Creighton University
Georgetown
#14 Men's Soccer Hosts Georgetown For Senior Night And Regular-Season Finale
10/30/2018 4:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays will recognize Mitch LaGro, Akeem Ward, Joel Rydstrand, Sven Koenig, Anthony Macchione and Jack Robinson
Download Complete Notes
Â
Up Next
After clinching the BIG EAST regular-season title on Saturday at DePaul, Creighton plays its regular-season finale on Wednesday for Senior Night at Morrison Stadium against Georgetown.
Follow the Match
Wednesday'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. Josh Peterson will provide play-by-play while Jon Schriner will handle color commentary with Emma Braasch reporting from the sideline.
Live stats for Wednesday's match can be found at Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.
Bluejay fans can stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSOC.
Scouting #14 Creighton (11-3-2, 7-0-1 BE)
The Bluejays clinched the BIG EAST regular-season crown with their 2-1 win at DePaul on Saturday. Creighton is unbeaten during league play with 22 points from a 7-0-1 record.Â
Creighton ranks eighth nationally with a 0.542 goals against average as the Bluejays have conceded only nine goals through 16 matches and have not allowed more than one during a single match. Creighton is one of 11 teams in Division I that has not allowed a double-digit total of goals this season.Â
Offensively, Sven Koenig paces the squad and leads the BIG EAST in goals (9), while nine different Bluejays have scored at least one goal.Â
During league action, the Bluejays are outscoring the opposition 15-4.
Joel Rydstrand leads Creighton with five assists, including four during BIG EAST matches and three during the past two contests.
Freshman goalkeeper Paul Kruse has played each minute for Creighton and claims a 0.542 goals against average, which is the best mark in the BIG EAST and ranks ninth 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 Georgetown (9-4-3, 5-2-1 BE)
The Hoyas enter the final day of the regular-season seeking the No. 2 seed and a bye to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship.
Georgetown opened the conference slate 1-1-1 before winning four consecutive league matches from Oct. 5-24 to improve to 5-1-1.Â
The Hoyas needed a victory at home on Saturday against St. John's to keep pace with Creighton and a chance for a share of the BIG EAST crown, but the Red Storm bested the Hoyas 1-0.Â
Derek Dodson leads Georgetown in goals with eight as the Hoyas pace the BIG EAST with 24 goals scored this season (1.5 per match).
Giannis Nikopolidis ranks second in the BIG EAST with a 0.793 goals against average (11 goals allowed during 13 matches) and owns six shutouts.
Head coach Brian Wiese is in his 13th season at the helm of Georgetown.
Series History Against Hoyas
Georgetown leads the all-time series against Creighton 4-3-1.Â
The Bluejays are 2-1 at Morrison Stadium against the Hoyas, including a 3-0 victory during the 2016 season.Â
During regular-season BIG EAST matches, Creighton has claimed only one victory, lost three times and tied once (1-3-1).
The Hoyas defeated the Bluejays 3-1 last season in Washington, D.C.
Bluejays Claim Regular-Season Crown
Creighton claimed the 2018 BIG EAST regular-season championship with a victory on Saturday at DePaul for the program's first regular-season conference title since 2014 and 14th overall.
The Bluejays will be the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST postseason tournament, which means Creighton clinched a bye into the semifinal round and will have home-field advantage throughout the tourney.
Creighton will host the No. 4 or No. 5 seed on Nov. 7 in the semifinal round of the 2018 BIG EAST Championship.Â
The Bluejays are 2-0-0 during home BIG EAST tournament matches, but have never played more than one home BIG EAST tournament match during the same season.
Last Time Out
Creighton clinched the 2018 BIG EAST regular-season title with a 2-1 victory against DePaul at Wish Field in Chicago on Saturday afternoon
The Bluejays improved to 7-0-1 in BIG EAST play (11-3-2 overall) and earned their first regular-season conference title since 2014 and 14th overall. Creighton also clinched the No. 1 seed, home-field advantage and a bye into the semifinal round of the 2018 BIG EAST Championship.Â
Creighton took the lead during the 33rd minute with a goal from senior Sven Koenig. Koenig sent a shot into the upper right corner of the net for his BIG EAST-leading ninth of the year.
DePaul attempted to answer with a goal of its own, but Paul Kruse made three saves over the course of two minutes to keep the score at 1-0 in favor of the Bluejays.
Kruse made six saves during the first 45 minutes, which matched the freshman's season-high for an entire game. The freshman ended Saturday with seven saves.
Bryce Gibson scored his first career goal in a Creighton uniform during the 62nd minute to push the Bluejays' lead to 2-0. Joel Rydstrand sent a corner kick towards the near post where Gibson headed the ball into the back of the net for the eventual game-winning goal. Rydstrand tallied his team-leading fifth assist on the play.Â
DePaul cut Creighton's lead in half during the 73rd minute. The Blue Demons directed a header that went over Kruse before DePaul's Jack Richards headed the ball inside the far post.
Bluejays Recognize Six Seniors
Creighton will recognize its six senior student-athletes prior to Wednesday's match.
Mitch LaGro, Akeem Ward, Joel Rydstrand, Sven Koenig, Anthony Macchione and Jack Robinson will each be recognized.Â
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 eight conference contests (7-0-1) 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 program'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 their last conference regular-season crown prior to this year.Â
Bluejays Ranked 14th in Coaches Poll
Creighton claimed the #14 position in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll, the organization announced on Tuesday.
The Bluejays moved up five spots from last week's ranking after a 2-0-0 showing during two league matches over the past seven days. Creighton improved to 11-3-2 overall and clinched the BIG EAST regular-season title with victories against Marquette and DePaul last week.
The Bluejays are the lone BIG EAST representative in this week's poll. Georgetown is listed with teams receiving votes (20).
Wake Forest continued to lead the poll with 21 of 28 possible first-place votes, while Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and Saint Mary's rounded out the top five.
Scoring First, Leading At Half Produces Success
Under the direction of head coach Elmar Bolowich, the Bluejays are 100-9-4 when scoring first, and 67-2-3 when leading at the half.
This season, Creighton is 11-0-0 when scoring first and 5-0-0 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 11-0-0 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
Rydstrand Honored As Offensive Player of the Week
Senior midfielder Joel Rydstrand earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors, the league announced on Monday morning.
Rydstrand recorded three assists as Creighton finished last week 2-0-0 to claim the BIG EAST regular-season title.
The Almunge, Sweden native, tallied assists on each of the Bluejays' two goals on Wednesday against Marquette and served a corner kick for Bryce Gibson's game-winning goal on Saturday at DePaul. Wednesday's performance marked his first multi-assist match in a Creighton uniform.
Rydstrand leads the Bluejays with five assists this season, including a BIG EAST-best four during league action.
The senior now has 23 careers helpers which is tied for 11th on Creighton's career assists list.Â
Rydstrand Records First Multi-Assist Match
Senior Joel Rydstrand tallied two assists against Marquette (Oct. 24) for his first match with multiple assists. He now owns 23 career assists during 80Â 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 leads the team this year with five.
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
Joel Rydstrand 23Â 2015-Present
14. Tim Bohnenkamp 22 2004-07
Timo Pitter 22 2012-15
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
Creighton Ranked No. 26 In Latest RPI
Creighton was listed 26th 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, as Georgetown is No. 31. The conference has a total of five schools listed in the top 100 (of 206 Division I programs).
Creighton Reaches Double-Digit Victory Plateau
With last Wednesday's victory against Marquette, 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
Fortress Morrison
Creighton is 136-24-20 overall at Morrison Stadium, including a 6-1-2 mark this season.
The Bluejays own shutouts during six of their nine 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 are 21-1-2 in their next home match following a home loss at Morrison.Â
Creighton went 7-1-1 during 2017 at home and is 54-9-7 at Morrison Stadium since the start of 2013 when the program joined the BIG EAST.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 hold a 0.31 goals against average (three goals allowed) and six shutouts through 865 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 Sept. 25 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
Creighton concludes the regular season at home on Wednesday night against Georgetown and will host at least one BIG EAST tournament match.
Creighton Ranks Third In Average Home Attendance
Creighton enters the week ranked third in Division I in average home attendance (through games played Monday). The Bluejays have averaged 2,987 fans through their first nine home matches, and play their final match of the regular season at home on Wednesday. Creighton also owns home-field advantage throughout the BIG EAST postseason tournament.Â
2018 Division I Avg. Attendance Leaders (Oct. 25)
Rk. Team Games Total Avg.
1. UConn 11 38,105 3,464
2. Maryland 8 25,030 3,129
3. Creighton 9 26,885 2,987
4. Cal Poly 7 18,916 2,702
5. South Carolina 10 24,837 2,484
6. Indiana 8 19,742 2,468
7. UC Santa Barbara 9 22,082 2,454
8. Wake Forest 11 26,546 2,413
9. Grand Canyon 9 20,375 2,264
10. Portland 11 22,174 2,016
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.
Second-Half Scoring
Creighton has scored 16 its last 19 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 16 matches this season.
Creighton has allowed only nine goals this season, eight during the second half of matches and one during overtime.Â
Kruse Among Nation's Elite Keepers
Freshman goalkeeper Paul Kruse holds a 0.542 goals against average, which leads the BIG EAST and ranks ninth (9th) nationally.Â
Division I Goals Against Average Leaders (Oct. 29)
Rk. Player (School)     Min    GA GAA
1. James Pyle (North Carolina) 1,391:26 6 0.388
2. Zach Rowell (UMass Lowell) 905:00 4 0.396
3. Elliot Panicco (Charlotte) 1,310:27 7 0.481
4. Enrique Facusse (Kentucky) 1,470:32 8 0.490
5. T.J. Bush (James Madison) 1,602:24 9 0.505
6. Josh Lagudah (Loyola-Chicago) 1,124:48 7 0.519
7. Remi Prieur (Saint Mary's) 1,381:02 8 0.521
8. Trey Muse (Indiana) 1,,506:11 9 0.538
9. Paul Kruse (Creighton) 1,494:40 9 0.542
10. Michael Creek (Missouri St.) 1,264:53 8 0.569
Kruse also owns seven shutouts, good enough for a tie for 13th 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
Bluejays Find Road Success
Creighton finished their road BIG EAST schedule undefeated (4-0-0) for the first time since joining the league prior to the 2013 season.Â
This year marked the first time the Bluejays did not suffer a loss or draw on the road during league play since 2010 (3-0-0 in MVC road action).Â
The Bluejays were winless in their last eight conference road matches (0-6-2) entering this season, including an 0-4-1 mark last season.
Overall, Creighton is 13-10-4 during conference road matches since 2013 (first year in BIG EAST).
Creighton's best road season during BIG EAST play prior to this season was in 2014 when the squad went 3-0-1.Â
Road Warriors
The Bluejays played three consecutive road matches from Oct. 6-16.Â
Creighton has played seven contests away from Omaha and is 5-2-0 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
