Creighton University
Butler
Men's Soccer Closes Regular Season At Butler on Saturday
4/8/2021 12:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays have clinched a spot in the four-team BIG EAST Championship field
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Creighton closes its regular season on Saturday at Butler.
Follow the Match
Friday's match will feature live video and live stats.
Live video will be featured on BEDN, which can be found on YouTube.com/BIGEASTConference while live stats will be provided by StatBroadcast.
Links to video and live stats will be provided on the Creighton Men's Soccer schedule page.
Updates will be provided on Twitter (@CreightonMSOC).
Scouting Creighton (6-4-0, 5-2-0 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays enter the final match of the regular season after a 4-3 victory against DePaul during Creighton's final home match of the season (April 2).
Creighton is currently in second place in the BIG EAST Midwest Division with a .714 winning percentage (5-2-0).
Senior Diego Gutierrez leads the Bluejays and ranks second in the BIG EAST with 15 points from five goals and five assists. His five assists are tied for the BIG EAST lead and his goal total is tied for fourth. He owns 15 goals and 18 assists during his collegiate career after spending three seasons at UNO.
Duncan McGuire is tied for seventh in the conference with nine points from three goals and three assists.
A total of 12 different Bluejays have scored at least one goal this spring as Creighton has scored 20 goals, which leads the BIG EAST and ranks 23rd nationally.
Callum Watson ranks fourth in the BIG EAST with four assists. The Bluejays own 25 assists, to pace the conference and rank 10th nationally.
Bluejay freshman Nathan Schnur has started seven matches in goal for the Bluejays. The Colorado native owns a 1.58 goals against average and has recorded 28 saves.
Head coach Johnny Torres is in his second year at the helm of the Bluejays after spending 12 years as an assistant coach.
Scouting Butler (3-6-2, 3-2-2 BIG EAST)
The Bulldogs enter the final match of the regular season after a 1-0 overtime victory at Xavier on Saturday.
Butler's last four matches have all been on the road after starting the season with seven consecutive contests in the state of Indiana.
The Bulldogs have managed just 10 goals this season and scored in just five out of 11 matches.
Wilmer Cabrera Jr., the 2019 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, ranks sixth in the conference this season with 10 points from four goals and two assists.
Goalkeeper Gabriel Gjergji owns a 1.02 goals against average and a BIG EAST-best five shutouts.
Head coach Paul Snape is in his 10th season at the helm of the Bulldogs.
Series History Against Bulldogs
Creighton leads the all-time series against Butler, 9-3-1.
The Bluejays defeated the Bulldogs 4-2 in Omaha on March 17.
Butler owns victories during the last two meetings in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs earned a 3-2 overtime win in 2017 and a 2-1 win during the 2016 BIG EAST Championship title match.
Last Time Out
Creighton outlasted DePaul, 4-3, on Friday night at Morrison Stadium.
Duncan McGuire converted the game-winning goal during the 84th minute, just four minutes after the Blue Demons tied the match at 3-3 with a penalty kick goal.
The Bluejay freshman received a cross from Diego Gutierrez and slotted the ball inside the far post for his third goal of the season.
The Bluejays and Blue Demons combined to score five goals in the first half on Friday night at Morrison.
The Bluejays found the back of the net first during the ninth minute. Keegan Boyd tallied his first goal of the season after receiving a pass along the right side of the 18-yard box from Gutierrez. Jake Ronneberg also tallied an assist on the play.
DePaul tied the match with its first shot of the evening and knotted the match at 1-1 during the 14th minute.
The Blue Demons took a 2-1 lead in the 22nd minute, but just 21 seconds after DePaul gained the advantage, Creighton drew a foul in the box, which set up Gutierrez for a PK opportunity. The Omaha native calmly chipped the ball into the net for his team-leading fifth goal and tied the match at 2-2.
Less than a minute after the penalty Alejandro Maillet scored his first goal as a Bluejay. The junior received an outlet pass by Callum Watson and sent a shot past the DePaul goalkeeper and inside the far post to give Creighton a 3-2 lead in the 23rd minute.
After the scoring explosion in the first half, neither team scored during the first 34 minutes after halftime.
DePaul broke the scoring drought in the 80th minute with a penalty-kick goal by Jake Fuderer.
The Bluejays responded in the 84th minute with McGuire's third goal of the season to earn the victory.
Creighton ended the match with an 18-9 edge in shots, while both goalkeepers made four saves. Bluejay freshman Nathan Schnur recorded his fifth win of the season on Friday.
The Bluejays and Blue Demons combined for 31 fouls, five yellow cards and one red card.
Bluejays Secure BIG EAST Postseason Spot
Creighton holds a 5-2-0 mark in league action, and the Bluejays are second in the Midwest Division with a .714 winning percentage.
The Bluejays' clinched a spot in the BIG EAST postseason with a victory over DePaul, as Creighton cannot finish worse than tied for second in the Midwest and owns the tiebreaker against Butler.
For the spring of 2021, the BIG EAST is split into two divisions. Each team plays home-and-home against the opposing divisional foes. The five Midwest Division teams are slated to play eight league games, while the six East Division teams are scheduled to play 10.
The top two teams in each division with the best winning percentages will qualify for the BIG EAST Championship, which will be hosted by the team with the best winning percentage across the entire league.
Either Georgetown or Marquette will host the tournament. The Hoyas will host at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C. with a win or draw against St. John's on Saturday. A Georgetown loss would mean Marquette hosts at Valley Fields in Milwaukee.
The semifinals will take place on Thursday, April 15, followed by the title match on Saturday, April 17.
Gutierrez and McGuire Recognized By BIG EAST
Senior Diego Gutierrez and freshman Duncan McGuire collected BIG EAST Weekly honors, the league announced on Monday afternoon. Gutierrez earned Offensive Player of the Week accolades, while McGuire claimed the Freshman of the Week title.
Gutierrez and McGuire helped the Bluejays tally a pair of victories last week, including a 4-3 win against DePaul on Friday at Morrison Stadium for the Bluejays' fifth BIG EAST win of the season. The Omaha natives combined for two goals and five assists as Creighton found the back of the net seven times over the course of 180 minutes.
Gutierrez totaled five points from three assists and a goal. The senior forward assisted on the first goal during Creighton's 3-1 victory over Kansas City on March 29 and tallied four points with a penalty kick goal and two assists, including one on the game-winning goal, on Friday night against the Blue Demons. Gutierrez paces the Bluejays and ranks second in the BIG EAST this season with 15 points from five goals and five assists.
McGuire ended last week with two assists and a game-winning goal. The freshman forward had both of his helpers against the Roos, which included one on the game-winning goal. He ended the week by scoring the game-winning goal during the 84th minute against DePaul on Friday. McGuire ranks second on the team and is tied for seventh in the conference with nine points from three goals and three assists.
Additionally, the conference listed Keegan Boyd on the weekly honor roll. The junior defender had three points with a goal and assist last week. He scored the first goal of the match against DePaul and played the full 90 minutes against the Blue Demons for his second career full match.
Recent Goal-Scoring Surge
After being shut out twice and scoring only five goals through the first five matches of the season (2-3-0), Creighton has found its offensive rhythm.
The Bluejays have scored 15 goals during their past five matches, including three or more during four matches and won four of those five matches.
Eleven different players have scored during the last four matches, while Diego Gutierrez and Duncan McGuire have each scored three times.
Overall this season, 12 players have scored at least one goal and 12 players have at least one assist.
