Diego Gutierrez Named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, Five Bluejays Listed On All-BIG EAST Teams
4/14/2021 12:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Gutierrez made the All-Conference First Team, while Charles Auguste, Duncan McGuire, Musa Qongo and Callum Watson made the Second Team
During his first season with the Bluejays, Gutierrez tied for the BIG EAST lead with 16 points from five goals and six assists during regular season play. His assist total paced the conference and currently ranks tied for 12th in Division I entering postseason play. Gutierrez recorded a brace (two goals) during a pair of home matches and posted a season-high five points with two goals and an assist on March 17 against Butler.Â
The senior owns 15 goals and 19 assists during his collegiate playing career as the Omaha native joined the Creighton program prior to the fall of 2020 after spending three seasons and playing in 44 matches with the University of Nebraska Omaha.Â
Additionally, the Portland Timbers drafted Gutierrez during the third round (70th overall) of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft prior to the start of the spring season, but the club allowed him to continue his collegiate career. He also plans to use his extra year of eligibility to compete with the Bluejays in the fall of 2021.Â
Gutierrez is the fourth player in program history to be named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year since Creighton joined the league in 2013, joining Fabian Herbers (2014, '15), Ricky Lopez-Espin (2017) and Sven Koenig (2018). The Bluejay men's soccer program also had 11 different players win Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year between 1992 and 2012, including current head coach Johnny Torres (1997) and current Creighton women's soccer head coach Ross Paule (1996).Â
Auguste, a junior midfielder, earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team after ranking eighth in the league with 10 points from three goals and four assists. The Montreal native battled back from an injury that forced him to miss the final eight matches of the 2019 season and appeared in 10 matches this spring (nine starts) and logged 813 minutes, which ranked second on the team behind goalkeeper Nathan Schnur (829 minutes). He earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of Week honors on March 29 after posting a goal and assist during Creighton's 3-0 victory at Xavier (March 24).
McGuire led all BIG EAST freshman and tied for sixth overall in the conference with 11 points on his way to All-BIG EAST Second Team honors. The Omaha native tallied four goals and three assists during his first season of action with the Bluejays after redshirting in 2019. He earned the final two Freshman of the Week honors from the BIG EAST (April 5, April 12)Â and enters the postseason after scoring two points during five of the final six matches of the season with four goals and two assists.Â
Qongo claimed a spot on the All-Conference Second Team after helping lead the Creighton back line . The senior defender missed the first two contests of the season because of injury, but started the final nine of the regular season and played five complete matches. He guided the Bluejay defense to a 1.79 goals against average and added three assists offensively. Qongo earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week recognition on March 8. The South Africa native plans to return for his extra year of eligibility in the fall of 2021.
Watson earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team during his first season as a Bluejay. The junior tied for fourth in the league with four assists during the spring of 2021 and scored one goal. The England native played two seasons at Hastings College and helped lead the Broncos to a runner-up finish at 2019 NAIA Men's Soccer Championship before transferring to Creighton.Â
Georgetown swept the Midfielder of the Year (Dante Polvara), Defensive Player of the Year (Rio Hope-Gund) and Goalkeeper of the Year (Giannis Nikopolidis) awards, while Marquette's Beto Soto claimed Freshman of the Year and Seton Hall earned Coaching Staff of the Year recognition. Creighton's five all-conference selections tied for second-most, trailing only Georgetown who had eight all-conference honorees. A complete list of award winners and all-conference teams are listed below.Â
Creighton continues its season on Thursday in Washington, D.C. at the BIG EAST Championship presented by JEEP. The Bluejays face No. 2 Georgetown in a semifinal match at 11 a.m. The match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network.Â
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BIG EAST Regular Season Awards
Offensive Player of the Year
Diego Gutierrez, Creighton, Sr., F
Midfielder of the Year
Dante Polvara, Georgetown, So., M
Defensive Player of the Year
Rio Hope-Gund, Georgetown, Sr., D
Goalkeeper of the Year
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Jr.
Freshman of Year
Beto Soto, Marquette, Fr., F
Coaching Staff of the Year
Seton Hall
BIG EAST All-Conference Teams
First Team*
Wilmer Cabrera, Jr., Butler, So., F
Diego Gutierrez, Creighton, Sr., F
Derek Dodson, Georgetown, Sr., F
Lukas Sunnesson, Marquette, Jr., F
Tani Oluwaseyi, St. John's, Jr., F
C.J. Tibbling, Seton Hall, Jr., F
Jacob Montes, Georgetown, Sr., M
Dante Polvara, Georgetown, So., M
Paulo Lima, Providence, Jr., M
Rhys Myers, Butler, Sr., D
Luca Dahn, Seton Hall, Jr., D
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Jr., GK
Second Team
Duncan McGuire, Creighton, R-Fr., F.
Lyam Mackinnon, Villanova, So., F
Karsen Henderlong, Xavier, So., F
Jack Haywood, Butler, Jr., M
Callum Watson, Creighton, Jr., M
Charles Auguste, Crieghton, Jr., M
Sean Zawadzki, Georgetown, Jr., M
Musa Qongo, Creighton, Sr., D
Alex Mirsberger, Marquette, R-So., D
Ramzi Qawasmy, Providence, Jr., D
Andreas Nota, Seton Hall, Sr., GK
Third Team
Felix Metzler, UConn, Jr., D
Jake Fuderer, DePaul, Jr., M
Tim Iscra, DePaul, Sr., D
Paul Rothrock, Georgetown, Sr., M
Will Sands, Georgetown, So., M/D
Zyan Andrade, Marquette, Jr., M
Chandler Hallwood, Marquette, R-So., GK
Beto Soto, Marquette, Fr., F
Gevork Diarbian, Providence, Fr., F
Luis Garcia, Providence, So., M
Brandon Knapp, St. John's, Jr., M
Einar Lye, St. John's, Jr., M
JP Marin, Seton Hall, Jr., M
Johannes Pex, Seton Hall, So., D
Felix Boe Tangen, Xavier, So., F
 * due to ties in voting there are extra members on the All-BIG EAST First and Third Teams
