Creighton University
DePaul
Men's Soccer Resumes BIG EAST Slate At DePaul on Wednesday Afternoon
10/4/2021 4:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays enter the week on a two-match shutout streak
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Creighton resumes league play with a midweek afternoon contest against DePaul.
Follow the Match
Wednesday's match will feature live video and live stats.
Live video for the contest will be available on FloSports while live stats will be featured through SIDEARM SPORTS.
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 (3-4-1, 0-2-0 BE)
The Bluejays get back into BIG EAST play after posting two nonconference shutouts last week.
Senior goalkeeper Paul Kruse has started all eight matches and owns three total shutouts (two individual, one combined) and ranks second in the BIG EAST in saves per match (4.12). He earned the league's Goalkeeper of the Week award after posting two clean sheets last week.
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. He also tallied five against the top-ranked Hoyas during the Bluejays' last home match on Sept. 18.
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 fifth in the league for goals.
Freshman Manu Toledano owns three goals for the Bluejays, while four 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 DePaul (5-4-0, 1-1-0 BE)
The Blue Demons enter the week on a two-match losing streak.
DePaul's last win came against UConn (2-1) on Sept. 25.
Marek Gonda paces the team with 10 points (4 goals, 2 assists), while Jack Richards owns nine points from four goals and one assist.
Jake Fuderer leads the team with three assists.
Gandhi Cruz has been DePaul's lone goalkeeper to see action this season. Cruz owns a 1.33 goals against average and leads the BIG EAST with 38 saves.
Head coach Mark Plotkin is in his third season at the helm of DePaul.
Series History Against Blue Demons
Creighton leads the all-time series against DePaul 11-1.
The Bluejays won the first 10 meetings between the two programs before the Blue Demons secured a 2-1 win last season in Chicago (March 13).
Creighton defeated DePaul, 4-3, on April 2 in Omaha as the two sides met twice during the regular season because of the league's modified schedule due to COVID-19.
Consecutive Shutouts For First Time In Three Years
Creighton posted shutouts against both UNO and UIC last week, marking the first time the Bluejays posted consecutive shutouts since September of 2018.
Creighton earned shutouts in three consecutive matches from Sept. 7-22, 2018 against Memphis, Butler and Villanova.
The Bluejays own three shutouts overall this season.
Creighton had just one clean sheet in the 2020 season and three during 2019.
Kruse Named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week
Senior goalkeeper Paul Kruse earned BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week accolades, the league announced on Monday afternoon.
The Heilbronn, Germany native helped the Bluejays record a pair of shutouts last week against UNO (Sept. 29) and UIC (Oct. 2). Kruse earned the solo clean sheet on Wednesday before earning a combined shutout on Saturday. Overall during his Creighton career, Kruse claims 10 individual shutouts and one combined clean sheet.Â
The senior co-captain made four saves on Wednesday during Creighton's 1-0 victory against the Mavericks and did not need to make a stop during 62 minutes of action as the Bluejays' cruised to a 4-0 win against the Flames.
Kruse owns a 1.39 goals against average this season through 712 minutes played this season and ranks second in the BIG EAST with 4.13 saves per match. He also earned the league's weekly award after the Bluejays' 3-0 shutout of then No. 1 Indiana on Sept. 3.Â
Senior Diego Gutierrez claimed a spot on the weekly honor. The Omaha native tallied five points from two goals and one assist last week, including the game-winner against his former school and crosstown rival UNO on Wednesday night. Gutierrez leads the Bluejays this season with nine points (four goals, one assist).
Scoring Surge Quiets Flames
The Bluejays scored just seven goals during the first seven matches before finding the back of the net a total of four times against UIC on Saturday night.
Creighton also scored three goals in the first half against the Flames, the most in a single half by the Bluejays since scoring three in the first half against DePaul last season (April 2).
The last time Creighton scored four or more goals in consecutive matches was in 2017 when the squad posted a 6-1 win against Drake before a 4-1 victory against Xavier.
Four different players scored goals during Saturday's match against UIC and a total of seven different Bluejays had at least one point.
Battle Tested Bluejays
Creighton owns a 3-4-1 record this season, but the eight teams the Bluejays have played so far this fall have a combined record of 48-17-10.
Of the first eight teams Creighton has faced this season, three are still unbeaten (#1 Georgetown, #7 Tulsa, #15 Saint Louis -- Sept. 28 United Soccer Coaches ranking).
Team, Record as of 10/4, CU's Result
Tulsa, 9-0-0, L, 1-2
Saint Louis, 7-0-3, L, 0-4
Indiana, 5-3-1, W, 3-0
Ohio State, 4-5-1, T, 1-1
Georgetown, 8-0-0, L, 1-2
St. John's, 7-2-2, L, 0-2
UNO, 3-4-1, W, 1-0
UIC, 5-3-2, W, 4-0
Scoring First Yields Success
The team who has scored first during 20 of the last 21 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 0-4-1 when the opposition finds the back of the net first.
Creighton finished 6-0 in 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 3-16-2 when the opposition finds the back of the net first.
Additionally, the Bluejays are 3-0 when leading at the half this season, but 0-4-1 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 (1-8-2).
Bluejays During Road BIG EAST Matches
Since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013 season, the Bluejays are 16-16-5 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 0-1-0 this season during BIG EAST road contests.
