Creighton University
DePaul
Men's Soccer Prepares For Midweek BIG EAST Matchup At Morrison Stadium Against DePaul
10/22/2019 2:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays seek first win during month of Octbober
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Creighton hosts DePaul for a midweek BIG EAST matchup.Â
Follow the Match
Wednesday's match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network, which can be streamed on Twitter (@BIGEASTChamps), YouTube (youtube.com/BIGEASTConference) or Caffeine TV (www.caffeine.tv/bedn).Â
The match will also feature a Spanish radio broadcast on La Nueva (99.5 FM & 1020 AM in the Omaha area and online). Â
Live stats will be provided via StatBroadcast.
Links to live stats, audio and video streams can be found on the Creighton Men's Soccer schedule page.
Updates will be provided on Twitter (@CreightonMSOC), Facebook (Facebook.com/CreightonSoccer) and Instagram (CreightonMSOC).
Scouting Creighton (6-5-1, 2-3-0 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays enter Wednesday searching for their first win during the month of October.
Creighton ended September with a 6-2 record but has dropped three matches this month.
The Bluejays are 2-3 in BIG EAST play with four of the five matches being decided by a 1-0 result.Â
Luke Haakenson leads Creighton with four goals and five other Bluejays each have a pair of goals. Â
Musa Qongo paces the team with four assists while six other players each have at least two.Â
Creighton averages 1.33 goals per match, while Paul Kruse and Collin Valdivia have combined for a 1.29 goals against average.
Head coach Johnny Torres is in his first year at the helm of the Bluejays after spending 12 years as an assistant coach.
Scouting DePaul (5-5-3, 1-1-3 BIG EAST)
The Blue Demons earned their first BIG EAST victory on Saturday at home against Providence.
DePaul owns three ties during league play, including a pair of scoreless draws.Â
Three different players each have three goals, while Jake Fuderer and Max de Bruijne pace the squad with 10 points from three goals and four assists each.
Drew Nuelle has played each minute in goal for the Blue Demons and owns a 1.09 goals against average with 53 saves.
Head coach Mark Plotkin is in his second year at DePaul.Â
Series History Against Blue Demons
Creighton leads the all-time series against DePaul, 9-0-0.Â
The Bluejays sealed the 2018 BIG EAST regular-season crown with a 2-1 win against the Blue Demons last season in Chicago.
Creighton owns four home shutouts against DePaul and holds an 11-1 goal differential in the previous five meetings in Omaha.Â
Last Time Out
Creighton fell 2-0 against No. 7 St. John's on Saturday night at Morrison Stadium.
St. John's got on the scoreboard first during the 26th minute of play. Tani Oluwaseyi controlled possession of an errant play by Bluejays' back line before the Red Storm sophomore converted his team-leading eighth goal of the season.
During the 39th minute, the Bluejays' defense fended off three shots from St. John's within a seven second stand. Paul Kruse recorded a save on the first shot, the second was blocked and the third stayed out of the back of the net with a team save as Bryce Gibson stopped the ball from going past the end line.Â
St. John's held a 9-3 advantage in shots during the opening half.Â
Creighton started the second half with threeshots during the first 15 minutes. Luke Haakenson fired one shot over the goal and Yudai Tashiro launched one high and another towards the goal before the ball was saved.Â
The Red Storm added to their tally and took a 2-0 lead with a goal during the 74th minute after a deflection by a defender.
Creighton held a 5-3 edge in shots during the second half.Â
Kruse collected three saves on the night during his first match action since Sept. 9 against Columbia.
Official RPI Rankings
Creighton is ranked No. 53 in this week's NCAA RPI Rankings (released Oct. 21).
The BIG EAST Conference is ranked second among 24 Division I conferences in terms of RPI ranking.
St. John's owns the No. 1 spot in the RPI, while Georgetown is No. 2. All 10 of the BIG EAST teams are in the top 75.Â
DePaul is listed at No. 37.Â
Fortress Morrison
Creighton is 141-27-21 overall at Morrison Stadium (opened in 2003), including a 5-2-0 mark this year.
The Bluejays are outscoring their opponents 13-11 during home matches this season.Â
Creighton finished 2018 with a 6-2-3 record at home and owned shutouts during six of those 10 matches.
The Bluejays have never lost consecutive matches at Morrison Stadium during the same season.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.Â
The Bluejays are 22-1-3 in their next home match following a loss at Morrison, including an 0-0-2 mark last season and 1-0-0 record this year.Â
Creighton is 59-12-8 at Morrison Stadium since the start of 2013 when the program joined the BIG EAST. The Bluejays are also 20-6-2 during regular-season BIG EAST matches at Morrison Stadium.
Creighton Ranks Second In Average Home Attendance
Creighton ranks second nationally in average home attendance (through matches played Oct. 21) with an average of 2,505 fans per match.Â
2019 Division I Avg. Attendance Leaders (10/21)
Rk. Team Games Total Avg.
1. Maryland 8 23,096 2,887
2. Creighton 7 17,537 2,505
3. UC Santa Barbara 10 24,378 2,438
4. Indiana 7 16,908 2,415
5. Grand Canyon 5 12,042 2,408
6. Virginia 8 20,384 2,265
7. Wake Forest 8 19,757 2,195
8. Saint Louis 6 11,853 1,976
9. Clemson 8 15,694 1,962
10. Akron 6 11,444 1,907
The Bluejays' match against Akron (Sept. 6) drew a crowd of 4,818, which is the fifth largest single-game attendance this season across all of Division I men's soccer. UC Santa Barbara hosted Cal Poly in front of 9,748 on Oct. 5 for the high single-game attendance this season.
Creighton's match against UNO on Sept. 16 had an attendance of 4,096, which is the 10th-highest this season.
Creighton ranked third nationally in average home attendance during the 2018 season as the Bluejays averaged 2,718 fans during 11 matches.
Kruse Back In Goal
Paul Kruse started on Saturday against St. John's for his first appearance since Sept. 9 against Columbia.
The sophomore was listed as the BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, but missed seven matches because of injury.
Kruse has allowed seven goals during 460 minutes this season (1.37 GAA).Â
He did not miss a minute last season and held a 0.64 goals against average with seven shutouts (12 goals allowed).Â
