Creighton University
Villanova
Men's Soccer Prepares For BIG EAST Road Trip With Matches Against Villanova and UConn
10/11/2021 2:15:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays play at Villanova on Wednesday before heading north to play UConn on Saturday
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Saturday, Oct. 16 | Creighton at UConn | Storrs, Ct. | 6:00 p.m. (CT)Â
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Creighton heads to the east coast for a two-match road trip as the Bluejays seek their first positive BIG EAST result.
Follow the Match
Both matches will feature live video and live stats.
Live video for both contests will be available on BEDN via FloSports while live stats will be featured through StatBroadcast.
A subscription is required to view the event on FloSports.
Links to video and live stats will be provided on the Creighton Men's Soccer schedule page.
Updates will be provided during the match on Twitter (@CreightonMSOC).
Scouting Creighton (3-6-1, 0-4-0 BE)
The Bluejays seek their first conference points after dropping the first four league matches on their schedule.
Senior co-captain goalkeeper Paul Kruse has started all 10 matches overall, owns three total shutouts (two individual, one combined) and leads the BIG EAST in saves per match (4.10). He also holds a 1.51 goals against average.
Kruse made eight saves — one off his career-high — during the season opener (Aug. 26) against Tulsa before needing to make seven stops on Aug. 29 at Saint Louis.
Senior Diego Gutierrez leads the Bluejays with nine points from four goals and one assist. The reigning BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year is tied for sixth in the league for goals scored.
Freshman Manu Toledano owns three goals for the Bluejays, while five other Bluejays have found the back of the net once.
Charles Auguste and Dominic Briggs are tied for the team-lead with two assists.
Head coach Johnny Torres is in his third year at the helm of the Bluejays after spending 12 years as an assistant coach.
Scouting Villanova (8-3-0, 4-1-0 BE)
The Wildcats opened their BIG EAST slate with four wins before falling to St. John's on Saturday afternoon, 1-0, in overtime.
All five of Villanova's league contests have ended with a final score of 1-0.
Lyam MacKinnon leads the Wildcat attack with 10 points from four goals and two assists, while Balthi Saunders ranks second on the team for points with seven (3 goals, 1 assist).
Senior goalkeeper Carson Williams owns a 0.79 goals against average during 10 starts and claims four shutouts.
Head coach Tom Carlin is in his 12th season at the helm of Villanova.
Series History Against Wildcats
Creighton leads the all-time series against Villlanova, 5-2-0.
The Bluejays are 2-1-0 against the Wildcats at Villanova, including a 1-0 win in 2018.
Six of the previous seven matchups have resulted in a shutout by one of the two teams (4 by CU, 2 by Villanova).
Scouting UConn (4-4-1, 0-3-1 BE as of 10/11)
The Huskies enter the week searching for their first league victory of the season. UConn also went winless in BIG EAST play during the modified 2020 campaign, its first season since rejoining the league.
Goalkeeper Jahmali Waite entered the week ranked second in the BIG EAST and 14th nationally with a 0.628 goals against average and owns five shutouts. Waite allowed more than one goal in a single match only once through the first nine matches of the season.
Okem Chime paces the Huskies with three goals, while Jayden Reid and Moussa Wade each lead the team with four assists.
The Huskies have outscored the opposition 11-6 overall, but been outscored by opponents 5-2 through the first four conference matches.
Head coach Ray Ried is in his 25th season at the helm of UConn. He led the Huskies to the 2000 NCAA National Championship.
Series History Against Huskies
Creighton leads the all-time series against UConn, 2-1, but Saturday's match will be the first contest between the two programs as conference opponents.
The Bluejays and Huskies have met three times previously during the NCAA Tournament, including the 2000 NCAA National Championship, which resulted in a 2-0 UConn victory.
Creighton's lone previous trip to Storrs, Connecticut resulted in a 1-0 win during the Elite Eight of the 2012 NCAAs to guide the Bluejays into the College Cup for the fifth time in program history.
Corner Kicks Record
Creighton tied a Morrison Stadium record with 15 corner kick attempts on Saturday night against Marquette.
The Bluejays also had 15 corners at home against Missouri State on Oct. 27, 2007.
Creighton's 15 corner kicks on Saturday marked the second time the team reached double-digit corner kicks this season (10 vs. UIC, Oct. 2).
The last time the Bluejays had 15 corner kicks in any match was on Nov. 11, 2010 at SMU.
Creighton ranks second in the BIG EAST and 29th nationally with 6.50 corner kicks per contest this season.
First Official RPI Rankings Released
The first official RPI Rankings were released by the NCAA on Monday.
The Bluejays are listed at No. 50 in the initial release. Creighton is one of five BIG EAST teams listed inside the top 50.
All 11 BIG EAST programs are listed inside the top 100.
BIG EAST in the RPI (Oct. 11 edition)
3. Georgetown
17. Providence
25. Villanova
32. St. John's
50. Creighton
52. Marquette
58. Xavier
61. DePaul
63. Butler
80. Seton Hall
83. UConn
Battle Tested Bluejays
Creighton owns a 3-6-1 record this season, but the 10 teams the Bluejays have played so far this fall have a combined record of 67-30-11 (.671).
Of the first 10 teams Creighton has faced this season, two are still unbeaten (Georgetown and Saint Louis).
With the initial RPI rankings released on Monday, the Bluejays have faced three teams currently listed in the top 25 (0-3-0 vs. those opponents), five teams in the top 50 (1-4-0) and eight teams inside the top 100 (1-6-1).
Team (RPI rank)Â Â W-L-T (10/11) Â CU's Result
Tulsa (5) 9-1-0 L, 1-2
Saint Louis (21) 9-0-3 L, 0-4
Indiana (39) 7-3-1 W, 3-0
Ohio State (85) 4-6-1 T, 1-1
Georgetown (3) 10-0-0 L, 1-2
St. John's (32) 8-3-2 L, 0-2
UNO (183) 4-5-1 W, 1-0
UIC (106) 5-4-2 W, 4-0
DePaul (61) 6-4-1 L, 0-1
Marquette (52) 5-5-1 L, 1-3
Scoring First Yields Success
The team who has scored first during 22 of the last 23 Creighton matches has proceeded to claim the victory (lone exception the 1-1 (2OT) tie against Ohio State on Sept. 6).
The Bluejays are 3-0 this season when scoring first and 0-6-1 when the opposition finds the back of the net first.
Creighton finished 6-0 during the 2020 season when scoring first, but 0-6 when its opponent scored first.
Head coach Johnny Torres is 14-1-1 when scoring first during his tenure at Creighton, but just 3-18-2 when the opposition finds the back of the net first.
Additionally, the Bluejays are 3-0 when leading at the half this season, but 0-6-1 when trailing or tied at halftime.
Creighton's last come-from-behind victory came during the 2019 regular-season finale against Butler.
The Bluejays' last victory when trailing at the half was on Sept. 24, 2019 against Tulsa as Creighton fell behind 1-0 at the half before winning 4-3 in overtime.
Since Torres took over prior to the 2019 season, the Bluejays have just one win after trailing at halftime (1-9-2).
Converting Penalty Kick Opportunities
Creighton enters the week a perfect 3-for-3 in penalty kick opportunities.
Two of Creighton's three PKs during 2021 have come during conference play, including one on Saturday against Marquette.
The three successful penalty kicks this season are the most since 2016 when the Bluejays ended the year 5-for-6 during PK opportunities.
The last time the Bluejays ended the year with a 100 percent conversation rate for penalty kicks with more than two successful tries was in 2015 when Creighton finished the year 4-for-4.
Since 1991, the Creighton single-season mark for most successful penalty kicks is six in 2001 when the Bluejays ended the season a perfect 6-for-6.
Bluejays During Road BIG EAST Matches
Since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013 season, the Bluejays are 16-17-5 during regular-season league matches on the road.
Creighton went 2-2 during league road matches last season (during spring semester) and 1-3-1 in 2019.
The Bluejays are 0-2-0 this season during BIG EAST road contests.
Creighton Ranks Third Nationally For Home Attendance
Creighton ranks third nationally in average home attendance (through matches played Oct. 11) with an average of 2,605 fans per match.
2021 Division I Avg. Attendance Leaders (10/11)
Rk. Team Games Total Avg.
1. UConn 7 19,917 2,845
2. Maryland 7 18,293 2,613
3. Creighton 5 13,027 2,605
4. Indiana 7 17,349 2,478
5. Clemson 8 19,399 2,425
6. Saint Louis 7 15,311 2,187
7. UC Santa Barbara 7 14,847 2,121
8. South Carolina 8 14,211 1,776
9. Akron 7 12,225 1,746
10. Wake Forest 7 12,018 1,717
Creighton hosted 6,577 fans at Morrison Stadium on Sept. 18 against #1 Georgetown, the second largest crowd in program history and second largest crowd to watch a Division I soccer match this fall.
