owns a 107-19-15 (.812) record all-time record at Morrison Stadium, including an 11-game unbeaten streak (10-0-1).
Tuesday's foe, Missouri State, is one of just four teams to have beaten Creighton twice in the venue after claiming 1-0 wins in 2003 and 2009.
The only other visiting teams to beat Creighton twice at Morrison Stadium have been Bradley, Illinois-Chicago and Saint Louis.
Overtime, Over Time
Three of the last 10 meetings with Missouri State have gone to overtime, but all three of those match-ups took place in Springfield.
Creighton is 9-3-15 all-time in the 27 games to go to overtime at Morrison Stadium, including a 5-2-0 mark in games decided in the first overtime and a 4-1-15 mark in games to go to double-overtime.
Herbers From The Spot
Creighton is a perfect 3-for-3 on penalty kicks this season, with Fabian Herbers converting all three kicks.
This is just the second time in the last dozen years that Creighton has made three or more penalty kicks in the same season, joining the 2011 club that was 4-for-6 from the spot.
Herbers is the first Creighton player to make three penalty kicks in the same season since Mike Tranchilla converted four in 2002.
September More
Creighton is 6-0-0 in September this season, and with a win on Tuesday can secure its first seven-win September since 1995.
All-time under Elmar Bolowich, Creighton is 25-6-4 in the month of September.
League Openers?
Saturday's win at Seton Hall improved Creighton to 16-4-5 all-time in conference openers, including a 3-1-1 mark under Elmar Bolowich.
Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton is a perfect 3-0-0 in league lid-lifters, picking up 1-0 wins over St. John's (in OT in 2013) and at Villanova (in 2014) before Saturday's triumph.
In league road openers, Creighton improved to 13-5-7 overall and 2-1-2 under Bolowich.
NSCAA Team Academic Award
The Creighton men's soccer program was recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) with the organization's team academic award for 2014-15.
It is the seventh honor in the last eight seasons (2008-12, 2014-15) for Creighton.
The NSCAA annually recognizes college and high school soccer programs that have excelled in the classroom, in addition to their work on the field and requires a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
Herbers For Hermann
Fabian Herbers owns at least one point (a goal or an assist) in each of Creighton's first eight regular-season games this fall.
He's the first Bluejay to start a season in such fashion since restarting the program in 1990.
Herbers is the first Bluejay with a streak of eight straight games with a point since Ethan Finlay had a run of nine straight such games from Sept. 17-Oct. 23, 2010.
Herbers, along with Princeton's Thomas Sanner, is also one of two players nationally with either a goal or an assist in every one of his team's games this year.
Through games of Sept. 27th, Herbers is the nation's only player with at least six goals and six assists this season.
Sparrow Finds A Way To Win
Senior GK Connor Sparrow has allowed one goal or less in 32 of his 34 career starts.
The only team to score against him multiple times in the same game has been Seton Hall, which did it in both 2014 and 2015, though Creighton won both matches (3-2 in 2014 and 4-2 in 2015).
In his other 32 starts as a Bluejay, Sparrow has allowed just 12 total goals.
Morrison Stadium Records Fall
Morrison Stadium has been open since 2003, but there were a number of records that fell in last Tuesday in a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois.
Fabian Herbers set a Morrison Stadium men's record with six shots on goal last Tuesday. The old mark was five, something that Timo Pitter also notched in the game.
Northern Illinois goalkeeper Andrew Glaeser tied a Morrison Stadium men's record with 12 saves.
Northern Illinois set a Morrison Stadium men's record with 13 saves as a team.
Huge Crowd, Huge Win
A crowd of 6,453 fans turned out to watch the Sept. 19 1-0 win over Tulsa, the second largest home crowd in school history, and fourth largest in the nation this fall.
It was also the largest home crowd to see the Bluejays pick up a win.
Below is a list of the largest home crowds in program history:
Att. Opponent CU Result Date
6,848 #14 Old Dominion L 1-2 9/14/02
6,453 Tulsa W 1-0 9/19/15
5,812 #11 UCLA T 0-0 9/8/07
5,743 Stanford (Ex.) L 0-1 9/26/05
5,609 Missouri State L 0-1 9/19/09
5,425 Drexel W 1-0 9/4/11
Simon Says Bolowich Is #1
Saturday's win improved Elmar Bolowich to 71-18-9 as Creighton head coach, good for a .770 winning percentage.
With the win on Saturday at Seton Hall, Bolowich passed Bret Simon atop Creighton's all-time coaching list for best win percentage. Simon went 96-26-8 in six seasons from 1995-2000, good for a .769 win percentage.
Simon, like Bolowich, also took Creighton to a pair of College Cups.
Milestone Win #350 For Bolowich
Elmar Bolowich picked up his 350th career win last Tuesday vs. Northern Illinois, becoming the 10th active Division I coach to reach 350 career wins.
Here's a look at the top-12, through games of Sept. 27. The list includes all victories as a head coach at a four-year institution, but the individual must have been a Division I head coach for a minimum of the last five years:
Most Victories, Active Division I Head Coaches
Rk. Coach, Team Years W Next
1. Mark Berson, South Carolina 39 477 10/2
2. Bob Warming, Penn State 38 445 9/30
3. Bob Gray, Marshall 39 435 10/2
4. Ralph Lundy, Charleston 40 429 9/30
5. Ray Reid, Connecticut 27 407 9/30
6. Rich Posipanko, Winthrop 37 384 10/7
7. Dave Masur, St. John's 29 383 9/29
8. Seamus McFadden, San Diego 36 365 10/10
9. Sasho Cirovski, Maryland 25 364 10/2
10. Elmar Bolowich, Creighton 27 351 9/29
11. Bobby Clark, Notre Dame 29 341 9/29
12. Alan Dawson, Old Dominion 28 340 9/30
We're No. 1, We're No. 1
For the fourth straight week, Creighton is ranked first nationally in the NSCAA, Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News polls this week. It's the 11th time in program history the coaches have voted CU to the top spot.
Creighton was ranked No. 1 the final five weeks of the 1993 season by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America.
Since the NSCAA poll became the poll of record in 1996, Creighton has been No. 1 for one week each on Sept. 15, 1999 and Sept. 10, 2013. CU moved into the top spot in this year's NSCAA poll on Sept. 8 poll and has remained there since.
During Creighton's 2013 stint atop the poll, the Bluejays lost 3-2 in double-overtime vs. William & Mary to drop to fifth, and would actually end the season unranked.
Below is a list of the last time the Bluejays were ranked No. 1 by each organization before this season:
NSCAA - Sept. 10, 2013
Soccer America - Oct. 21, 2014
College Soccer News - Nov. 11, 2014
Top Drawer Soccer - Oct. 21, 2014
At Home, Ranked First, At Last
The 1-0 win over Tulsa on Sept. 19 was Creighton's first home game as the nation's No. 1 team since a Nov. 14, 1993 four-overtime loss to Air Force.
Including last Tuesday's game vs. Northern Illinois, Creighton is 7-1-0 all-time when playing at home as the nation's top club, losing only that game to Air Force 21 years ago.
Since then, Creighton has also played six games as the nation's No. 1 team at road or neutral venues and has gone 4-1-1 in those contests.
Miller's Time
Former Creighton defender Eric Miller continues to make his mark on the international level, as he's been named to the 20-player roster for CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship.
The event will be played from Oct. 1-13 as the US looks to clinch a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The United States plays Canada on Oct. 1 and Oct. 3 vs. Cuba, both in Kansas City, before meeting Panama on Oct. 6 in Commerce City, Colo.
The top two teams in the eight-team field will qualify for the Olympics, while the third-place team must defeat Colombia to qualify.
The US last qualified for the Olympics in 2008, when it went 1-1-1 in Beijing.
The U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team is coached by Andi Herzog.
Pitter Sets Another Morrison Mark
Timo Pitter has attempted 151 shots in his career at Morrison Stadium to break the all-time mark formerly held by Ethan Finlay (141) from 2008-11.
Earlier this year Pitter broke the stadium record for career shots on goal, passing the 66 by Finlay.
Pitter is also second in Morrison Stadium history in career goals and points, trailing Finlay in both categories.
Statistical Leaders Across The Board
Creighton enters Tuesday's game vs. Missouri State ranked near the top of nearly every major statistical category, as well as several other individual categories, through Sept. 27:
Team Category Rank Stat
Win Percentage 1st 1.000
Wins 1st 8
Shots/Game 1st 19.88
Shots on Goal/Game 1st 9.13
Total Home Attendance 1st 22,865
Average Home Attendance 4th 3,811
Shutout Percentage 2nd 0.75
Team Goals Against Average 3rd 0.38
Fewest Yellow Cards 6th 6
Points Per Game 7th 6.88
Goals Per Game 7th 2.38
Save Percentage 8th .857
Total Goals 10th 19
Name Category Rank Stat
Fabian Herbers Shots Per Game 1st 5.13
Fabian Herbers Game-Winning Goals 2nd 3
Fabian Herbers Shots on Goal/Game 2nd 2.63
Fabian Herbers Total Assists 3rd 6
Fabian Herbers Total Points 4th 20
Fabian Herbers Points Per Game 4th 2.50
Fabian Herbers Assists Per Game 4th 0.75
Timo Pitter Shots on Goal/Game 5th 2.38
Fabian Herbers Goals Per Game 6th 0.88
Connor Sparrow Goals Against Avg. 6th 0.383
Bolowich Keeps CU Winning
Creighton ranks second nationally with 71 wins in the last five years, which coincides with the arrival of head coach Elmar Bolowich. Bolowich was named BIG EAST Co-Coach of the Year last season after helping the Bluejays to a league title.
Below is a list of the nation's most wins since Bolowich arrived before the 2011 season, through games of Sept. 27, 2015.
2011-14 2015 Total Next
Rk. Team Wins Wins Wins Game
1. Coastal Carolina 73 6 79 9/30
2. Creighton 63 8 71 9/29
3. Akron 63 5 68 9/30
North Carolina 61 7 68 10/2
Maryland 64 4 68 10/2
Herbers Earns National Honor
Fabian Herbers was named the National Player of the Week on Sept. 14 by College Soccer News for his role in a 1-0 win at Michigan State.
It was the first time in his career he was named the National Player of the Week by CSN, and second time this fall he's been named to their National Team of the Week.
Keller Repeats Defensive Honor
Vincent Keller repeated the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week accolade on Sept. 14 when the league office recognized him for his work in a win at Michigan State.
Keller played a key role in helping Creighton remain unbeaten in a 1-0 win at Michigan State. The Spartans managed just one shot on goal, its fewest in a home game since Nov. 3, 2010, as they were shut out at home for just the second time since Nov. 6, 2013.
It was the second straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honor for the Bluejay co-captain, and second such honor of his career.
Keller & Pitter Up For Senior Class Award
Vincent Keller and Timo Pitter are among 30 men's soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field that were selected as candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate soccer.
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.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the 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.
Pitter is one of four men (along with CSU Bakersfield's Christian Duarte, Cal Poly's Chase Minter and Stanford's Brandon Vincent) who are also on the preseason watch list for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, which recognizes the top player in collegiate soccer. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates also have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.
The candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December.
Former Creighton goalkeeper Brian Holt won the 2011 Senior CLASS Award on the pitch, while ex-Creighton men's basketball standout Doug McDermott won the 2014 Senior CLASS Award on the hardwood.
BIG EAST Honors Keller & Sparrow
Capping its second straight 2-0-0 weekend, seniors Vincent Keller and Connor Sparrow showed their defensive mettle earning the BIG EAST Defensive and Goalkeeper of the Week honors on Monday, Sept. 7.
After allowing the first goal of the season in the second minute of play (1:31), Keller and the Creighton defense stiffened to hold the Matadors without a shot for the remaining 88:29. Keller got in on the offense as well; the senior defender assisted the game-tying goal against Cal State in the 58th minute. Two days later, Keller was an instrumental part of a Creighton defense that shut out No. 13 UC Irvine, limiting the Anteaters to two first half shots and just eight overall.
Following the lead of his defensive center back, Sparrow limited the damage of the goal by Cal State Northridge in the second minute by holding the Matadors scoreless the rest of the way. He went on to blank No. 13 UC-Irvine for more than 74 minutes before giving way in the Bluejays' 4-0 win. Sparrow notched three saves during the weekend. It was Sparrow's second straight Goalkeeper of the Week accolade.
A Big Win Over A Big-Time Team
Creighton's 4-0 win over No. 13 UC Irvine on Sept. 6 was its largest margin of victory against a ranked team since a 4-0 win versus No. 23 Tulsa on Oct. 3, 2004.
Creighton's last win by four or more goals against a top-20 team had been a 6-2 victory over No. 6 Boston College on Dec. 8, 2002.
Herbers Play Gets Noticed
Fabian Herbers was a First Team All-American last year, and the junior picked up where he left off as the forward was named to College Soccer News' National Team of the Week on Aug. 31 and the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week on Sept. 1. He repeated his honor from Top Drawer Soccer on Sept. 8 with two goals and two assists in two wins. Herbers earned recognition for a third straight week when he was named the National Player of the Week by College Soccer News on Sept. 14.
Herbers has tallied at least one point in every game this year and has scored in all but two contests.
His five points against No. 13 UC Irvine on Sept. 6 were a personal high, and the most by a Bluejay since Ethan Finlay had six points on Oct. 15, 2011, also against UC Irvine.
In addition, Herbers performance vs. UC Irvine included his second career multiple-game as a Bluejay. Twelve times in his 47 career contests he's scored the first goal of the game for either team.
In 10 games against outside competition this fall (two exhibitions, eight regular-season games), Herbers owns nine goals and 10 assists:
Opponent Goals Assists Final Score
at Bradley (Ex.) 1 2 W 3-0
Northwestern (Ex.) 1 2 W 5-0
Michigan 1 0 W 1-0
Milwaukee 1 1 W 4-0
CSUN 0 1 W 2-1
#13 UC Irvine 2 1 W 4-0
at Michigan State 1 0 W 1-0
Tulsa 0 1 W 1-0
Northern Illinois 1 1 W 2-0
at Seton Hall 1 1 W 4-2
Total (10 games) 9 10 CU 27-3
Top 10 Preseason Jays, Again
Creighton was ranked sixth nationally in the preseason edition of the NSCAA Top 25 Coaches poll.
This was the fourth time in the last five years the Bluejays have been ranked in the top-10 of the preseason poll, and 11th time since 1998.
Creighton has now spent at least one week in the top 10 of the NSCAA poll in each of the last 24 seasons.
Dynamic Duo
Timo Pitter and Fabian Herbers form one of the nation's top offensive duos, and the numbers continue to bear that out.
Either Pitter or Herbers has scored or assisted on 37 of Creighton's 51 goals since the start of the 2014 season, including 24-of-32 tallies a year ago.
That pair have combined for 27 goals and 23 assists in that span. Eleven of those 27 goals have been assisted by the other half of their star duo.
Top 10 Crowds
Creighton finished last season 10th nationally in average home attendance and fifth overall in total home attendance.
It was the 11th straight season the Bluejays have finished in the top-10 nationally in average home attendance.
Creighton is currently averaging 3,811 fans through six home dates, which ranks fourth nationally through games of Sept. 27. CU is also first with 22,865 total home fans.
The 4,838 fans for Michigan on Aug. 28 ranked as the largest crowd in school history to witness a season-opener, while the crowd of 4,907 vs. CSUN on Sept. 4 was the program's largest crowd since 2012. CU's crowd of 6,453 on Sept. 19 vs. Tulsa was the second-largest home crowd in program history.
Weekly Awards
Connor Sparrow was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week on Aug. 31 after a posting a pair of shutouts during the opening weekend. It was the fourth such honor of his Creighton career, and second straight season he's won the honor following the opening weekend of the fall. He won his fifth career honor from the BIG EAST on Sept. 7th after allowing just one goal in wins on Sept. 4 & 6.
In 23 career starts in a Bluejay uniform at Morrison Stadium, Sparrow has allowed just one first half goal.
Ethan Finlay, All-Star
Former Creighton All-American Ethan Finlay is having a splendid summer.
Finlay entered the week fourth in the MLS with 13 assists to go with nine goals in 31 games with the Columbus Crew this year.
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.
Jays Favored In Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton and Georgetown tied for first in the preseason BIG EAST poll that was released on Aug. 18th. Both teams had 77 points and five first-place votes in the poll.
GK Connor Sparrow, M Timo Pitter and F Fabian Herbers were each named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Pitter was a unanimous selection, while Sparrow was named BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
This is the eighth time in the last 11 years, and 15th time since 1990, that Creighton has been picked to win its league in the preseason.
Perennial Power
Creighton won the program's first BIG EAST title last season when it claimed the regular-season crown with a 7-1-1 mark.
The Bluejays now own 13 regular-season and 13 conference tournament titles in program history, all since 1992.
Another Strong Class
College Soccer News has dubbed Creighton's recruiting class as the nation's 31st best. Among the newcomers the website highlights are Evan Waldrep, Jacob Rooth and Peter Prescott.
Herbers & Pitter Earn Preseason Acclaim
Fabian Herbers and Timo Pitter have both been recognized nationally in the preseason. Both men are among the 30 players on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Creighton is one of six schools with two players on the list, joining Charlotte, CSU Bakersfield, Georgetown, Kentucky and Stanford.
Top Drawer Soccer also honored Herbers and Pitter on their Preseason Best XI Teams. Herbers was a first-team pick at forward, while Pitter was a second-teamer as a midfielder.
College Soccer News also acknowledged Herbers and Pitter on its Preseason All-America Teams. Herbers was a first-team choice at forward, while Pitter was a second-team midfielder.
Top 100 Trio
Fabian Herbers, Timo Pitter and Connor Sparrow all earned a spot on Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason Top 100 list of the nation's top players. Herbers checked in at No. 5, while Pitter (No. 18) and Sparrow (No. 74) made the Bluejays one of eight teams nationally with three players in the top-75.
Sparrow A Rare Bird
Senior GK Connor Sparrow remains Creighton's all-time leader in goals against average, allowing just 0.45 goals per 90 minutes in a Bluejay uniform.
Sparrow's numbers are even more impressive at home, where he owns a 0.34 GAA in a Creighton uniform at Morrison Stadium.
Of the 16 goals that Sparrow has allowed as a Bluejay, only three have come prior to halftime.
Sparrow has moved into third place on Creighton's all-time leaders in winning percentage with a .800 win percentage (26-5-4).
With a win on Tuesday, Sparrow would have an .806 win percentage and overtake Mike Gabb (.802) for second on CU's all-time list.
Tough 2015 Slate
The Bluejays' 2015 schedule features five regular-season contests against teams that were nationally-ranked in the preseason NSCAA poll, as CU meets No. 3 Georgetown, No. 7 Providence, No. 9 Michigan State, No. 19 Xavier and No. 20 UC Irvine.
Creighton also has a game vs. Tulsa and won an exhibition vs. Northwestern, two teams that were listed among those 'also receiving votes.”
All told, Creighton's 2015 schedule will see it face nine teams that finished last year in the top 55 of the RPI, including five games against teams that reached the Sweet 16.
You Play To Win The Game
Creighton's 16-3-3 record last year led the nation in winning percentage (.795). The Bluejays were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament after falling in penalty kicks vs. UMBC during the team's 10th appearance in the national quarterfinals in the last 19 years.
So Close
Each of Creighton's last 14 losses have been by a single goal, including every setback in 2013 and 2014.
Creighton has fallen behind by two goals just four times in 98 games under Elmar Bolowich, and lost by two goals just twice.
Streaks To Watch
Creighton is 38-0-2 under Elmar Bolowich when leading at halftime.
Creighton is 22-0-1 in its last 23 games when scoring first, and 62-3-2 under Bolowich.
Creighton has trailed at the half in just one of its last 31 games (1-0 vs. CSUN on Sept. 4, 2015).
Creighton is unbeaten in its last 11 games at all sites (10-0-1).
Creighton has not lost a true road game since late in the 2013 campaign, going 6-0-3 away from Morrison Stadium in that stretch.
Creighton is 13-0-0 in home matches under Bolowich that kick off prior to 6 pm.
Creighton Soccer's European Vacation
Creighton spent nearly two weeks in Europe in early July, spending most of that time in Germany and Austria. The team went 2-2-0 against strong competition, but also bonded in a foreign culture that included trips Neuschwanstein Castle, Allianz Arena and Munich's Olympic Stadium, among other areas.
O Captain! My Captain!
Seniors Vincent Keller and Eric DeJulio have been named captains on this year's team. Both men started all 22 games a season ago for Creighton's BIG EAST champion club.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's SoccerCreighton MSOC Highlights & Postgame vs Xavier-10-11-25
Sunday, October 12
Creighton Men's Soccer Media Availability 9/30/25
Tuesday, September 30
Creighton Men's Soccer Highlights at DePaul - 9-27-25
Saturday, September 27
Creighton Men's Soccer Media Availability 9/24/25
Thursday, September 25
