Creighton University
DePaul
#19 Men's Soccer Faces Final Road Test Of Regular Season On Saturday At DePaul
10/25/2018 2:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Bluejays can clinch at least a share of the BIG EAST regular-season title with a win against the Blue Demons
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Creighton plays its final road match of the regular-season on Saturday afternoon at DePaul.
Follow the Match
Saturday's match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN), which can be found at FOXSportsGo.com or on the FOX Sports Go app.Â
A link to live stats for Saturday's contest will be available on Creighton's schedule page.
Bluejay fans can stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSOC.
Scouting #19 Creighton (10-3-2, 6-0-1 BE)
The Bluejays enter Saturday's match as the BIG EAST standings leader with 19 points (6-0-1) and hold a 10-3-2 overall record.Â
Creighton ranks fifth nationally with a 0.513 goals against average as the Bluejays have conceded only eight goals through 15 matches and have not allowed more than one during a single match.Â
Offensively, Sven Koenig paces the squad and leads the BIG EAST in goals (8), while nine different Bluejays have scored at least one goal.Â
During league action, the Bluejays are outscoring the opposition 13-3.
Akeem Ward and Joel Rydstrand each have four assists to lead the team.Â
Freshman goalkeeper Paul Kruse has started all 15 matches for Creighton and claims a 0.513 goals against average during 1,404 minutes of action, which is the best mark in the BIG EAST and ranks eighth nationally. The Germany native, also owns a BIG EAST-best seven shutouts.
Head coach Elmar Bolowich is in his eighth season at the helm of the Bluejays.Â
Scouting DePaul (5-7-3, 2-3-2 BIG EAST)
The Blue Demons enter Saturday's contest following a 1-0 win at Xavier on Wednesday night and has picked up at least a point during four of their last five matches (1-1-3).Â
Wednesday's victory propelled DePaul into sixth place in the BIG EAST standings.
Istvan Wilhelms leads the team with five goals. Four of Wilhelms' goal have been during league play. Harry Hilling owns a squad-best six assists, while Jake Fuderer has four.
Drew Nuelle, a transfer from Indiana, has played each minute in goal for the Blue Demons and claims a 1.12 goals against average, including a 1.30 mark (10 goals allowed) during BIG EAST action.
Head coach Mark Plotkin is in his first season at the helm of DePaul.Â
Series History Against Blue Demons
Creighton leads the all-time series against DePaul 8-0-0.
The Bluejays are 3-0-0 against the Blue Demons in Chicago.Â
Since joining the BIG EAST (2013) Creighton has outscored DePaul 14-3 during five regular-season matches, including 6-2 during two matches in Chicago.Â
Bluejays Seeking Regular-Season Crown
Creighton leads the BIG EAST by three points entering the final two matches of the regular season and is seeking its first regular-season conference title since 2014 and 14th overall.
The Bluejays can clinch a share of the regular-season title with a victory on Saturday and can claim the crown outright with a win against DePaul AND a Georgetown draw OR loss against St. John's.
Creighton is already guaranteed to finish at least third in the final standings, and can clinch a top-two spot AND bye into the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship (Nov. 7) with a win OR draw on Saturday.
If the Bluejays draw against DePaul, Georgetown would need to lose against St. John's for Creighton to clinch the regular-season crown on Saturday.
Creighton and Georgetown will matchup at Morrison Stadium for the regular-season finale on Wednesday, Oct. 31 that could decide the conference champion and No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championship if the Bluejays are unable to clinch both of those following Saturday's results.Â
Last Time Out
Sven Koenig scored his BIG EAST-leading eighth goal of the season during the 80th minute to lift No. 19 Creighton past Marquette, 2-1, on Wednesday night at Morrison Stadium.
The Bluejays remained unbeaten during BIG EAST play (6-0-1) and moved to 10-3-2 overall. Creighton also sealed a top-three finish in the league standings and clinched at least one home match during the six-team BIG EAST Championship -- each round is hosted by the higher seeds.Â
The Golden Eagles fell to 3-3-1 in BIG EAST action and 5-8-1 overall.
Koenig connected on a short pass from Joel Rydstrand inside the box and found the back of the net for the game-winner at 79:59.
Creighton's go-ahead goal came 34 seconds after Marquette tied the match at 1-1.
Josh Coan delivered a free kick towards the far post where Leo Villa beat Paul Kruse for the Golden Eagles' equalizer during the 80th minute.
The Bluejays fired 12 shots and found the back of the net once during the first half. Ziyad Fares scored his third goal of the season to give Creighton a 1-0 lead after 45 minutes of play.
Fares hit the back of the net during the 20th minute following consecutive passes from the Bluejays. Both Luke Haakenson and Rydstrand tallied assists on the play as Fares converted just two minutes after entering the match off the bench.
Creighton Reaches Double-Digit Victory Plateau
With Wednesday's victory, the Bluejays have now won 10 or more matches six out of Elmar Bolowich's eight seasons at Creighton.
The Bluejays have also qualified for the NCAA Tournament 24 out of the last 26 seasons.Â
The two times Creighton did not make the NCAAs (2009, 2017) were two out of three years since 1990 in which the program failed to reach the 10-win plateau.Â
The Bluejays reached the NCAA tourney and ended the season with only nine victories in 2013.Â
Scoring First, Leading At Half Produces Success
Under the direction of head coach Elmar Bolowich, the Bluejays are 99-9-4 when scoring first, and 66-2-3 when leading at the half.
This season, Creighton is 10-0-0 when scoring first and 4-0-0 when leading at the half.Â
Comparatively, the Bluejays are 15-30-4 when the opposition scores first, 7-18-2 when trailing at halftime, and 41-19-11 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
One Goal Translates Into Victory
Creighton is 10-0-0 this season when it scores at least one goal and 0-3-2 when failing to score.Â
The last time the Bluejays did not lose a match when scoring at least once in a match during an entire season was in 2011 when Creighton finished 21-2-1 with each of the two losses and one draw occurring when the Bluejays were shut out.Â
Kruse Among Nation's Elite Keepers
Freshman goalkeeper Paul Kruse holds a 0.513 goals against average, which leads the BIG EAST and ranks eighth (8th) nationally.Â
Division I Goals Against Average Leaders (Oct. 25)
Rk. Player (School)     Min    GA GAA
1. Remi Prieur (Saint Mary's) 1,281:02 5 0.351
2. James Pyle (North Carolina) 1,391:26 6 0.388
3. Zach Rowell (UMass Lowell) 905:00 4 0.396
4. Enrique Facusse (Kentucky) 1,380:32 7 0.456
5. T.J. Bush (James Madison) 1,512:24 8 0.476
6. Josh Lagudah (Loyola-Chicago) 1,124:48 6 0.480
7. Quantrell Jones (UMBC) 712:58 4 0.505
8. Paul Kruse (Creighton) 1,404:40 8 0.513
9. Elliot Panicco (Charlotte) 1,220:27 7 0.516
10. Trey Muse (Indiana) 1,408:44 9 0.575
Kruse also owns seven shutouts, good enough for a tie for 12th nationally.
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
Kruse earned BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll status after allowing one goal during 200 minutes last week, including a shutout of Providence on Saturday.
Creighton Ranked No. 37 In Latest RPI
Creighton was listed 37th in the most recent official NCAA RPI released on Monday.
The Bluejays are one of two BIG EAST schools in the top 50 of the RPI (Georgetown, 31). The conference has a total of five schools listed in the top 100 (of 206 Division I programs).
DePaul is ranked 109th in the official RPI.Â
Bluejays Ranked 19th in Coaches Poll
Creighton is ranked 19th in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll, the organization released on Tuesday, Oct. 23.
The Bluejays moved to 9-3-2 overall and 5-0-1 in BIG EAST play following an 0-1-1 mark last week with a loss 1-0 at Akron on Tuesday and a 0-0 draw against Providence on Saturday night at Morrison Stadium. The squad dropped 11 spots in the coaches' poll after last week's top-10 ranking.Â
Creighton is one of two BIG EAST schools listed in this week's poll as Georgetown jumped into the poll at No. 24 after receiving votes last week.Â
The top six teams remained unchanged as Wake Forest, Indiana, Kentucky, Saint Mary's, North Carolina and Virginia (in order, one through six) continued to lead the poll.
Creighton Seeks Unbeaten Conference Mark
The Bluejays started league play 5-0-0 for the second time since joining the conference in 2013.Â
Creighton is unbeaten through its first seven conference contests (6-0-1) for the first time since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013 season.Â
The Bluejays' last unbeaten conference season was 2012 (5-0-1), the team's last year in the Missouri Valley Conference.Â
The Bluejays' best finish during BIG EAST play was in 2014 when Creighton went 7-1-1 to claim the conference regular-season crown.Â
Road Warriors
The Bluejays played three consecutive road matches from Oct. 6-16.Â
Creighton has played six contests away from Omaha and is 4-2-0 in those matches, including 2-1-0 during the three-match 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 (2-6-1).Â
Bluejays Find Road Success
Creighton's 1-0 win at Villanova on Sept. 22 marked the Bluejays' first regular-season BIG EAST road victory since Sept. 24, 2016 at DePaul.
The Bluejays were winless in their last eight conference road matches (0-6-2), including an 0-4-1 mark last season.
Creighton also defeated St. John's, 3-1 on Saturday in Queens, New York as the Bluejays won consecutive road league matches for the first time since 2015 against Marquette and Providence.Â
Overall, Creighton is 12-10-4 during conference road matches since 2013 (first year in BIG EAST).
The Bluejays are seeking their first season without a loss or draw on the road during league play since 2010 (3-0-0 in MVC road action).Â
Creighton's best road season during BIG EAST play was in 2014 when the squad went 3-0-1.Â
Rydstrand Records First Multi-Assist Match
Senior Joel Rydstrand tallied two assists on Wednesday night for his first match with multiple assists. He now owns 22 career assists during 79 career matches played.
Rydstrand recorded the 20th assist of his career on Creighton's third goal against Butler (Sept. 15) (second of season).
He is the 20th Bluejay to record at least 20 assists during their career at Creighton.
The Almunge, Sweden native, led the Bluejays in assists each of the past two seasons and is currently tied for the team lead this year with four.
Creighton's career assists leader is current Memphis men's soccer head coach Richard Mulrooney who had 51 from 1995-98.
Rydstrand needs two more assists to crack into the Bluejays' top 10 for career assists.
Individual Career Assist Leaders
Rk. Player # Years Played
1. Richard Mulrooney 51 1995-98
2. Johnny Torres 36 1994-97
Ray Ferri 36 1990-93
4. Brian Mullan 32 1997-00
5. Mike Tranchilla 30 1999-02
6. Fabian Herbers 29 2013-15
7. Jose Gomez 26 2010-12
Keith DeFini 26 1990-93
9. David Wagenfuhr 25 2000-03
10. Brian Kamler 24 1990-93
11. Ray Nikodem 23 1980-82
Brian Adams 23 1991-94
13. Tim Bohnenkamp 22 2004-07
Timo Pitter 22 2012-15Â
Joel Rydstrand 22 2015-Present
16. Ross Paule 21 1994-96
Jose Ribas 21 2011-14
18. John Probst 20 1980-83
Lance Hill 20 1990-94
Byron Dacy 20 2005-09
Second-Half Scoring
Creighton has scored 15 its last 17 goals during the second half of matches.
The Bluejays scored during the third minute on Oct. 12 against Xavier for the team's first goal in the first half since the 19th minute at South Florida on Sept. 3. Creighton also scored during the 21st minute against Marquette on Wednesday.Â
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 have held opponents to zero goals during the first half in all 15 matches this season.
Creighton has allowed only eight goals this season, seven during the second half of matches and one during overtime.Â
