Creighton University
Missouri State
Men's Soccer Welcomes Missouri State for Exhibition Match on Wednesday
8/16/2016 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The Bluejays will also welcome Wisconsin to Omaha on Saturday night.Â
Creighton opens the season ranked seventh in the NSCAA Preseason Top 25 after finishing 2015 with the most wins in Division I (19) and the third-best scoring offense (2.30 goals per game).
The Bluejays return five starters and welcomes 12 newcomers for the 2016 campaign.Â
About Missouri State
The Bears return nine starters from a team that finished fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2015.   Â
Liam Priestley returns as Missouri State's goalkeeper after starting all 17 matches last season and holding the fourth-best goals against average in the MVC (1.15). Â
Jake Buckle earned 13 starts as a freshman and recorded a team-high 29 shots while scoring three goals.Â
Creighton's Recent Exhibition History
During the past five seasons under the direction of head coach Elmar Bolowich, the Bluejays are 5-0-5 in exhibition matches.Â
Last season Creighton went 2-0 in the preseason, outscoring Bradley and Northwestern a combined 8-0.
2016 Creighton Outlook
The Creighton men's soccer team enters the 2016 campaign after its second consecutive Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays spent a program-best eight consecutive weeks as the No. 1 team in the NSCAA national rankings and ranked third in the country in scoring offense, and now must replace over 50 percent of their goal scoring and six starters from last season.Â
    MAC Hermann Trophy finalist Fabian Herbers and semifinalist Timo Pitter combined for 25 of Creighton's 52 goals during 2015. Herbers also broke the single-season program mark with 17 assists, while Pitter completed his career with the second-most matches played in a Bluejay uniform. Fernando Castellanos also scored three goals in his final season at Creighton.
    Ricardo Perez returns as the leading scorer with six goals last season. Perez earned a spot on the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team. Only two other returning Bluejays had four or more goals last season.      Â
    Forward Ricky Lopez-Espin owns the second-most career goals among active Bluejays with eight, trailing only Perez (11).Â
    Myles Englis, in his fifth year with the program, will also provide leadership at the forward position.Â
    Noah Franke and Joel Rydstrand, each of whom appeared in all 23 matches and combined for five goals and six assists, will lead the midfield.Â
    Midfielder Evan Waldrep appeared in 10 matches as a freshman, but also spent two weeks playing for the United States U-20 National Team during the 2015 season.Â
    Lucas Stauffer is the only returner to start each match during 2015, and is expected to anchor the backline. Stauffer earned BIG EAST All-Rookie status in 2014 and the team's Most Inspirational Award last season. Â
    Defender Peter Prescott played in 20 matches as a freshman and also gives Creighton experience on the backline.Â
    Mitch LaGro, who played significant minutes in the second half of the season, is also expected to lead the back.Â
    With the departure of six seniors, including BIG EAST Co-Goalkeeper of the Year Connor Sparrow, Bolowich welcomes 12 newcomers to Omaha. Of the group, two arrive with three years of Division I experience and another as an NAIA All-American.
    Alex Kapp looks to be most equipped to replace Sparrow in goal. Kapp played goalkeeper for Boston College and made 36 starts during three seasons as an Eagle. After graduating from BC in December, Kapp moved to Creighton to begin his MBA with one year of eligibility remaining.
    Riggs Lennon comes to the Hilltop after three years of experience at Virginia. As a Cavalier, Lennon tallied seven goals over three
seasons and converted two match-clinching penalty kicks during Virginia's 2014 national championship run.
    Akeem Ward enters the Bluejay program after earning a nod as an NAIA All-American while playing at Hastings College. The defender helped the Broncos hold opponents to one or fewer goals during 16 of 20 matches during 2015.
    Freshmen Luke Haakenson and Julius Fohr are also expected to make an immediate impact.Â
    Two other transfers, Yasin Abdulgasem and Fabio Rumpler, and five freshmen, Roberto Anton, Connor Gavigan, Daniel Ribas, Karim Sawaf and Trent Williams, round out the recruiting class.
    Similar to other seasons, the Bluejays have a number of talented opponents on their schedule. Creighton plays seven teams that finished in the top-50 in RPI a season ago, including two from the top-10.Â
    The Bluejays travel to national runner-up Clemson and face three non-conference opponents that ended their seasons in the second round of the NCAAs (Rutgers, Denver, Tulsa). Â
    The regular season concludes with a home date against 2015 BIG EAST champion Georgetown, which defeated the Bluejays twice last season, including a double overtime overtime sudden-victory in the BIG EAST Championship.
Blue-White Recap
Creighton's annual Blue-White Scrimmage ended in a 0-0 draw on Saturday (Aug. 13). Following the 80-minute match, the White team outlasted the Blue squad 3-1 in penalty kicks.Â
Top 10 Jays, Again
Creighton has been ranked seventh nationally in the preseason edition of the NSCAA Top 25 Coaches poll.
It's the fifth time in the last six years the Bluejays have been ranked in the top-10 of the preseason poll, and 12th time since 1998.
Bluejays Rank Among Top in Attendance
Creighton finished last season third nationally in average home attendance and second overall in total home attendance.
It was the 12th straight season the Bluejays have finished in the top-10 nationally in average home attendance.
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