Creighton University
Xavier
Men's Soccer Travels To Cincinnati For Friday Night BIG EAST Match Against Xavier
10/9/2019 12:35:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays enter Friday in a tie for third place in the league standings
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Creighton heads to Cincinnati for a BIG EAST matchup with Xavier on Friday night.Â
Follow the Match
Friday'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
Live stats will be provided via SIDEARM Sports.
Links to live stats 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 (6-3-1, 2-1-0 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays enter Friday with wins during six of their previous eight matches.Â
Creighton is 2-1 in BIG EAST play with all three 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 1.60 goals per match, while Paul Kruse and Collin Valdivia have combined for a 1.25 goals against average.
Kruse is 2-1-1, but has not played since Sept. 9, while Valdivia claims four victories (4-2-0), including two shutouts against BIG EAST opposition.Â
Head coach Johnny Torres is in his first year at the helm of the Bluejays after spending 12 years as an assistant coach.
Scouting Xavier (4-5-1, 0-3-0 BIG EAST)
The Musketeers seek their first BIG EAST victory and hope to erase the team's recent struggles.
Xavier opened the year 3-0-1, including a tie at nationally-ranked Kentucky, but is 1-5 since.
The Musketeers' lone win during their last six matches came at IUPUI (1-0) on Sept. 24.
Samson Sergi and Karsen Henderlong have each scored five goals to pace Xavier.
Junior goalkeeper Matthew Rosenberg, a UCF transfer, ranks second in the BIG EAST with 47 saves. He also owns a 1.25 goals against average.
Head coach Andy Fleming is in his 10th season at the helm of Xavier.Â
Series History Against Musketeers
Creighton leads the all-time series against Xavier, 5-2-1.Â
The Bluejays are 1-1-1 against the Musketeers in Cincinnati.
Creighton claimed a 3-1 victory last season at Xavier. Tor Trosten had a goal and an assist while Yudai Tashiro recorded two assists during last year's meeting.
Last Time Out
Creighton dropped its first BIG EAST match of the season, 1-0, against Seton Hall on Oct. 4 in South Orange, New Jersey.
Seton Hall converted the game-winning goal during the 33rd minute.Â
The host Pirates controlled possession during the first half as Creighton did not record its first shot until the 31st minute when Luke Mitchell's header hit the far post following a corner kick. The Bluejays fired four more shots before the end of the first 45 minutes.
Creighton turned the tides and outshot Seton Hall 7-2 in the second half during the Bluejays' attempt for the equalizer.Â
Creighton ended the match with a 12-7 edge in shots, including 7-2 in the second half. The Bluejays attempted the final six shots of the match. The Pirates recorded their final shot of the match in the 58th minute.
Bluejays' Low Scoring Start To BIG EAST Play
Creighton started BIG EAST play with three consecutive 1-0 results (two wins, one loss).Â
This season marks the Bluejays' second time since joining the BIG EAST that only three combined goals were scored through the first three matches of the
conference schedule and the first time in program history (including 22 seasons in Missouri Valley) that each of the first three league matches have ended exactly 1-0.Â
Creighton's one goal allowed through the first three matches is the third-lowest total for the team since joining the BIG EAST as the Bluejays posted three shutouts to start the 2018 and 2013 seasons.Â
Creighton's goal total through the first three matches of league play is the fewest since joining the BIG EAST (previous low of three in 2013).
The Bluejays averaged 16.3 goals per conference season (1.81 per match) the past six years. Creighton is currently on pace to score only six goals during league play, which would be eight fewer than its previous BIG EAST low of 14 in 2013.
Creighton posted a 0.65 goals against average during last year, which tied the 2014 mark for the team's lowest GAA since joining the league in 2013. The Bluejays currently hold a 0.33 goals against average through three league matches.Â
Creighton Through First Three Matches of BIG EAST Play
Year  Goals Scored    Goals Allowed
2013 3 0
2014 6 3
2015 7 3
2016 9 3
2017 4 5
2018 5 0
2019 2 1
Tashiro Named BE Offensive Player of the Week
Yudai Tashiro earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors last week.
The Tokyo, Japan native had a game-winning goal and two assists during the Bluejays' 2-0 week, which included a 4-3 double overtime victory against Tulsa (Sept. 24) and a 1-0 shutout of Villanova (Sept. 28).
Tashiro scored the golden goal during the 106th minute against Tulsa. The senior blasted a shot into the top of the net from six yards out off an indirect free kick. He also had an assist on Creighton's first goal against the Golden Hurricane. The victory against Tulsa marked the Bluejays' first overtime win since 2017.Â
On Sept. 28 against Villanova, Tashiro had the first assist on Charles Auguste's game-winning goal during the ninth minute against.
Tashiro's four-point week tied for the highest mark across the BIG EAST.Â
Musa Qongo also earned a spot on the Weekly Honor Roll. Qongo had three assists, including the game-winning cross against Villanova.Â
Rare CancellationÂ
Creighton's match against Green Bay scheduled for Oct. 1 in Omaha was canceled because of inclement weather.
The Bluejays' last match that was canceled because of weather was a home match against San Francisco on Aug. 29, 2016.
Creighton's last BIG EAST match affected by weather was a 2017 matchup in Omaha against St. John's that was ended during the 81st minute because of lightning.Â
Six In September
With the Bluejays' 1-0 victory on Sept. 28 against Villanova, Creighton ended the month of September with a record of 6-2, including 5-1 at Morrison Stadium.
The Bluejays tallied their seventh season with six or more wins during the month of September since 2003.
Creighton's five wins at Morrison during September matched the most by the squad. The Bluejays also had five wins at Morrison during the month of September in 2015, 2011 and 2004. Â
Two Consecutive BIG EAST Shutouts
Creighton earned a 1-0 shutout against Villanova on Sept. 28 for the Bluejays' second shutout in two BIG EAST matches.
The Bluejays have earned shutouts during the first two games of the BIG EAST schedule now three different times (2019, 2018, 2013).Â
Creighton tallied three consecutive shutouts to open its BIG EAST slate last season.
The most BIG EAST shutouts the Bluejays have had in a single season is four, during both the 2018 and 2014 campaigns.
Bluejays Seek To Repeat Road Success
Creighton finished their road 2018 BIG EAST schedule undefeated (4-0-0) for the first time since joining the league prior to the 2013 season.Â
Last season 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 2018, including an 0-4-1 mark in 2017.
Overall, Creighton is 14-11-4 during BIG EAST Conference regular-season road matches, including 1-1-0 this season.
The Bluejays' loss at Seton Hall on Oct. 4 marked Creighton's first conference road loss since a 3-1 loss at No. 18 Georgetown on Nov. 1, 2017,Â
Creighton's best road season during BIG EAST play prior to last season was in 2014 when the squad went 3-0-1.Â
Bluejays Reverse Overtime Woes
Creighton notched a double overtime victory on Sept. 24 against Tulsa for the Bluejays' first overtime victory since Sept. 19, 2017 (also against Tulsa).Â
Creighton entered the match winless in its last seven overtime matches (two losses, five ties), including all five last season (0-2-3).Â
The Bluejays are just 5-9-14 during overtime matches since joining the BIG EAST in 2013.
