Creighton University
Saint Louis
Men's Soccer Hits The Road For Sunday Afternoon Match Against Saint Louis
8/27/2021 11:30:00 AM | Men's Soccer
First of three matches away from Omaha during an eight-day span
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Creighton embarks on its first trip of the season for a Sunday afternoon match against Saint Louis.
Follow the Match
Sunday's match will feature live video and live stats.
Live video for the contest will be available on ESPN+ while live stats will be featured through StatBroadcast.
A subscription is required to view the event on ESPN+.
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 (0-1-0)
The Bluejays fell 2-1 to Tulsa during their season-opener on Thursday night.
Senior goalkeeper Paul Kruse made eight saves -- one off his career-high -- during the loss.
Freshman Manu Toledano scored Creighton's first goal of the season with a penalty kick during the 89th minute.
The Bluejays enter the 2021 season with all 22 letterwinners returning from last season's squad that posted a 6-6-0 record during the abbreviated 2020 season that was completed in the spring of 2021 because the COVID-19 global pandemic.
2020 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Diego Gutierrez returns to defend his award award after pacing Creighton with 16 points from five goals and six assists during his first season in a Bluejay uniform.
The Omaha native had a goal or assist in four of the team's five home matches during the spring and tallied multiple goals during two of those contests. Gutierrez also claimed a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Second Team.
In addition to Gutierrez, four other Bluejays -- Charles Auguste, Duncan McGuire, Musa Qongo and Callum Watson -- each made the All-BIG EAST Second Team last season.
Creighton also welcomed 12 newcomers, including Toledano (Spain) and Miguel Ventura (Portugal) who are each expected to contribute during their first seasons in Omaha.
Head coach Johnny Torres is in his third year at the helm of the Bluejays after spending 12 years as an assistant coach.
Scouting Saint Louis (1-0-0)
The Billikens opened their season with a 2-1 victory at home against Louisville on Thursday night.
Junior forward Simon Becher scored both goals for SLU, including the golden goal during the 108th minute.
Saint Louis earned the No. 2 position in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches' Poll, while four players made the Preseason All-A10 Team -- Becher, John Klein, Christian Buendia, and Kipp Keller.
Becher led the Billikens with five goals last season, while Klein tied for the team-lead with 12 points from four goals and four assists.
Buendia scored three goals and added an assist to land a spot on the all-region team, while Keller also earned all-region honors last season after helping the team pace the A10 in goals allowed (9 in 14 matches).
Head coach Kevin Kalish is in his fourth season at the helm of Saint Louis. He guided the Billikens to a 9-5-0 record during the 2020 season.
Series History Against Billikens
The all-time series between Creighton and Saint Louis is tied at 8-8-2.
The Billikens have won the last three consecutive matches against the Bluejays.
SLU picked up a 1-0 overtime win in Omaha during 2014, the most previous meeting between the two programs.
Creighton's last win against Saint Louis came during the 1999 season in St. Louis (1-0).
Bluejay Success in First Road Match of Season
Creighton opened each of the past two seasons on the road and earned a 2-1 overtime win at Marquette during the 2020 season, while posting a 2-2 draw at North Carolina in 2019.
The Bluejays are 6-2-2 the past 10 seasons during the first road match of the season and 1-0-1 under head coach Johnny Torres.
Creighton opened its road schedule at Saint Louis during both 1997 and 1999. The Bluejays and Billikens tied 1-1 in 1997 (also season opener), while Creighton earned a 1-0 win in 1999.
Scoring First Yields Success
The team who has scored first during each of the last 14 Creighton matches has proceeded to claim the victory.
The Bluejays fell behind 2-0 against Tulsa on Thursday night before falling 2-1.
Creighton finished 6-0 in during the 2020 season when scoring first, but 0-6 when its opponent scores first.
Head coach Johnny Torres is 11-1-1 when scoring first during his tenure at Creighton, but just 3-13-1 when the opposition finds the back of the net first.
Additionally, the Bluejays went 3-0 when leading at the half, 0-3 when trailing after 45 minutes and 3-3 when the score is tied at halftime last season.
Creighton's last come-from-behind victory came during the 2019 regular-season finale against Butler (Nov. 2).
The Bluejays' last victory when trailing at the half was on Sept. 24, 2019 against Tulsa as the Creighton trailed 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 (above) after trailing at halftime.
Bluejays' Defense Tested
Creighton tallied a total of nine saves during Thursday's lid-lifter against Tulsa.
Senior goalkeeper Paul Kruse made eight saves, while senior defender Musa Qongo contributed to a team save during the first half of action.
The nine saves were the most by Creighton since a neutral site contest last season against Missouri State (March 10, 2021) when the Bluejays also had nine.
The last time the Bluejays posted double-digit saves was during the 2019 regular-season finale at Georgetown (10 saves). Kruse made a career-high nine saves during that contest, while Creighton also recorded one team save.
Prior to the 10 saves against the Hoyas on Nov. 6, 2019, the last time Creighton needed to make double-digit saves was on Sept. 14, 2012 against Old Dominion (10).
