Creighton University
Denver
#8 Men's Soccer Hosts #5 Denver For Top-10 Matchup At Morrison Stadium On Tuesday Night
10/1/2018 5:15:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays enter Tuesday on a six-match winning streak
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Creighton steps out of conference play for a top-10 matchup against Denver on Tuesday night at Morrison Stadium.
Follow the Match
Tuesday's match will be broadcast on FOX Sports Go, which can be found at FOXSportsGo.com or on the FOX Sports Go app. Jon Schriner will provide play-by-play and Donny Baarns will handle color commentary.
The match will also feature a Spanish radio broadcast on La Nueva (99.5 FM & 1020 AM in the Omaha area and online: http://player.listenlive.co/49031/es). Â
Live stats for Saturday's contest can be found at Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.
Bluejay fans can stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSOC.
Scouting #8Â Creighton (7-1-1, 3-0-0 BE)
The Bluejays enter Tuesday's match on a six-match winning streak, which includes four shutouts. Creighton is 7-1-1 overall and 3-0-0 during BIG EAST play.Â
The Bluejays opened league play with three consecutive shutouts (Butler, Villanova, Seton Hall) for the first time since 2013.Â
Sven Koenig leads Creighton in goals (6) and points (12).Â
Akeem Ward paces the squad in assists with four, while Younes Boudadi has three.Â
Six different Bluejays have scored goals during the first eight matches of the season, as Creighton has outscored the opposition 13-3.Â
Freshman goalkeeper Paul Kruse has started all nine matches for Creighton and claims a 0.325 goals against average during 830
minutes of action, which is the best mark in the BIG EAST and ranks fourth nationally. The Germany native, owns a BIG EAST-best six shutouts, which also ranks fourth in Division I.
Head coach Elmar Bolowich is in his eighth season at the helm of the Bluejays.Â
Scouting #5Â Denver (8-0-2, 1-0-1 Summit)
The Pioneers enter Tuesday's match unbeaten through the first 10 matches of the season for the third time in the past four years.
Andre Shinyashiki leads Division I with 19 goals this season. He has recorded four hat tricks, including a four-goal match at Caniglia Field against Nebraska-Omaha on Sept. 22.
Shinyashiki already holds Denver's single-season Division I record (since 1999) for goals (previous record 15).Â
The Pioneers average 2.50 goals per match, which ranks sixth nationally.Â
Goalkeeper Nick Gardner claims four shutouts this season and owns a 0.75 goals against average through 10 matches.Â
Head coach Jamie Franks is in his fourth season at the helm of Denver.Â
Series History Against Pioneers
Creighton leads the all-time series against Denver, 3-0-2 including a 2-0-1 mark at Morrison Stadium.
The Bluejays and Pioneers played to a scoreless draw on Sept. 21, 2016 at Morrison Stadium during the most recent match between the two squads.Â
Denver's Offense Versus Creighton's Defense
Denver enters Tuesday's match averaging 2.5 goals per contest, which ranks sixth in Division I, while Creighton ranks fourth nationally in goals against average (0.325).Â
The Pioneers have scored three or more goals six different times this season.Â
The Bluejays have allowed only three goals all season.Â
Denver was held scoreless for the first time this season on Saturday against Eastern Illinois, and Creighton claims six shutouts through nine matches.Â
Creighton vs. Top 25
Tuesday marks Creighton's second match of the season against a top-25 opponent.
The Bluejays defeated No. 11 Clemson, 2-0, during the season-opener.
Creighton is 79-55-15 all-time against United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Top-25 opponents.
The Bluejays are 42-13-4 at home against Top-25 competition, including 32-6-3 at Morrison Stadium.
Creighton is 24-14-5 against the top 25 under the direction of Elmar Bolowich (since 2011).
Tuesday marks the seventh top-10 matchup at Morrison Stadium, and first since Oct. 7, 2016 when #10 Creighton defeated #9 Butler, 1-0.Â
Creighton is 5-0-1 in the previous six matches.
Top-10 Matches At Morrison Stadium
Oct. 7, 2016: #10 Creighton 1, #9 Butler 0
Sept. 21, 2013: #5 Creighton 1, #7 St. John's 0 (2OT)
Aug. 31, 2012: #2 Creighton 1, #7 Akron 1 (2OT)
Oct. 15, 2011: #4 Creighton 3, #7 UC Irvine 1
Nov. 25, 2008: #2 Creighton 2, #6 Tulsa 1
Nov. 28, 2007: #7 Creighton 3, #5 SMU 0.
Last Time Out
Sven Koenig scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season and the No. 9 Creighton men's soccer team improved to 3-0-0 in BIG EAST play with a 1-0 victory against Seton Hall on Saturday night at Morrison Stadium.Â
The Bluejays remained the only team in the BIG EAST without a loss or draw in league play (3-0-0) and improved to 7-1-1 overall with their sixth consecutive win. The Pirates fell to 1-2-0 in league play and 4-3-1 overall.
Koenig converted the game-winning goal on Saturday night during the 84th minute.
Bluejays Streaking
Creighton enters Saturday's match on a six-match winning streak, which includes four shutouts.Â
The current stretch is the team's longest since starting the 2015 season with 15 straight wins.Â
The Bluejays have also opened BIG EAST play with three consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2013 when the squad also posted three straight clean sheets to start league play.
Creighton finished the month of September 6-0-0 and outscored its opponents 11-2.Â
Koenig Named BIG EAST Offensive POW
Senior forward Sven Koenig earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors, the conference announced on Monday morning.
Koenig scored all three of the Bluejays' goals last week as No. 9 Creighton protected its home pitch and defeated Jacksonville 2-1 on Sept. 25 and Seton Hall 1-0 on Saturday night.Â
The senior scored during the 60th and 72nd minutes against the Dolphins and converted the deciding goal during the 84th minute against the Pirates.Â
The Westhofen, Germany native, leads the BIG EAST with six goals this season, including three during league matches. He has recorded all six of his goals during four of Creighton's last five matches.Â
Koenig tallied only two goals during 16 matches played last season in a Bluejay uniform. The senior scored 30 goals during two seasons at Divison II Hawai'i Pacific before joining the Creighton program prior to the 2017 season.Â
Putting Up Zeros At Home
Creighton allowed its first goal at home this season during the 76th minute against Jacksonville on Tuesday, Sept. 25.
The Bluejays enter Tuesday's match with a 0.16 goals against average (one goal allowed) and five shutouts through 560 minutes of action at Morrison Stadium during 2018.
The Bluejays held a streak at Morrison Stadium of 615:59 without allowing a goal, which spanned seven matches, including five consecutive shutouts.
The Bluejays did not allow a goal during the first 455 minutes at home this season, and did not allow a goal during the final home match of 2017.Â
The last goal Creighton conceded before last Tuesday night against Jacksonville was during the 20th minute against Xavier on Oct. 14, 2017, the second-to-last home match a year ago.
Creighton was 14:55 away from matching a program record for consecutive home matches without allowing a goal. The Bluejays have claimed six consecutive home shutouts twice during program history (Oct. 15, 1999-Sept. 2, 2000 and Oct. 26-Nov. 20, 2011).
Dates    Consecutive Home Shutouts
10/15/99-9/2/00 6
10/26/11-11/20/11 6
10/28/17-9/15/17 5
The Bluejays' longest shutout streak at home is 636:26 (Oct. 15-Nov. 27, 2011).Â
Additionally, Creighton posted shutouts during its first four matches of the season at Morrison Stadium for the first time since 2014 when the team also started the season with four straight shutouts at home and did not allow a goal until the 75th minute of its fifth home contest.
The last time Creighton did not allow a goal through its first five home matches of the season was in 2011.Â
Tuesday's match is the third of three consecutive home matches for the Bluejays.Â
Creighton's next home match is Oct. 20 against Providence.Â
Fortress Morrison
Creighton is 135-23-19 overall at Morrison Stadium, including a 5-0-1 mark this season.
The Bluejays own shutouts during five of their six home matches this year.
Creighton has never lost consecutive matches at Morrison Stadium during the same season (since 2003).Â
Creighton's loss at Morrison Stadium against No. 17 Virginia Tech to open the 2017 season followed the team's loss at home to end the 2016 campaign (2-1 vs. Providence), marking the first time since 1985 that Creighton had lost consecutive home matches (spanning across two seasons).
The Bluejays went 7-1-1 during 2017 at Morrison Stadium and are 53-8-6 at home since the start 2013 when Creighton joined the BIG EAST.Â
Kruse Among Nation's Elite Keepers
Freshman goalkeeper Paul Kruse is currently tied for fourth (4th) in Division I in shutouts with six (6).
Saint Mary's Remi Prieur leads the nation with eight (8) clean sheets, while Alex Ashton (Hofstra) and Enrique Facusse (Kentucky) each own seven (7).Â
Kruse also holds a 0.325 goals against average, which leads the BIG EAST and ranks fourth (4th) nationally.Â
Division I Goals Against Average Leaders (Oct. 1)
Rk. Player (School)     Min    GA GAA
1. Colin Shutler (Virgina) 670:00 1 0.134
2. Andrew Thomas (Stanford) 864:33 2 0.208
3. Enrique Facusse (Kentucky) 834:43 3 0.323
4. Paul Kruse (Creighton) 830:00 3 0.325
5. Remi Prieur (Saint Mary's) 1,004:11 4 0.359
Brian Holt set Creighton's freshman records for goals against average (0.51 in 1,753 min.) and shutouts (12) in 2008.Â
Holt also holds the Bluejays' single-season records for both goals against average (0.21 in 2,179 min.) and shutouts (17), which were achieved in 2011.Â
Creighton Ranks Fourth In Average Attendance
Creighton enters the week fourth on the NCAA Men's Soccer Average Attendance list. The Bluejays have averaged 3,401 fans through their first four home matches.Â
2018 Division I Avg. Attendance Leaders (Oct. 1)
Rk. Team Games Total Avg.
1. Maryland 4 15,845 3,961
2. UConn 5 19,538 3,908
3. Cal Poly 4 15,263 3,816
4. Creighton 6 20,407 3,401
5. South Carolina 5 16,461 3,292
6. Wake Forest 7 18,668 2,667
7. Indiana 5 13,116 2,623
8. Clemson 3 7,394 2,465
9. Grand Canyon 6 14,760 2,445
10. Utah Valley 5 12,161 2,432
The Bluejays ranked 10th in average home attendance last season with 2,006 fans per contest, marking the 14th straight season Creighton finished in the top 10.
Creighton Ranked No. 11 In Latest RPI
Creighton was listed 11th in the official NCAA RPI released on Monday afternoon.
The Bluejays are one of two BIG EAST schools in the top 50 of the RPI (Xavier, 50). The conference has a total of seven schools listed in the top 100 (of 206 Division I programs).
Denver is listed at No. 24 in the lasted rankings.
Second-Half Scoring
Creighton has scored its last nine goals during the second half of matches.
The last time the Bluejays scored in the first half was during the 19th minute at South Florida on Sept. 3.
Despite not scoring in the first half during each of their last five matches, the Bluejays have also not allowed a goal during the first half of those contests.
Creighton has allowed only three goals this season, each during the second half of matches.Â
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