Creighton University
Georgetown
Men's Soccer Concludes Regular Season At #3 Georgetown On Wednesday Afternoon
11/5/2019 12:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays clinch the No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Championship with a victory on Wednesday
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Creighton travels to Washington, D.C. for the final match of the regular season on Wednesday against No. 3 Georgetown.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
Live stats will be provided via StatBroadcast.
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 (8-6-1, 4-4-0 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Championship with a 2-1 double overtime victory against Butler on Saturday night.Â
Creighton is 7-2 at home compared to 1-4-1 on the road.
Luke Haakenson and Yudai Tashiro each have five goals to pace the Bluejays.
Kuba Polat, Younes Boudadi and Musa Qongo each claim four assists to tie for the team lead.Â
Creighton averages 1.40 goals per match, while goalkeepers Paul Kruse and Collin Valdivia have combined for a 1.28 goals against average.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 Georgetown (14-1-1, 7-0-1 BIG EAST)
The Hoyas earned at least a share of the BIG EAST regular-season title with a 2-0 victory against Villanova on Saturday.
Georgetown leads the country with a 0.305 goals against average (five goals allowed), while allowing only one goal during league play (Sept. 28 by Providence).
The Hoyas have not allowed a goal in any match since that Providence goal at the end of September (over 750 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal).
Georgetown has trailed during the course of play only once (Sept. 9 at UCLA, trailed 1-0) and the Hoyas' lone loss came in double overtime at Louisville.Â
Tomas Romero and Giannis Nikopolidis have each made eight starts in goal for the Hoyas. Romero has allowed two goals and claims six shutouts, while Nikopolidis has allowed three goals and owns three shutouts and one combined shutout. Â
Georgetown also leads the BIG EAST and ranks 16th nationally with 2.19 goals per match (34 in 16 matches).
Jacob Montes leads the team with eight goals, while Derek Dodson owns seven.Â
Head coach Brian Wiese is in his 14th season at Georgetown.
Series History Against Hoyas
Georgetown leads the all-time series against Creighton, 5-3-1.Â
The Hoyas have won five out of the past six meetings, including three victories in Washington, D.C.Â
Georgetown is 5-1-1 against the Bluejays since Creighton joined the BIG EAST in 2013.
The Hoyas earned a 2-1 overtime victory last season in Omaha.
Creighton's lone win at Georgetown came in 2005 during a nonconference match.Â
Last Time Out
Freshman Jake Ashford delivered a golden goal to lift Creighton to a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Butler on Saturday at Morrison Stadium during Creighton's Senior Night.
Ashford converted the golden goal during the 105th minute, rebounding a header attempt from senior Bryce Gibson. Gibson headed Kuba Polat's corner kick towards the goal before the Bulldog goalkeeper saved the ball and deflected it towards the center of the six-yard box. Ashford collected the loose ball and hit the back of the net for his first career goal.
Butler found the back of the net in the fourth minute of the match to take an early lead. Griffin DeBolt fired a shot from the middle of the box off the post and into the back of the net for an early 1-0 advantage.
Creighton equaled the score midway through the first half in the 26th minute. Senior Yudai Tashiro blasted a shot from the top of the 18-yard box past Butler goalkeeper Gabriel Gjergji to even the score at 1-1. A corner kick set the play into motion with senior Younes Boudadi playing a ball down the left side of the box to Polat and Polat placing the ball to the foot of Tashiro.
Creighton closed the match with a 23-14 advantage in shots, including a 15-5 edge in the second half and overtime periods. The Bluejays also earned 11 corners to Butler's five. Kruse collected two saves on the night while Butler's Gjergji made six.
BIG EAST Standings Picture
Creighton enters Wednesday in sole possession of fourth place in the BIG EAST standings.
The Bluejays have sealed a spot in the six-team BIG EAST Championship field, but could either host a first-round match as the No. 4 seed or play a first round match on the road as the No. 5 or 6 seed.
Creighton clinches the No. 4 seed with a victory on Wednesday.
The Bluejays also have a chance to host with a draw and help.
If Creighton draws, the Bluejays need a Seton Hall draw or loss against Villanova or a Butler victory against Xavier to clinch the No. 4 seed.
Creighton will also seal the fourth seed and host with a loss, a draw between Butler and Xavier and a Seton Hall draw or loss. Â
Better Late Than Never
The Bluejays' victory on Saturday against Butler marked their fifth win with a game-winning goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation or overtime. Luke Haakenson owns two of the dramatic winners.
Creighton had only one game-winning goal last season during the final 10 minutes of regulation (Sept. 29, 2018 against Seton Hall).
Creighton GW Goals During Final 10 Mins or OT
Date     Opponent       GW Goal Time (Scorer)
9/16/19 Nebraska-Omaha 87:58 (Haakenson)
9/20/19 Marquette 85:01 (Espeleta)
9/24/19 Tulsa 105:44 (Tashiro)
10/23/19 DePaul 80:05 (Haakenson)
11/2/19 Butler 104:09 (Ashford)
Bluejays All-Time vs. Top 25 Competition
Creighton is 80-58-16 all-time against United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Top-25 opponents.
The Bluejays are 1-2-1 this season against the top 25, which includes a 0-1-1 mark on the road.Â
Creighton is 29-27-11 all-time in true road matches against top-25 opponents.
Creighton vs. Top-5 Opponents
No. 3 Georgetown is the second top-five opponent the Bluejays have faced this season.
Creighton fell 1-0 at No. 4 Wake Forest on Sept. 1.
The Bluejays' last victory against a top-5 opponent was in 2015 at No. 4 North Carolina (1-0) during the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
Creighton has lost five consecutive matches against teams ranked inside the top five of the United Soccer Coaches poll.Â
The Bluejays have faced at least one top-5 team each of the past five seasons (including this year).
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013, Creighton is 1-6-0 against teams ranked No. 5 or higher.
Official RPI Rankings
Creighton is ranked No. 51 in this week's NCAA RPI Rankings (released Nov. 4).
The BIG EAST Conference is ranked second among 24 Division I conferences in terms of RPI ranking.
Georgetown owns the No. 1 overall spot in the RPI, while St. John's is No. 4. All 10 of the BIG EAST teams are in the top 77.Â
Ashford Named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Jake Ashford earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors, the league announced on Monday afternoon. The freshman scored his first career goal on Saturday night and helped Creighton secure a spot in the BIG EAST Championship field.Â
Ashford converted the golden goal during the 105th minute on Saturday night at Morrison Stadium against Butler. The Shawnee, Kansas native found the back of the net on a rebound after an initial header by Bryce Gibson off a corner kick was saved and deflected into the center of the six-yard box.
Ashford owns four appearances as a Bluejay, including three starts. His first appearance and start came on Oct. 19 against No. 7 St. John's.
Bluejays Recent Overtime Results
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 also posted a 2-1 double overtime win on Saturday night for the team's second overtime victory this season (2-1-1).
The last time the Bluejays had multiple overtime wins was in 2017. Creighton has not had three or more overtime wins during the same season since collecting three in 2012. Â
Creighton is just 6-10-14 during overtime matches since joining the BIG EAST in 2013.Â
