Creighton University
St. John's
#8 Men's Soccer Resumes BIG EAST Play At St. John's On Saturday Night
10/4/2018 3:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Saturday's match is the first of three consecutive road matches for the Bluejays
Download Complete Notes
Â
Up Next
Creighton resumes BIG EAST play on the road with a match against St. John's in New York on Saturday night.
Â
Follow the Match
Saturday's match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network, which can be found at FOXSportsGo.com and on the FOX Sports Go App. Mike Watts will provide play-by-play, while Meghan Caffrey will be reporting from the sideline.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 #8 Creighton (7-2-1, 3-0-0 BE)
The Bluejays fell on Tuesday night during double overtime against No. 5 Denver and endured their first loss since Aug. 31.
Creighton went 6-0-0 during the month of September, including 3-0-0 in league play.
The Bluejays opened league play with three consecutive shutouts (Butler, Villanova, Seton Hall) for the first time since 2013 and sit atop the BIG EAST standings with nine points.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 10 matches of the season, as Creighton has outscored the opposition 13-4.Â
Freshman goalkeeper Paul Kruse has started all 10 matches for Creighton and claims a 0.385 goals against average during 934 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 also ranks fourth in Division I.
Head coach Elmar Bolowich is in his eighth season at the helm of the Bluejays.Â
Scouting St. John's (6-3-1, 2-0-1 BE)
The Red Storm enter Saturday's contest on a four-match unbeaten streak (3-0-1), including a 2-0-1 mark in BIG EAST play, which is good enough for second place behind the Bluejays.Â
Matt Forster leads St. John's offensively with 14 points from five goals and four assists.
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week Lenny Wilson made four saves during a shutout against Butler last week and improved to 4-1-1 this season. Wilson has allowed only one goal during three league matches.Â
The Red Storm rank second in the BIG EASTÂ (behind Creighton) with a 0.77 goals against average.Â
Head coach Dr. Dave Masur is in his 28th season at the helm of St. John's.Â
Series History Against Red Storm
Creighton leads the all-time series against St. John's 4-3-2.
The Bluejays are 2-1-1 in Queens, New York against the Red Storm.
St. John's claimed a 3-1 victory during the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament last season, while the two teams played to a 2-2 draw during the regular-season in Omaha in a match shortened by lightning.
Road Warriors
Saturday's match is the first of three consecutive road matches for the Bluejays.
Creighton has only played three contests away from Omaha so far this season and is 2-1-0 in those matches.Â
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 managed only two wins during nine road matches last season (2-6-0).Â
Last Time Out
Creighton fell 1-0 in double overtime against No. 5 Denver on Tuesday night in front of 3,076 fans at Morrison Stadium.
The Bluejays fell to 7-2-1 overall, while the Pioneers improved to 9-0-2.
Denver's Stefan DeLeone scored the golden goal during the 105th minute. Creighton attempted to clear a pass near its defensive endline, but the ball found the foot of DeLeone who placed the ball into the back of the net from about 10 yards out. Â
The Bluejays ended the match with a 25-8 edge in shots, including 7-4 in shots on goal. The Pioneers attempted five shots during the first half but did not attempt another until the second overtime period. Creighton outshot Denver 19-0 during the second half and first overtime.
Defensive Battle
Saturday's match features the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked defenses in the BIG EAST.
Creighton is the only team in the league to not allow a goal during conference action (three matches), while St. John's has allowed just one.Â
Overall, the Bluejays pace the league and rank sixth nationally with a 0.39 goals against average (four goals allowed), while the Red Storm are second in the conference with a 0.77 GAA (eight goals allowed).Â
Bluejays Looking To Continue 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.
Creighton was winless in its last eight conference road matches (0-6-2), including an 0-4-1 mark last season.
The Bluejays have not won consecutive league matches on the road since 2015 against Marquette and Providence.Â
Overall, Creighton is 10-10-4 during conference road matches since 2013 (first year in BIG EAST).
The Bluejays' best road season during BIG EAST play was in 2014 when the squad went 3-0-1.Â
Creighton Seeks To Extend Conference Streak
Creighton opened BIG EAST play with three consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2013.
The Bluejays look to extend that streak on Saturday night.Â
Since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013 season, Creighton has never posted four consecutive shutouts at any point during league play.Â
The Bluejays are also searching for their third 4-0-0 start to the BIG EAST schedule. Creighton started 4-0-0 during both 2014 and 2015 before claiming seven (7) league wins during each of those seasons.Â
Creighton's best start to BIG EAST play is 6-0-0 in 2015.Â
Scoring First, Leading At Half Produces Success
Under the direction of head coach Elmar Bolowich, the Bluejays are 96-9-4 when scoring first, and 64-2-3 when leading at the half.
This season, Creighton is 7-0-0 when scoring first and 2-0-0 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 40-18-10 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
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
Creighton Climbs To #8 In Coaches Poll
The Creighton men's soccer team climbed to the No. 8 position in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, the organization released on Tuesday.
The Bluejays extended their winning streak to six matches and improved to 7-1-1 overall with victories against Jacksonville and Seton Hall last week.
Creighton is listed in the top 10 of the coaches poll for the second consecutive week, marking the 16th time in the past 17 seasons in which the Bluejays have been in the top 10 in at least twice during the same year. The squad ranked ninth in last week's poll.Â
Sven Koenig paces Creighton and the BIG EAST with six goals. The senior has tallied six of Bluejays' last eight goals scored during the past five matches.Â
Creighton ranks fourth in Division I with a 0.325 goals against average (as of 10/1), as the Bluejays have held the opposition to only three goals during nine matches.
Creighton is the lone BIG EAST school listed in this week's top 25.
Â
Bluejays vs. Top 25 Competition
Tuesday marked Creighton's second match of the season against a top-25 opponent.
The Bluejays defeated No. 11 Clemson, 2-0, during the season-opener before falling 1-0 in double overtime against No. 5 Denver on Tuesday night.
Creighton is 79-56-15 all-time against United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Top-25 opponents.
The Bluejays are 42-14-4 at home against Top-25 competition, including 32-7-3 at Morrison Stadium.
Creighton is 24-15-5 against the top 25 under the direction of Elmar Bolowich (since 2011).
Tuesday marked 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 5-1-1 during top-10 contests at Morrison Stadium.
Top-10 Matches At Morrison Stadium
Oct. 2, 2018: #8 Creighton 0, #5 Denver 1 (2 OT)
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.
Kruse Among Nation's Elite Keepers
Freshman goalkeer Paul Kruse is currently tied for fourth (4th) in Division I in shutouts with six (6).
Saint Mary's Remi Prieur and Kentucky's Enrique Facusse lead the nation with eight (8) clean sheets, while Alex Ashton (Hofstra) has seven (7).Â
Kruse also holds a 0.385 goals against average, which leads the BIG EAST and ranks sixth (6th) nationally.Â
Division I Goals Against Average Leaders (Oct. 4)
Rk. Player (School)     Min    GA GAA
1. Andrew Thomas (Stanford) 864:33 2 0.208
2. Colin Shutler (Virginia) 760:00 2 0.237
3. Enrique Facusse (Kentucky) 924:43 3 0.292
4. James Pyle (North Carolina) 839:27 3 0.322
5. Remi Prieur (Saint Mary's) 1004:11 4 0.359
6. Paul Kruse (Creighton) 934:40 4 0.385
7. Zach Rowell (UMass Lowell) 725:00 4 0.497
8. Henry Stusnick (Dartmouth) 522:22 3 0.517
9. Marcellin Gohier (Manhattan) 868:55 5 0.518
10. Wallis Lapsley (UC Davis) 1053:31 7 0.598
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 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).
St. John's is No. 70 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 six matches, the Bluejays have also not allowed a goal during the first half of those contests.
Creighton has allowed only four goals this season, three during the second half of matches and one during overtime.Â
St. John's is the last team to score on the Bluejays during the first half of action. The Red Storm scored twice during the opening seven minutes of last season's BIG EAST Tournament First Round match (Nov. 4, 2017).
