Creighton University
Butler
Men's Soccer Starts Postseason Play With First Round BIG EAST Match Against Butler At Morrison
11/7/2019 5:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays earned a 2-1 double overtime win against Butler at Morrison Stadium last weekend
Download Complete Notes
Â
Â
Up Next
Creighton opens postseason play with a BIG EAST Championship First Round match on Saturday against Butler at Morrison Stadium.
Â
Follow the Match
Saturday'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 (8-6-2, 4-4-1 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays secured the No. 4 seed and a First Round home match after battling for a 1-1 draw at No. 3 Georgetown on Wednesday, during Creighton's third consecutive overtime match.
Yudai Tashiro netted the game-tying goal on Wednesday and leads the Bluejays with six goals this season, including four in the last three matches.Â
Creighton ended the regular season with 13 points in BIG EAST play to tie for fourth place with Butler. The Bluejays earned the No. 4 seed because of their 2-1 double overtime win against Butler in Omaha last weekend.
Kuba Polat, Younes Boudadi and Musa Qongo each claim four assists to tie for the team lead.Â
Creighton averages 1.38 goals per match, while goalkeepers Paul Kruse and Collin Valdivia have combined for a 1.25 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 Butler (10-6-1, 4-4-1 BIG EAST)
The Bulldogs ended the regular season with 13 points in BIG EAST play following a 2-1 win at home against Xavier on Wednesday.
Butler tied Creighton for fourth in the final standings but fell to the Bluejays last weekend to drop the tiebreaker.
The Bulldogs are 6-2-1 since the start of October.Â
Brandon Guhl paces the Bulldogs offensively with 19 points, including a team-best eight goals.Â
Freshman Wilmer Cabrera, Jr. is close behind with seven goals, while Jack Heywood leads the squad with seven assists.Â
Gabriel Gjergi has played each minute this year in goal for Butler and owns a 1.11 goals against average with five shutouts.
Head coach Paul Snape is in his 9th season at the helm of the Bulldogs.
Series History Against Bulldogs
Creighton leads the all-time series against Butler, 8-2-1, including a 4-0-1 mark at Morrison Stadium.
The Bluejays defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 in double overtime on Nov. 2 in Omaha to gain the head-to-head tiebreaker and allow Creighton to host Saturday's First Round match.Â
Creighton and Butler have met once previously during the BIG EAST Tournament as the Bulldogs earned a 2-1 victory to claim the 2016 BIG EAST Championship.
Last Time Out
Creighton earned the No. 4 seed in the 2019 BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep with a 1-1 double overtime draw at No. 3 Georgetown on Wednesday afternoon.Â
Sophomore goalkeeper Paul Kruse made a career-high nine saves to help fend off the Hoyas' 27 shots and 19 corner kicks on Wednesday. Georgetown ended the match with a 27-11 edge in shots and 19-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Kruse's nine saves were the most by a Creighton goalkeeper since Alex Kapp had nine in two different matches in 2016.
The Bluejays trailed 1-0 at the half before senior Yudai Tashiro tied the match at 1-1 with a diving header during the 61st minute.Â
Tashiro recovered a rebound and headed the ball into the back of the net from eight yards out for his team-leading sixth goal of the season. Keegan Boyd had the initial shot that the Georgetown goalkeeper saved before Tashiro dove towards the ball from near the middle of the 18-yard box and knotted the match at 1-1 with his fourth goal in Creighton's past three matches.
Following the Bluejays' equalizer, Georgetown continued to apply pressure and launched four shots and forced Kruse to make three saves during the remaining 30 minutes of regulation.
The Bluejays and Hoyas combined for eight shots during the scoreless overtime periods.Â
Georgetown dominated possession during the first half and held a 10-2 advantage in shots, including 4-1 on goal. The Hoyas found the back of the net during the 24th minute following a corner kick.
Creighton's two shots of the opening half came during the 17th and 19th minutes.
The Bluejays started the second half with a shot on goal during the 46th minute of action. Boyd nearly converted a cross from BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Jake Ashford.
Creighton kept the match within one goal following a team save at the 54-minute mark. Cameron Briggs turned aside a dangerous Georgetown opportunity by sending the ball off the end line.Â
Following Tashiro's goal in the 61st minute, the Bluejays attempted only three shots during the remainder of regulation while the Hoyas continued to apply pressure and nearly found a game-winner.Â
The Hoyas outshot the Bluejays 5-3 during the two overtime periods as Kruse made his eighth and ninth saves of the match.
Creighton BIG EAST Tourney History
The Bluejays have made the six-team BIG EAST Championship field each year since joining the league in 2013.Â
Creighton has reached the title match twice (2015, 2016) and claimed runner-up each time.
The Bluejays are 3-5-1 during BIG EAST Championship matches, including a 2-0-1 mark at Morrison Stadium.
Creighton hosted a First Round match in 2016 (3-1 win vs. Xavier) and a Semifinal match in both 2018 (1-1 tie vs. Marquette) and 2015 (2-1 win vs. Providence).Â
The last time the program hosted more than one conference tournament match in the same season was in 2011 when the Bluejays defeated Bradley and Missouri State en route to the MVC Tournament title.Â
Overall, Creighton is 6-1-2 during conference tournament matches played at Morrison Stadium, and 21-4-3 during all postseason matches at Morrison (includes NCAA Tournament).Â
BIG EAST Champs Across Creighton Athletics
The Creighton men's soccer team is looking to become the third different program across Creighton Athletics to claim a BIG EAST Tournament crown.Â
Across all sports, Creighton has played in 15 BIG EAST Tournament championship games, but only the volleyball and baseball programs have won titles.
The volleyball team is 5-1 in the BIG EAST title matches, with five consecutive tournament crowns -- 2014 (over Seton Hall), 2015 (Villanova), 2016 (Xavier), 2017 (Marquette) and 2018 (Marquette).Â
The Creighton baseball team earned its first BIG EAST title this past spring and improved to 1-3 in BIG EAST finals.
Three other programs programs -- men's soccer (0-2), men's basketball (0-2) and women's basketball (0-1) -- have reached BIG EAST title contests but have yet to capture the crown.
The Bluejay men's soccer team's two BIG EAST title match appearances came in 2015 (2-1 double overtime loss at Georgetown) and 201Â (2-1 loss at Butler).
The Creighton men's soccer program captured 13 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament titles as a member of the conference from 1991-2012 (22 seasons).
Overtimes Galore
Creighton has played three consecutive overtime matches.Â
The Bluejays are 1-1-1 in those contests with a loss at Providence (Oct. 26) , win at home against Butler (Nov. 2) and draw at No. 3 Georgetown on Wednesday.Â
The last time Creighton played three consecutive overtime matches was in 2013 when the Bluejays played five straight OT contests.Â
Creighton is 2-1-2 during overtime matches this season.Â
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 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 against Tulsa winless in its last seven overtime matches (two losses, five ties), including all five last season (0-2-3).Â
Creighton is just 6-10-15 during overtime matches since joining the BIG EAST in 2013.Â
Kruse Posts Career-Best Nine Saves
Sophomore goalkeeper Paul Kruse made nine saves against Georgetown on Wednesday afternoon to set a new career high.
The nine saves were also the most by a Bluejay goalie since Alex Kapp had nine during two different matches in 2016.
Georgetown held a 27-11 shot advantage but the Creighton defense held tough for the entire 110 mintues of the match to preserve the 1-1 tie.Â
Bluejays Getting It Done In The Classroom
Creighton had five players listed on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 First Team, the organization announced on Thursday morning.
Seniors Bryce Gibson (3.52 GPA), Luke Haakenson (3.69), Connor Ramlo (3.98), and Collin Valdivia (3.77), as well as sophomore Daniel Espeleta (3.65), each earned Academic All-District honors for the first time.
The Bluejays' five honorees are the most for a single team in Division I this season, and the most by the Creighton men's soccer program in a single year. The previous high was four in 2011 and 2004.Â
All five Bluejays advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. Academic All-America honorees will be announced in early December.
Better Late Than Never
The Bluejays' victory on Nov. 2 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 80-58-17 all-time against United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Top-25 opponents.
The Bluejays are 1-2-2 this season against the top 25, which includes a 0-1-2 mark on the road.Â
Creighton is 29-27-12 all-time in true road matches against top-25 opponents.
Creighton vs. Top-5 Opponents
Wednesday's 1-1 draw at No. 3 Georgetown marked Creighton's first result against a team ranked in the top 5 since 2015 when Creighton won at No. 4 North Carolina (1-0) during the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
Wednesday also was the second match this season in which Creighton played a top-5 opponent.Â
The Bluejays fell 1-0 at No. 4 Wake Forest on Sept. 1.
Before Wednesday, Creighton had 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 1-6-1 against teams ranked No. 5 or higher.
