
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Men's Soccer Concludes Regular Season At Georgetown On Wednesday Afternoon
10/30/2017 5:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Creighton is currently in fifth place in the BIG EAST standings
Download Complete NotesÂ
Wednesday, Nov. 1Â |Â Creighton at Georgetown | Washington, D.C. | 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Up Next
Creighton concludes the regular season with a match at Georgetown on Wednesday afternoon. The Bluejays can clinch a spot in the BIG EAST postseason tournament with a victory over the Hoyas. Â
Follow The Match
Wednesday's match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network which can be found at FOXSportsGo.com and the FOX Sports Go app. Dan Helfrich will handle play-by-play while Tom Greaser will provide color commentary. Marisa Pilla will also be a sideline reporter for the match.
Live stats for the contest can be found on Gametracker: http://www.guhoyas.com/gametracker/launch/gt_msoccer.html?event=1551758&school=gu&sport=msoccer&camefrom=&startschool=&.
Bluejay fans can also stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSoc.
Scouting Creighton (9-5-2, 3-3-2 BE)
The Bluejays enter Wednesday's match in the fifth place in the BIG EAST standings in search of a win to clinch the No. 5 seed in the postseason conference tournament.Â
Creighton can still make the six-team BIG EAST tournament field with a tie or loss against Georgetown AND a loss by either Providence or Marquette (more details explained below).Â
Senior forward Ricky Lopez-Espin leads the team and is tied for the BIG EAST lead with 10 goals. He also has two assists to pace the squad with 23 points which is tied for the best mark in the conference.
Marios Lomis and Noah Franke are tied for second on the team with 10 points. Lomis has five goals, while Franke has three goals and four assists.
Joel Rydstrand leads the Bluejays and is tied atop of the BIG EAST with seven assists.Â
The Bluejays have scored a league-best 15 goals during eight conference matches.Â
Senior goalkeeper Michael Kluver is 9-4-1 with six shutouts and a 1.05 goals against average.Â
Last Time Out
The Creighton men's soccer team picked up three points in the BIG EAST standings with a 2-0 shutout of DePaul on Saturday night at Morrison Stadium as part of senior night.
The Bluejays improved to 3-3-2 during BIG EAST play and 9-5-2 overall, while the Blue Demons fell to 4-11-2 overall and 1-6-1 in league action.
After an evenly played first half on Saturday, the Bluejays scored two goals during the final 20 minutes of action to claim their seventh home victory and end the regular-season home schedule at 7-1-1.
Senior Ricky Lopez-Espin gave the Bluejays a 1-0 lead during the 74th minute. The Miami, Florida, native, started a run from Creighton's defensive half of midfield before racing past three defenders and placing the ball inside the far post from eight yards out. Kuba Polat earned an assist for playing the ball to Lopez-Espin before his long run.
Sven Koenig added an insurance goal during the 89th minute. Lopez-Espin found Koenig streaking towards the middle of the field before the junior recovered the ball just inside Creighton's attacking half of the pitch with only DePaul's goalkeeper in front of him. Koenig dribbled the ball to the edge of the 18-yard box before slotting the ball into the back of the net.
Senior Michael Kluver made a career-high seven saves to preserve his sixth shutout of the season. The Omaha, Neb., native, recorded five saves during the opening 45 minutes.
Scouting Georgetown (11-3-2, 5-2-1 BE)
The Hoyas enter the final match of the regular-season in a tie for second place in the league standings.Â
Georgetown has clinched a home BIG EAST postseason match, but can finish as high as the No. 2 seed and earn a first-round bye or finish as the third or fourth seed and host a first round match.
Derek Dodson leads the Hoyas with 14 points from six goals and two assists. Four of Dodson's goals have occurred during the league schedule.
Declan McCabe paces the squad with six assists, including five through eight BIG EAST matches, which is tied for the most in league-only matches.
Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year JT Marcinkowski leads the BIG EAST and ranks 14th nationally with a 0.60 goals against average and owns eight shutouts (9th-best mark in Division I).Â
The Hoyas have outscored their oppoents 12-4 during BIG EAST play (5-2-1 record) with each of its losses coming by 1-0 scores and its draw at 0-0.
Georgetown is 7-1-1 at home this season, including 3-0-1 during BIG EAST matches.
Head coach Brian Wiese is in his 12th season as head coach at Georgetown.Â
Series History vs. Hoyas
The all-time series between Creighton and Georgetown is tied 3-3-1.
Last season, the Bluejays defeated the Hoyas 3-0 at Morrison Stadium.
Creighton is 1-2-0 at Georgetown, including 0-1-1 during BIG EAST regular-season play.Â
The Bluejays' lone win at the Hoyas' home field came during the 2005 season.
Tight BIG EAST Race
Creighton is currently in fifth place in the BIG EAST standings with one match remaining during the regular season.
The top six teams in the final standings qualify for the BIG EAST postseason tournament.Â
The Bluejays have 11 points (3-3-2) and are currently one point ahead of both Providence and Marquette who are tied for sixth place with 10 points.
Creighton clinches the No. 5 seed in the BIG EAST tournament with a win at Georgetown on Wednesday. The Bluejays can also claim the fifth seed in the tourney with losses by both Providence (vs. St. John's) and Marquette (at DePaul) during the final day of regular-season action.
If Creighton loses to Georgetown, a loss by either Providence or Marquette would allow the Bluejays to make the postseason conference tournament.Â
If the Bluejays and Hoyas draw, Providence or Marquette must tie or lose for Creighton to earn a spot in the BIG EAST tournament.Â
If Creighton, Providence and Marquette each finish with 11 points after Wednesday's results, Providence and Marquette would clinch the final two spots in the tournament based on head-to-head results between the three schools.Â
Creighton does NOT own the tiebreaker with Marquette. If the Bluejays and Providence are tied in the final standings, the top of the standings will determine which team earns the tiebreaker as the two school played to a scoreless draw on Oct. 21.Â
Butler clinched the BIG EAST regular-season title with a victory over Marquette on Saturday night.
St. John's, Georgetown and Xavier have each earned spots in the BIG EAST postseason tournament and will each clinch the No. 2, 3 or 4 seed as all three teams cannot finish worse than fourth in the final standings.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive home-field advantage in the semifinal round of the tournament (Nov. 8), while the third and fourth-seeded teams will host the No. 5 and No. 6 teams in first-round matches on Saturday (Nov. 4).Â
The BIG EAST postseason championship will be decided at the home-field of the highest remaining seed on Sunday, Nov. 12. Â
The Bluejays have qualified for the BIG EAST conference tournament each year since joining the conference in 2013, but has never won the tournament and finished runner-up twice (2015, 2016).
Conference Success
With a victory on the final day of the 2016 regular season against Georgetown, Creighton finished above .500 in conference play for the 25th time in program history, and will be looking to accomplish the same feat on Wednesday.Â
The Bluejays enter Wednesday's match at 3-3-2 during BIG EAST play.Â
Creighton finished 5-3-1 in BIG EAST regular-season play last season and finished in a tie for third place.Â
In 26 seasons combined in the Missouri Valley Conference (22 seasons) and BIG EAST (four seasons), Creighton has never finished with more losses than wins during conference play and finished at .500 only once (4-4-1 in 2013).
CU Seeks First BIG EAST Road Win
Creighton is 0-3-1 during BIG EAST road matches this season.
The Bluejays finished last season 1-2-1 on the road during the conference slate.Â
Since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013 season, Creighton is 9-9-4 during regular-season conference road matches.Â
By comparison, the Bluejays are 17-4-1 during regular-season BIG EAST matches played in Omaha.Â
Creighton vs. Top 25
The Bluejays are 78-54-15 all-time against United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA)Â Top-25 opponents, and are 1-2-0 so far this season.
Creighton is 29-25-10 on the road against Top-25 competition, including 1-1-0 during 2017 after defeating No. 24 Nebraska-Omaha on Sept. 26.
Georgetown was ranked No. 10 in last week's United Soccer Coaches poll.
The Bluejays went 5-2-1 against the Top 25Â during the 2016 season.Â
Lopez-Espin Nearing CU Career Goals List
Ricky Lopez-Espin currently has 28 career goals and needs one more to move into a tie for eighth on Creighton's career goals chart.Â
John Probst (1980-83), Ray Nikodem (1980-82), and current Creighton women's soccer coach Ross Paule (1994-96), each scored 29 goals during their Bluejay careers.
The Creighton record for goals during an individual career is 68, set by Keith DeFini (1990-93).
Lopez-Espin is also currently tied for ninth in Creighton men's soccer history with four career multi-goal matches.Â
RPI Rankings Update
The Bluejays were ranked 47th in the fifth official RPI rankings that were released on Monday, Oct. 30.
Creighton is one of four BIG EAST teams listed in the top 60 (of 205 Division I programs).
17.   ButlerÂ
22.   Georgetown
47.   Creighton
52.   Xavier
The top 10 includes 1) North Carolina, 2) Wake Forest, 3) Duke, 4) Louisville, 5) Indiana, 6) Michigan State, 7) Clemson, 8) Western Michigan, 9) Akron, 10) Notre Dame.Â
(complete rankings to the left on this page)
Iron Men Stauffer and FrankeÂ
Seniors Lucas Stauffer and Noah Franke rank first and second in Division I Men's Soccer for matches played among active players.
Stauffer has played in 84 matches, while Franke currently owns 83 appearances.
Stauffer also played in his 51st match at Morrison Stadium on Oct. 28 against DePaul, which is tied with Timo Pitter (20112-15) for second-most in program history. Ricardo Perez (2013-16) holds the record for matches played at Morrison Stadium with 52 appearances.
The Creighton record for matches played in a career is 90, set by David Wagenfuhr (2000-2003).
Wednesday is the final match of the regular season for the Bluejays.Â
Lopez-Espin Makes BE Weekly Honor Roll
Ricky Lopez-Espin earned a spot on this week's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after recording a goal and an assist during Creighton's 2-0 victory against DePaul on Saturday.Â
The senior forward has made the weekly honor roll three times this season.Â
Senior Contributions
The Bluejays' 2017 roster features six seniors (Noah Franke, Michael Kluver, Marios Lomis, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Lucas Stauffer, Stefan Wutte).
The seniors have scored 20 of Creighton's 28 goals and own a combined 13 assists.Â
Lopez-Espin leads the team and is tied for the BIG EAST lead with 10 goals. The Miami, Florida, native, also has three assists.
Franke owns three goals and four assists while ranking third on the team with 1,284 minutes played.
Stauffer has five assists, two goals and leads the team with 1,370 minutes played this season.
Lomis has five goals, including the game-winner during Creighton's 1-0 double overtime victory over Grand Canyon (Aug. 27) for the team's first victory of the season, and two multi-goal matches.
Wutte has played 32 minutes this season.Â
Kluver, during his fifth year with the program, claims six shutouts during 15 starts. He also holds a 1.05 goals against average. The Omaha native, also has one assist.
Creighton Lights Up Shot Column
The Bluejays fired 31 shots on Oct. 25 against Marquette, the most by a Creighton team since Oct. 24, 2015 when the Jays had 39 during a 5-1 victory over Villanova.
Marios Lomis also recorded a career-high nine shots, the most by a Creighton individual since Riggs Lennon had 10 last season at St. John's (Oct. 1, 2016).
Creighton leads the BIG EAST and ranks 5th in Division I with 16.38 shots per match.
Corner Kicks A Plenty
Creighton recorded 13 corner kicks against Marquette (Oct. 25), the most in a single match since the Bluejays had 15 at SMU on Nov. 21, 2010 during Creighton's last match not coached by Elmar Bolowich.Â
The Bluejays have taken 111 corner kicks this season. The program record for corners during a single season is 163, achieved by the 2002 College Cup squad.
Creighton averages 6.94 corner kicks per match, which is second in the BIG EAST and ranks 7th in Division I.Â
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Wednesday, Nov. 1Â |Â Creighton at Georgetown | Washington, D.C. | 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Up Next
Creighton concludes the regular season with a match at Georgetown on Wednesday afternoon. The Bluejays can clinch a spot in the BIG EAST postseason tournament with a victory over the Hoyas. Â
Follow The Match
Wednesday's match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network which can be found at FOXSportsGo.com and the FOX Sports Go app. Dan Helfrich will handle play-by-play while Tom Greaser will provide color commentary. Marisa Pilla will also be a sideline reporter for the match.
Live stats for the contest can be found on Gametracker: http://www.guhoyas.com/gametracker/launch/gt_msoccer.html?event=1551758&school=gu&sport=msoccer&camefrom=&startschool=&.
Bluejay fans can also stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSoc.
Scouting Creighton (9-5-2, 3-3-2 BE)
The Bluejays enter Wednesday's match in the fifth place in the BIG EAST standings in search of a win to clinch the No. 5 seed in the postseason conference tournament.Â
Creighton can still make the six-team BIG EAST tournament field with a tie or loss against Georgetown AND a loss by either Providence or Marquette (more details explained below).Â
Senior forward Ricky Lopez-Espin leads the team and is tied for the BIG EAST lead with 10 goals. He also has two assists to pace the squad with 23 points which is tied for the best mark in the conference.
Marios Lomis and Noah Franke are tied for second on the team with 10 points. Lomis has five goals, while Franke has three goals and four assists.
Joel Rydstrand leads the Bluejays and is tied atop of the BIG EAST with seven assists.Â
The Bluejays have scored a league-best 15 goals during eight conference matches.Â
Senior goalkeeper Michael Kluver is 9-4-1 with six shutouts and a 1.05 goals against average.Â
Last Time Out
The Creighton men's soccer team picked up three points in the BIG EAST standings with a 2-0 shutout of DePaul on Saturday night at Morrison Stadium as part of senior night.
The Bluejays improved to 3-3-2 during BIG EAST play and 9-5-2 overall, while the Blue Demons fell to 4-11-2 overall and 1-6-1 in league action.
After an evenly played first half on Saturday, the Bluejays scored two goals during the final 20 minutes of action to claim their seventh home victory and end the regular-season home schedule at 7-1-1.
Senior Ricky Lopez-Espin gave the Bluejays a 1-0 lead during the 74th minute. The Miami, Florida, native, started a run from Creighton's defensive half of midfield before racing past three defenders and placing the ball inside the far post from eight yards out. Kuba Polat earned an assist for playing the ball to Lopez-Espin before his long run.
Sven Koenig added an insurance goal during the 89th minute. Lopez-Espin found Koenig streaking towards the middle of the field before the junior recovered the ball just inside Creighton's attacking half of the pitch with only DePaul's goalkeeper in front of him. Koenig dribbled the ball to the edge of the 18-yard box before slotting the ball into the back of the net.
Senior Michael Kluver made a career-high seven saves to preserve his sixth shutout of the season. The Omaha, Neb., native, recorded five saves during the opening 45 minutes.
Scouting Georgetown (11-3-2, 5-2-1 BE)
The Hoyas enter the final match of the regular-season in a tie for second place in the league standings.Â
Georgetown has clinched a home BIG EAST postseason match, but can finish as high as the No. 2 seed and earn a first-round bye or finish as the third or fourth seed and host a first round match.
Derek Dodson leads the Hoyas with 14 points from six goals and two assists. Four of Dodson's goals have occurred during the league schedule.
Declan McCabe paces the squad with six assists, including five through eight BIG EAST matches, which is tied for the most in league-only matches.
Preseason BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year JT Marcinkowski leads the BIG EAST and ranks 14th nationally with a 0.60 goals against average and owns eight shutouts (9th-best mark in Division I).Â
The Hoyas have outscored their oppoents 12-4 during BIG EAST play (5-2-1 record) with each of its losses coming by 1-0 scores and its draw at 0-0.
Georgetown is 7-1-1 at home this season, including 3-0-1 during BIG EAST matches.
Head coach Brian Wiese is in his 12th season as head coach at Georgetown.Â
Series History vs. Hoyas
The all-time series between Creighton and Georgetown is tied 3-3-1.
Last season, the Bluejays defeated the Hoyas 3-0 at Morrison Stadium.
Creighton is 1-2-0 at Georgetown, including 0-1-1 during BIG EAST regular-season play.Â
The Bluejays' lone win at the Hoyas' home field came during the 2005 season.
Tight BIG EAST Race
Creighton is currently in fifth place in the BIG EAST standings with one match remaining during the regular season.
The top six teams in the final standings qualify for the BIG EAST postseason tournament.Â
The Bluejays have 11 points (3-3-2) and are currently one point ahead of both Providence and Marquette who are tied for sixth place with 10 points.
Creighton clinches the No. 5 seed in the BIG EAST tournament with a win at Georgetown on Wednesday. The Bluejays can also claim the fifth seed in the tourney with losses by both Providence (vs. St. John's) and Marquette (at DePaul) during the final day of regular-season action.
If Creighton loses to Georgetown, a loss by either Providence or Marquette would allow the Bluejays to make the postseason conference tournament.Â
If the Bluejays and Hoyas draw, Providence or Marquette must tie or lose for Creighton to earn a spot in the BIG EAST tournament.Â
If Creighton, Providence and Marquette each finish with 11 points after Wednesday's results, Providence and Marquette would clinch the final two spots in the tournament based on head-to-head results between the three schools.Â
Creighton does NOT own the tiebreaker with Marquette. If the Bluejays and Providence are tied in the final standings, the top of the standings will determine which team earns the tiebreaker as the two school played to a scoreless draw on Oct. 21.Â
Butler clinched the BIG EAST regular-season title with a victory over Marquette on Saturday night.
St. John's, Georgetown and Xavier have each earned spots in the BIG EAST postseason tournament and will each clinch the No. 2, 3 or 4 seed as all three teams cannot finish worse than fourth in the final standings.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive home-field advantage in the semifinal round of the tournament (Nov. 8), while the third and fourth-seeded teams will host the No. 5 and No. 6 teams in first-round matches on Saturday (Nov. 4).Â
The BIG EAST postseason championship will be decided at the home-field of the highest remaining seed on Sunday, Nov. 12. Â
The Bluejays have qualified for the BIG EAST conference tournament each year since joining the conference in 2013, but has never won the tournament and finished runner-up twice (2015, 2016).
Conference Success
With a victory on the final day of the 2016 regular season against Georgetown, Creighton finished above .500 in conference play for the 25th time in program history, and will be looking to accomplish the same feat on Wednesday.Â
The Bluejays enter Wednesday's match at 3-3-2 during BIG EAST play.Â
Creighton finished 5-3-1 in BIG EAST regular-season play last season and finished in a tie for third place.Â
In 26 seasons combined in the Missouri Valley Conference (22 seasons) and BIG EAST (four seasons), Creighton has never finished with more losses than wins during conference play and finished at .500 only once (4-4-1 in 2013).
CU Seeks First BIG EAST Road Win
Creighton is 0-3-1 during BIG EAST road matches this season.
The Bluejays finished last season 1-2-1 on the road during the conference slate.Â
Since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013 season, Creighton is 9-9-4 during regular-season conference road matches.Â
By comparison, the Bluejays are 17-4-1 during regular-season BIG EAST matches played in Omaha.Â
Creighton vs. Top 25
The Bluejays are 78-54-15 all-time against United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA)Â Top-25 opponents, and are 1-2-0 so far this season.
Creighton is 29-25-10 on the road against Top-25 competition, including 1-1-0 during 2017 after defeating No. 24 Nebraska-Omaha on Sept. 26.
Georgetown was ranked No. 10 in last week's United Soccer Coaches poll.
The Bluejays went 5-2-1 against the Top 25Â during the 2016 season.Â
Lopez-Espin Nearing CU Career Goals List
Ricky Lopez-Espin currently has 28 career goals and needs one more to move into a tie for eighth on Creighton's career goals chart.Â
John Probst (1980-83), Ray Nikodem (1980-82), and current Creighton women's soccer coach Ross Paule (1994-96), each scored 29 goals during their Bluejay careers.
The Creighton record for goals during an individual career is 68, set by Keith DeFini (1990-93).
Lopez-Espin is also currently tied for ninth in Creighton men's soccer history with four career multi-goal matches.Â
RPI Rankings Update
The Bluejays were ranked 47th in the fifth official RPI rankings that were released on Monday, Oct. 30.
Creighton is one of four BIG EAST teams listed in the top 60 (of 205 Division I programs).
17.   ButlerÂ
22.   Georgetown
47.   Creighton
52.   Xavier
The top 10 includes 1) North Carolina, 2) Wake Forest, 3) Duke, 4) Louisville, 5) Indiana, 6) Michigan State, 7) Clemson, 8) Western Michigan, 9) Akron, 10) Notre Dame.Â
(complete rankings to the left on this page)
Iron Men Stauffer and FrankeÂ
Seniors Lucas Stauffer and Noah Franke rank first and second in Division I Men's Soccer for matches played among active players.
Stauffer has played in 84 matches, while Franke currently owns 83 appearances.
Stauffer also played in his 51st match at Morrison Stadium on Oct. 28 against DePaul, which is tied with Timo Pitter (20112-15) for second-most in program history. Ricardo Perez (2013-16) holds the record for matches played at Morrison Stadium with 52 appearances.
The Creighton record for matches played in a career is 90, set by David Wagenfuhr (2000-2003).
Wednesday is the final match of the regular season for the Bluejays.Â
Lopez-Espin Makes BE Weekly Honor Roll
Ricky Lopez-Espin earned a spot on this week's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after recording a goal and an assist during Creighton's 2-0 victory against DePaul on Saturday.Â
The senior forward has made the weekly honor roll three times this season.Â
Senior Contributions
The Bluejays' 2017 roster features six seniors (Noah Franke, Michael Kluver, Marios Lomis, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Lucas Stauffer, Stefan Wutte).
The seniors have scored 20 of Creighton's 28 goals and own a combined 13 assists.Â
Lopez-Espin leads the team and is tied for the BIG EAST lead with 10 goals. The Miami, Florida, native, also has three assists.
Franke owns three goals and four assists while ranking third on the team with 1,284 minutes played.
Stauffer has five assists, two goals and leads the team with 1,370 minutes played this season.
Lomis has five goals, including the game-winner during Creighton's 1-0 double overtime victory over Grand Canyon (Aug. 27) for the team's first victory of the season, and two multi-goal matches.
Wutte has played 32 minutes this season.Â
Kluver, during his fifth year with the program, claims six shutouts during 15 starts. He also holds a 1.05 goals against average. The Omaha native, also has one assist.
Creighton Lights Up Shot Column
The Bluejays fired 31 shots on Oct. 25 against Marquette, the most by a Creighton team since Oct. 24, 2015 when the Jays had 39 during a 5-1 victory over Villanova.
Marios Lomis also recorded a career-high nine shots, the most by a Creighton individual since Riggs Lennon had 10 last season at St. John's (Oct. 1, 2016).
Creighton leads the BIG EAST and ranks 5th in Division I with 16.38 shots per match.
Corner Kicks A Plenty
Creighton recorded 13 corner kicks against Marquette (Oct. 25), the most in a single match since the Bluejays had 15 at SMU on Nov. 21, 2010 during Creighton's last match not coached by Elmar Bolowich.Â
The Bluejays have taken 111 corner kicks this season. The program record for corners during a single season is 163, achieved by the 2002 College Cup squad.
Creighton averages 6.94 corner kicks per match, which is second in the BIG EAST and ranks 7th in Division I.Â
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Players Mentioned
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