Men's Soccer Opens BIG EAST Slate With Match At Butler

Saturday, Sept. 16 | Creighton at Butler | Indianapolis, Ind. | 12:00 p.m. (CST)

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Creighton opens conference play with a rematch of last year's BIG EAST Championship match when the Bluejays play at Butler on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.

Follow The Match
Saturday's match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network which can be found at FOXSportsGo.com or on the FOX Sports Go App.

Live stats for the contest can be found at Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.

Bluejay fans can also stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSoc.

Scouting Creighton (3-2-0)
The Bluejays enter the weekend following two consective wins last week against California and South Florida.

Creighton outscored its opponents 5-0 during those two matches. The Bluejays have not allowed a goal during the previous 205:41 of game time.

Sophomore Luke Haakenson leads the team with two goals, while Joel Rydstrand paces the squad and ranks third in the BIG EAST with three assists.

Returners Ricky Lopez-Espin and Noah Franke each have a goal and an assist, while newcomers Marios Lomis and Kuba Polat each have found the back of the net for the Bluejays.

Fifth-year senior goalkeeper Michael Kluver owns two shutouts and one combined shutout through his first five career starts as a Bluejay.

Last Time Out
The Creighton men's soccer team defeated South Florida 2-0 during Socctoberfest at Morrison Stadium (Sept. 8).

The Bluejays improved to a perfect 6-0 during Socctoberfest matches which have been played annually since 2012.

After an evenly played first half, the Bluejays broke through for a pair of goals during the final 45 minutes in front of a crowd of 3,889.

Luke Haakenson scored his second goal of the season during the 62nd minute. Joel Rydstrand sent a long pass down the left side of the pitch where Haakenson recovered the ball just outside the 18-yard box. Haakenson ran past a USF defender before sending the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0. Rydstrand recorded his team-leading third assist of the season on the play.

The Bluejays extended their lead with a goal during the 82nd minute. Freshman Kuba Polat scored his first collegiate goal to give Creighton a 2-0 edge. Noah Franke crossed a ball from the right side of the 18-yard box towards the front of the goal inside the six-yard box where Polat connected to send the ball past the Bulls' goalkeeper.

Scouting Butler (4-2-0)
The Bulldogs enter the weekend coming off a 1-0 victory over Evansville on Tuesday night.

Brandon Guhl leads Butler with four goals, while Lewis Suddick is the team-leader in assists with three.

Senior goalkeeper Eric Dick owns two shutouts and has made 20 saves (.800 save percentage) during five starts.

Each of the Bulldogs' six matches have been decided by one goal.

Butler was voted third in the preseason BIG EAST coaches poll. Suddick and Jared Timmer were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team. Timmer suffered a season ending leg injury during the Bulldogs' second match of the season.

Series History vs. Bulldogs
Creighton leads the all-time series 6-1-1, with Butler picking ups its only win in the series last year to claim the BIG EAST Tournament crown.

Last season the Bluejays defeated the Bulldogs 1-0 during the regular-season in Omaha with both teams ranked in the top 10 at the time of the match.

Butler defeated Creighton 2-1 during the 2017 BIG EAST Tournament championship match in Indianapolis.

Creighton's Conference Opener Success
The Bluejays are a perfect 4-0 in BIG EAST regular-season openers following their victory over Seton Hall last season.

Creighton's last regular season conference-opener loss occured during the 2011 season at Missouri State as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The Bluejays are opening the BIG EAST slate with a road match for the third time. Creighton defeated Villanova 1-0 in 2014 and Seton Hall 4-2 in 2015 the previous two road conference openers.

Creighton teams coached by Elmar Bolowich are 4-1-1 during the first match of the conference schedule (includes 0-1-1 in MVC).

Clean Sheets All Around
Each of Creighton's first five matches have resulted in shutouts. The Bluejays have shut out their opponents three times, while the Jays have failed to score twice.

The last time Creighton opened the season with a longer streak of shutouts by either side was at the start of the 2011. The Bluejays shut out their first eight opponents of the season before being shutout by No. 3 Maryland.

Bolowich Moves Into Second on Wins List
Head coach Elmar Bolowich took over sole possession of second on Creighton's all-time wins list with a 3-0 victory over Cal on Sept. 3. Bolowich is currently 98-31-12 as head man of the Bluejays since taking over before the 2011 season.

Bolowich passed Bret Simon, who coached at Creighton from 1995-2000 and was inducted into the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame on April 23, 2017.

Bolowich now trails only Bob Warming on Creighton's all-time wins list.

Below is a list of the winningest coaches in Bluejay soccer history.

Coach   W-L-T   Years with program
Bob Warming   190-61-34   1990-94, 2001-09
Elmar Bolowich    98-31-12   2011-Present
Bret Simon   96-26-8   1995-2000

Conference Success
With a victory on the final day of the 2016 regular season against Georgetown (Nov. 3), Creighton finished above .500 in conference play for the 25th time in program history.

The Bluejays went 5-3-1 in BIG EAST regular-season play last season and finished in a tie for third place.

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).

Three Is The Magic Number
Creighton finished 9-0-0 when scoring three or more goals last season.

The Jays have scored three goals once so far during the 2017 season (3-0 W at Cal).

The Bluejays have won their last 43 matches when scoring three or more goals, dating back to a 3-3 tie against Drake on Nov. 7, 2009.

Creighton has scored three or more goals 223 times in program history while going 219-1-3 in those matches.

The one loss came during the 1990 season. The Bluejays fell to Missouri State 5-4 in overtime.

Overtime Victory
Creighton's 1-0 victory over Grand Canyon (Aug. 27) in double overtime marked the Bluejays' first win during a match that went extra time since Sept. 21, 2013 against No. 7 St. John's (1-0, 2OT).

Creighton's previous 13 overtime matches prior to Aug. 27 had resulted in either a draw or loss (eight draws, five losses).

The Bluejays are 9-5-12 during matches that needed extra time under the direction of Elmar Bolowich (since start of 2011).

One Goal Makes the Difference
Before the Bluejays 2-0 loss to No. 17 Virginia Tech, each of Creighton's last 24 losses had been by a single goal, including every setback during the past four seasons.

Creighton has fallen behind by two goals just six times in 141 matches under Elmar Bolowich, and lost by two or more goals just four times (twice during 2017).

The Bluejays' last two-goal loss before the season-opener came on Sept. 25, 2012 at Tulsa (2-0).

Rare Defensive Mishap
Creighton allowed three goals during regulation time on Sept. 1 against No. 1 Stanford (L 0-3) for the first time since 2013 when the Bluejays fell to Seton Hall 3-2.

Since Elmar Bolowich took over as head coach in 2011, Creighton has allowed three goals during regulation only three times and five times overall.

Prior to the Jays' match at Stanford (Sept. 1), Creighton had not trailed by three goals at any point during a match coached by Elmar Bolowich (138 consecutive matches).

Creighton's loss to Stanford marked the Bluejays' first three-goal loss since Nov. 10, 2006 (at Washington, L 0-3).

Creighton Picked Second In Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked second in the preseason BIG EAST poll released on Aug. 16. The Bluejays received 70 points and one first-place vote in the poll.

Defending regular-season champion Providence received the maximum 81 points and nine first-place votes as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

Lopez-Espin and Stauffer Preseason All-BIG EAST
Forward Ricky Lopez-Espin and defender Lucas Stauffer were each named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

Lopez-Espin made the All-BIG EAST Second Team following the 2016 season, while Stauffer claimed a spot on the First Team. Stuaffer also had his named listed on the 2016 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

Creighton vs. Top 25
The Bluejays are 77-54-15 all-time against United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Top-25 opponents, and are 0-2-0 so far this season.

Creighton is 28-25-10 on the road against Top-25 competition, including 0-1 during 2017.

The Bluejays went 5-2-1 against the Top 25 during the 2016 season.

Top 25 Jays
Creighton was ranked No. 14 in the United Soccer Coaches (previously NSCAA) Preseason Top 25 that was released on Aug. 3.

This is the 15th time in the past 18 seasons in which the Bluejays were ranked in the top 25 of the preseason coaches poll.

Creighton was also No. 14 in the College Soccer News Preseason Top 30, and No. 9 in the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Poll.

The Bluejays are currently ranked outside the Top 25 of the coaches poll for the first time since the 2014 preseason.

Both Creighton (9) and Butler (4) received votes in this week's coaches poll.

Bluejays Rank Among Top in Attendance
Creighton currently ranks seventh in total home attendance (9,304) and eighth in average home attendance (3,101).

Below is a list of the average attendance leaders during the 2017 season (as of Sept. 14).

   Rk.   Team       Games   Total   Avg
   1.   Maryland       5   21,920   4,384
   2.   Cal Poly       1   3,907   3,907
   3.   UConn       5   17,626   3,525
   4.   Grand Canyon       1   3,506   3,506
   5.   South Carolina       4   13,667   3,417
   6.   Utah Valley       2   6,363   3,182
   7.   Clemson       3   9,379   3,126
   8.   Creighton       3   9,304   3,101
   9.   Portland       5   11,768   2,354
10.   Louisville       4   9,197   2,299

Creighton ended the 2016 season ranked sixth nationally in total home attendance (33,836) and sixth in average home attendance (2,608).

Last season marked the 13th straight season the Bluejays have finished in the top-10 nationally in average home attendance.

Men's Soccer Opens BIG EAST Slate With Match At Butler

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Players Mentioned

Noah Franke

Luke Haakenson

Michael Kluver

Marios Lomis

Ricky Lopez-Espin

Kuba Polat

Joel Rydstrand

Lucas Stauffer