Creighton University
Akron
#12 Men's Soccer Completes Road Trip With Match At Akron On Tuesday Night
10/15/2018 5:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Bluejays are 2-0-0 during the first two parts of a three-leg road stanza
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Creighton ends its extended road trip to Ohio with a match against Akron on Tuesday night.
The Bluejays stayed on the road after playing at Xavier on Friday night in Cincinnati.Â
Tuesday also marks Creighton's final nonconference match of the regular season.Â
Follow the Match
Tuesday's match will be broadcast on ESPN+, which can be found at Plus.ESPN.com or on the ESPN App.
A direct link to Creighton's match can be found on the Bluejays' schedule page (https://gocreighton.com/schedule.aspx?path=msoc).
Live stats for Tuesday's contest will be available at Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.
Bluejay fans can stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSOC.
Scouting #12 Creighton (9-2-1, 5-0-0 BE)
The Bluejays improved to 5-0-0 in BIG EAST play and 9-2-1 overall with a 3-1 victory at Xavier on Friday night in Cincinnati.
Sven Koenig paces the squad and leads the BIG EAST in goals (7), while eight different Bluejays have scored goals during 12 matches this season. Creighton leads the conference in scoring with 1.58 goals per contest.Â
Akeem Ward paces the squad in assists with four, while Younes Boudadi and Yudai Tashiro each have three.Â
Freshman goalkeeper Paul Kruse has started all 12 matches for Creighton and claims a 0.484 goals against average during 1,115 minutes of action, which is the best mark in the BIG EAST and ranks sixth nationally. The Germany native, owns a BIG EAST-best six shutouts, which is tied for 10th in Division I.
Head coach Elmar Bolowich is in his eighth season at the helm of the Bluejays.Â
Scouting Akron (5-5-2, 0-1-1 MAC)
The Zips enter Tuesday's match following a 2-1 overtime loss against MAC foe West Virginia on Saturday night at home.
Tuesday's contest marks Akron's sixth match this season against a team ranked inside the United Soccer Coaches Top 25.Â
The Zips are 1-3-1 in the previous five contests.Â
The lone win came on Oct. 9 at No. 8 Michigan State (2-1).Â
David Egbo owns eight goals to lead a squad that averages 1.92 goals per match, which leads the MAC and ranks 30th nationally.
Goalkeeper Ben Lundt has started each game for Akron and owns a 1.36 goals against average.Â
Head coach Jared Embick is in his sixth season at the helm of Akron.
Series History Against Zips
Akron leads the all-time series against Creighton 2-0-2.Â
The Bluejays and Zips have met twice during the regular season.
Creighton is 0-2-1 at Akron, including a 1-0 loss during the 2010 regular season.
The Zips defeated Creighton 3-2 in double overtime during the Elite Eight of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, which marks the last meeting between the two schools.Â
Road Warriors
Tuesday's match is the third of three consecutive road matches for the Bluejays.
Creighton has played five contests away from Omaha so far this season and is 4-1-0 in those matches, including 2-0-0 during their current road stretch.
The last time the Bluejays played three or more consecutive regular-season road matches was in 2011 (head coach Elmar Bolowich's first season at Creighton), when the squad went 2-2 during a four-match road swing from Sept. 30-Oct. 12.
Creighton already surpassed last season's road win total as the team managed only two wins during nine road matches in 2017 (2-6-0).Â
Two Of Best Programs In Division I Since 2011
Since Elmar Bolowich took over as Creighton's head coach prior to the 2011 season, Akron and Creighton rank first and fourth, respectively, for wins, and and second and fifth in winning
percentage in Division I.
Division I Men's Soccer Most Wins, 2011-Present
1. Akron 117-33-20
2. North Carolina 116-28-22
3. Coastal Carolina 115-39-11
4. Creighton 113-38-15
5. Maryland 108-31-29
6. Wake Forest 107-34-24
7. Indiana 103-36-31
8. Georgetown 100-36-24
9. Stanford 97-37-23
10. Denver 96-37-21
Notre Dame 96-38-26
Division I Men's Soccer Best Winning Percentage, 2011-Present
1. North Carolina .765 (116-28-22)
2. Akron .747 (117-33-20)
3. Coastal Carolina .730 (115-39-11)
4. Maryland .729 (108-31-29)
5. Creighton .726 (113-38-15)
6. Wake Forest .721 (107-34-24)
7. Georgetown .700 (100-36-24)
8. Indiana .697 (103-36-31)
9. Denver .692 (96-37-21)
10. Stanford .691 (97-37-23)
Akron has made the NCAA Tournament each year since 2011, while Creighton has missed the NCAAs only once (2017) since Bolowich joined the program.Â
Last Time Out
Creighton remained unbeaten in BIG EAST play with a 3-1 win at Xavier on Friday night (Oct. 12).
Tor Trosten tallied his first three points in a Creighton uniform with an assist on the Bluejays' first goal and a goal of his own for the final score of the match. Akeem Ward scored the game-winning goal during the 58th minute.Â
Creighton took an early lead as Sven Koenig converted his BIG EAST-leading seventh goal of the season during the third minute. The Bluejays sent a handful of passes down the left flank before Trosten found Koenig in the middle of the box. The senior slotted the ball inside the near post and gave the Bluejays a 1-0 advantage. Luke Haakenson also recorded an assist on the play.
Xavier found an equalizer during the 50th minute. Simen Hestnes beat Kruse towards the far post to tie the match at 1-1.
Ward pushed the Bluejays back ahead with a goal during the 58th minute. Ward raced towards the end line before sending a shot towards the far post that was deflected over Xavier's goalkeeper. Ward's second goal of the season gave Creighton a 2-1 lead with just over 30 minutes to play in regulation.
Trosten extended the Bluejays' lead to two goals during the 84th minute. Yudai Tashiro recovered a ball after a corner kick and sent it towards Trosten in front of the goal who flicked the ball over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net for Creighton's third goal of the night.
Scoring First, Leading At Half Produces Success
Under the direction of head coach Elmar Bolowich, the Bluejays are 98-9-4 when scoring first, and 65-2-3 when leading at the half.
This season, Creighton is 9-0-0 when scoring first and 3-0-0 when leading at the half.Â
Comparatively, the Bluejays are 15-29-4 when the opposition scores first, 7-18-2 when trailing at halftime, and 41-18-10 when the score is tied after 45 minutes of play (since start of 2011 season).
The Bluejays' last loss when scoring first was last season against Georgetown (Nov. 1, 2017).
Creighton's only two losses when leading at the half with Bolowich as head coach occurred on Sept. 16, 2017 at Butler and Oct. 11, 2016 at Tulsa.Â
Second-Half Scoring
Creighton has scored 14 its last 15 goals during the second half of matches.
The Bluejays scored during the third minute on Friday night against Xavier for the team's first goal in the first half since the 19th minute at South Florida on Sept. 3.
Despite not scoring in the first half during a span of seven consecutive matches, the Bluejays also did not allow a goal during the first half of those contests, and held opponents to zero goals during the first 12 contests of the season.
Creighton has allowed only six goals this season, five during the second half of matches and one during overtime.Â
Kruse Among Nation's Elite Keepers
Freshman goalkeeper Paul Kruse holds a 0.484 goals against average, which leads the BIG EAST and ranks sixth (6th) nationally.Â
Division I Goals Against Average Leaders (Oct. 15)
Rk. Player (School)     Min    GA GAA
1. Remi Prieur (Saint Mary's) 1,184:11 4 0.304
2. Colin Shutler (Virginia) 1,030:00 5 0.437
3. Zach Rowell (UMass Lowell) 815:00 4 0.442
4. James Pyle (North Carolina) 1,129:27 6 0.478
5. Enrique Facusse (Kentucky) 1,118:22 6 0.483
6. Paul Kruse (Creighton) 1,114:40 6 0.484
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 during the 2011 season.Â
Creighton Ranked No. 14 In Latest RPI
Creighton was listed 14th in the official NCAA RPI released on Monday.
The Bluejays are one of two BIG EAST schools in the top 50 of the RPI (Georgetown, 38). The conference has a total of six schools listed in the top 100 (of 206 Division I programs).
Akron is listed at No. 51.
Trosten Scores First Points, Earns BE Honor
Junior Tor Trosten had a goal and an assist during Friday's victory at Xavier for his first three points in a Bluejay uniform.
Trosten's efforts earned him a spot on this week's BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
The Tromso, Norway, native, assisted on Sven Koenig's goal during the third minute and added an insurance score during the 84th.Â
