Diego Gutierrez Voted BIG EAST Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Bluejays Picked To Finish Third
8/18/2021 12:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Gutierrez earned league's Offensive Player of the Year award during spring
Gutierrez earned 2020 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors after totaling 16 points from five goals and six assists during his first season in a Creighton uniform (completed during spring of 2021). The Omaha native also earned United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Second Team recognition last season.
The Bluejays received 74 points for third in the coaches' poll. Georgetown totaled 98 points and eight of 11 possible first-place votes for the top spot, while Seton Hall claimed the three remaining first-place votes and tallied 93 points overall for the second position. Providence, Marquette, St. John's and Butler hold the four through seven positions, respectively, with just 12 points separating the Friars in fourth (67) and the Bulldogs at No. 7 (55). UConn, Xavier, DePaul and Villanova rounded out the poll with each team receiving less than 30 points.
The top six teams in the final league standings will qualify for the 2021 BIG EAST Championship Presented by JEEP. The first round matchups will be hosted by the higher seed on Nov. 6 (3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5), while the number one seed will host the semifinals on Nov. 11 (1 vs. winner of 4/5 and 2 vs. winner of 3/6) and final match on Nov. 14.
Creighton finished 6-6-0 overall and 5-3-0 in league play to finish second in the Midwest Division of the BIG EAST during the abbreviated 2020 season that was completed during the spring of 2021. The Bluejays return all 22 letterwinners from the spring, including five All-BIG EAST selections (Gutierrez, Charles Auguste, Duncan McGuire, Musa Qongo, Callum Watson) and 12 players that started more than half of Creighton's matches. Head coach Johnny Torres enters his third season as the Bluejays' head coach and 15th season overall on the Creighton coaching staff.Â
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BIG EAST Men's Soccer Preseason Honors
Preseason Co-Offensive Players of the Year
Diego Gutierrez, Creighton, Sr., F
C.J. Tibbling, Seton Hall, Sr., F
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Luca Dahn, Seton Hall, Sr., D
Preseason Co-Goalkeepers of the Year
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Sr., GK
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Men's Soccer Preseason All-BIG EAST
Wilmer Cabrera Jr., Butler, Jr., F
Diego Gutierrez, Creighton, Sr., F ^
C.J. Tibbling, Seton Hall, Sr., F ^
Lukas Sunesson, Marquette, RS-Jr., F
Sean Zawadzki, Georgetown, Sr., M
Dante Polvara, Georgetown, Jr., M ^
Paulo Lima, Providence, Sr., M ^
Luca Dahn, Seton Hall, Sr., D
Rhys Myers, Butler, Grad, D
Ramzi Qawasmy, Providence, Sr., D
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Sr., GK
^ - denotes unanimous selection
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Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll First Place votes in () |
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1. Georgetown (8) |
98 points |
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2. Seton Hall (3) |
93 |
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3. Creighton |
74 |
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4. Providence |
67 |
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5. Marquette |
64 |
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6. St. John's |
60 |
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7. Butler |
55 |
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T8. UConn |
29 |
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T8. Xavier |
29 |
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10. DePaul |
24 |
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11. Villanova |
12 |
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