Creighton University
Missouri State
Men's Soccer Faces No. 19 Missouri State in KC, Plays At DePaul
3/9/2021 4:34:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays and Bears will meet at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri
Saturday, March 13 | Creighton at DePaul | Chicago, Ill. | 1:00 p.m. (CST)
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Creighton continues its season with a pair of games this week. The Bluejays will play Missouri State in Kansas City, Missouri for a neutral site nonconference match before stepping back into conference play with a contest against DePaul on Saturday in Chicago.
Follow the Match
Wednesday's match will not feature live video or live stats.
Live video will be available for Saturday's match in Chicago on DePaulBlueDemons.com
Live stats will be available on Saturday via SIDEARM Sports..
Links to both the live stream and live stats for Saturday will be available on the Creighton Men's Soccer schedule page.
Updates will be provided on Twitter (@CreightonMSOC) for both matches.
Scouting Creighton (2-1-0, 2-0-0 BIG EAST)
Creighton enters the week following a 2-1 home victory against Xavier on Saturday.
The Bluejays improved to 2-0-0 in BIG EAST play with the win over the Musketeers.
Diego Gutierrez leads the team with two goals after scoring both against Xavier. The senior transfer also has one assist to pace the Bluejays with seven points.
Daniel Espeleta tallied a pair of assists on Saturday to take the team-lead in helpers, while four other players each have one.
Creighton was picked second in the Midwest Division of the BIG EAST Preseason Polls and junior goalkeeper Paul Kruse earned Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year accolades.
Head coach Johnny Torres is in his second year at the helm of the Bluejays after spending 12 years as an assistant coach.
Scouting #19 Missouri State (2-0-0)
The Bears have opened the 2021 spring with two conference victories and earned the No. 19 ranking in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll.
Missouri State started the season with a 3-0 win over Bradley before a 1-0 victory at Drake.
Four different Bears have scored a goal through the first two matches.
Nicolo Mulatero paces the team with four points from a goal and two assists.
Michael Creek has started each of the first two matches in goal and recorded six saves during the pair of clean sheets.
Missouri State returned 12 letterwinners and eight starters from its squad that finished 18-1-1 in 2019 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Jon Leamy is in his 29th season at the helm of the Bears.
Series History Against Bears
Creighton leads the all-time series against Missouri State, 22-8-4.
The Bluejays and Bears last met on Sept. 29, 2015, which resulted in a 4-0 Creighton win.
Creighton has won three straight against Missouri State, dating back to 2011 when the two schools were Missouri Valley Conference opponents.
Scouting DePaul (0-2-2, 0-2-0 BE as of 3/9)
The Blue Demons enter the week with two losses and two draws.
DePaul opened the year with a 2-2 tie against Northern Illinois and a scorelesss draw against Loyola-Chicago.
The Blue Demons started BIG EAST action by being outscored 8-1 in two matches against Butler and Marquette.
Jake Fuderer leads the team with five points from two goals and one assist.
Matthew Brickman owns DePaul's other goal this season
Drew Nuelle claimed the starting role in goal for each match and recorded 22 saves through four matches.
Head coach Mark Plotkin is in hs third year at the helm of the Blue Demons.
Series History Against Blue Demons
Creighton is a perfect 10-0-0 against DePaul, including 7-0-0 since the Bluejays joined the BIG EAST in 2013.
Creighton's last victory in Chicago in 2018 helped the Bluejays clinch the 2018 BIG EAST
regular-season title.
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 faced five ranked opponents during the 2019 campaign, including the first three matches of the season, as Creighton went 1-2-2 against the top-25.
Creighton is 8-16-1 during neutral site matches against Top-25 foes and Missouri State is the first ranked team Creighton will face on a neutral pitch since Nov. 14, 2014 against No. 23 Providence at the BIG EAST Tournament.
The Bluejays are 43-15-4 at home against Top-25 opponents, including 33-8-3 at Morrison Stadium.
Last Time Out
Diego Gutierrez scored a pair of goals as Creighton picked up a 2-1 win over Xavier on Saturday afternoon at Morrison Stadium.
The Bluejays improved to 2-0 in BIG EAST play and 2-1 overall, while the Musketeers fell to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in league action.
Saturday's match marked Creighton's first at Morrison Stadium since Nov. 9, 2019.
Gutierrez's game-winning goal came during the 88th minute. Daniel Espeleta moved down the left side of the pitch before sending a ball towards the middle of the pitch to Duncan McGuire. McGuire placed the ball at the feet of Gutierrez who recovered it with his left foot, switched to his right and slotted the ball inside the left post and past the diving Xavier goalkeeper.
The Omaha native scored the first goal of the match during the 22nd minute. Musa Qongo sent a pass from midfield to Espeleta on the Bluejays' attacking half of the field. Espeleta turned over his right shoulder and passed the ball to Gutierrez who recovered it, dribbled more than 20 yards and sent a shot from the right of the penalty spot to the back of the net at the far post.
The goal marked Gutierrez's first as a Bluejay and 11th of his career after tallying 10 during three seasons at UNO.
Xavier tied the match at 1-1 during the 81st minute. Karsen Henderlong picked up a loose ball in the box and scored his BIG EAST-leading seventh goal of the season.
The Bluejays and Musketeers combined for only four shots in the first half and only one of goal, but the two sides responded in the second half with 14 combined shots -- nine from Xavier, five from Creighton.
Paul Kruse made only one save as the Bluejays improved to 8-0 in BIG EAST home openers.
Qongo Named BE Defensive Player of the Week
Senior defender Musa Qongo earned this week's BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week award, the league announced on Monday afternoon.
Qongo helped the Creighton defense limit Xavier to just two shots on goal and recorded an assist on the Bluejays' first goal during Saturday's 2-1 victory.
The senior made his first appearance of the season on Saturday after missing the first two matches because of an injury.
Gutierrez Listed on TopDrawerSoccer Team of Week
Senior forward Diego Gutierrez earned a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer Men's Team of the Week after his two-goal performance against Xavier.
The Omaha native now has 12 career goals after recording 10 during three seasons at UNO before transferring to the Bluejays prior to the fall of 2020.
Fortress Morrison
Creighton is 144-28-21 overall at Morrison Stadium (opened in 2003), and finished 2019 with a 7-3-0 mark, including a 3-1-0 record during BIG EAST play.
The Bluejays owned two shutouts at home in 2019 (both league matches) and six in their 11 home matches in 2018.
Creighton has never lost consecutive matches at Morrison Stadium during the same season.
Creighton's loss at Morrison Stadium against No. 17 Virginia Tech to open the 2017 season followed the team's loss at home to end the 2016 campaign (2-1 vs. Providence), marking the first time since 1985 that Creighton had lost consecutive home matches.
The Bluejays are 24-1-3 in their next home match following a home loss at Morrison, including an 2-0-0 mark last season.
Creighton ended its 2019 season with a loss at home against Butler during the first round of the BIG EAST Championship.
The Bluejays are 62-13-8 at Morrison Stadium since the start of 2013 when the program joined the BIG EAST and 24-6-2 during home league matches, with exactly one loss in six out of seven BIG EAST regular seasons.
Bluejays Nearly Flawless In BE Home Openers
Creighton is a perfect 8-0 during BIG EAST home openers, including a 2-1 win against Xavier on Saturday.
The Bluejays have allowed a goal during their BIG EAST home opener only twice (2014 and this season) and outscored the opposition 12-3 during eight matches.
The last time Creighton lost its conference home opener was in 2009 when the Bluejays lost 1-0 against Missouri State to open the home Missouri Valley Conference slate.
New Faces Around The Pitch
Creighton's starting XI on Feb. 20 against Marquette featured six players making their first start in a Bluejay uniform.
In total, eight players made their Creighton debuts during the season-opener against the Golden Eagles.
Nathan Schnur, Duncan McGuire, Landon Sloan, Alejandro Maillet, Owen O'Malley, Mark O'Neill, Diego Gutierrez and Callum Watson each made their Bluejay debuts during the season opener.
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