Creighton University
Indiana
Men's Soccer To Face #1 Indiana and Ohio State During adidas/IU Credit Union Classic
9/1/2021 12:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays will face No. 1 ranked team in coaches' poll for seventh time in program history
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Monday, Sept. 6 | Creighton vs. Ohio State | Bloomington, Ind. | 4:00 p.m. (Central)
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Creighton heads to Bloomington, Indiana for the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic. The Bluejays will play Indiana on Friday night before facing Ohio State for a neutral site contest on Monday afternoon.
Follow the Match
Both matches will feature live video and live stats.
Live video for the contest will be available on BTN+ while live stats will be featured through StatBroadcast.
A subscription is required to view the event on BTN+.
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 (0-2-0)
The Bluejays dropped a pair of matches during the opening weekend of the season.
Senior goalkeeper Paul Kruse made eight saves -- one off his career-high -- during the season opener (Aug. 26) before needing to make seven stops on Sunday at Saint Louis.
Freshman Manu Toledano scored Creighton's first goal of the season with a penalty kick during the 89th minute against Tulsa.
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.
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 #1 Indiana (2-0-0)
The Hoosiers enter Friday's contest with a pair of one-goal victories to open the 2021 campaign, including a 1-0 win at home against Butler on Tuesday night.
Freshman midfielder Tommy Mihalic earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week status after scoring a pair of goals during the Hoosiers' 3-2 overtime victory against Notre Dame on Friday night.
Indiana earned unanimous selection as the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten Conference, while Victor Bezerra, Romana Celentano and Spencer Glass were each named Big Ten Players to Watch.
Bezerra also earned Preseason All-America status by College Soccer News after finishing runner-up for last season's MAC Hermann Trophy, leading the Hoosiers with 12 goals and a total of 28 points.
Celentano allowed just six goals in 16 matches last season (0.36 goals against average) on his way Second Team All-America and Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year accolades, while Glass led the Big Ten with five assists, despite missing half of the season because of injury.
Head coach Todd Yeagley is in his 12th season at the helm of Indiana. He guided the Hoosiers to the Big Ten regular season and tournament title last season for the third consecutive season and owns a 152-50-40 record at Indiana with one national title (2012) and two national runner-up finishes (2017, 2020).
Scouting Ohio State (1-1-0)
The Buckeyes opened the 2021 season with a 1-1 showing during the Wolstein Classic in Columbus.
Ohio State defeated Memphis 3-2, before falling in overtime against UAB, 2-1.
Laurence Wooton scored a pair of goals during the season-opening victory against Memphis, while Xavier Green also netted one against the Tigers and Luke Kiley found the back of the net against UAB.
Both Wooton and Green, as well as Deylen Vellios were named 2021 Big Ten Players to Watch.
Wooton also earned the 2020 Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.
Head coach Brian Maisonneuve is in his fourth season at the helm of Ohio State and led the Buckeyes to a 3-6-1 record last season.
Series History Against Hoosiers
The all-time series between Creighton and Indiana is tied at 4-4-0.
The two programs last met during the 2012 College Cup as the Hoosiers claimed a 1-0 victory before winning the national championship.
During the 2000 College Cup, Creighton earned a dramatic 2-1 victory in three overtimes over Indiana — the two-time defending national champion — before the Bluejays finished runner-up overall (2-0 loss against UConn in title match).
The 2000 Creighton Men's Soccer team is still the only Bluejay Athletics team to reach the national championship in any sport.
Creighton claimed a 1-0 victory on Oct. 9, 2011 during the last meeting between the two schools in Bloomington.
Series History Against Buckeyes
Creighton leads the all-time series against Ohio State, 2-1.
The Buckeyes claimed a 4-1 victory against the Bluejays during the last meeting between the two schools on Sept. 21, 2001 during the Ohio State Nike Classic in Columbus, Ohio.
The Bluejays earned victories against Ohio State during the 1998 regular season and the 2000 NCAA Tournament.
Bluejays Against the Big Ten
Creighton is 21-12-2 against current members of the Big Ten Conference.
The Bluejays own eight victories against Wisconsin, four against Indiana, two over Ohio State and Rutgers and one win each against Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern and Penn State.
Friday's match will mark Creighton's first against a Big Ten opponent since the Bluejays earned a 2-0 win at Rutgers to open the 2016 season.
The last time the Bluejays played two matches against Big Ten foes in the same season was 2015 when Creighton earned 1-0 wins against Michigan (home) and Michigan State (road).
Bluejays All-Time vs. Top 25 Competition
Creighton is 80-61-17 all-time against United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Top-25 opponents, including 0-3-0 last season.
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.
The Bluejays are 29-28-12 all-time during road matches against Top 25 opponents.
Creighton vs. No. 1
Friday's match against Indiana marks Creighton's seventh match in program history against a team ranked No. 1 in the ISAA/NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches Poll.
The Bluejays are 0-5-1 in their previous six matches against teams ranked No. 1 at the time of the match. Creighton did advance to the 2010 Elite Eight after knocking off No. 1 Akron 5-4 in PKs following a 1-1 tie after 110 minutes.
Creighton vs. No. 1 Ranked Teams
11/27/94 at #1 Indiana L, 0-1
10/14/01 at #1 SMU L, 2-4
11/18/01 vs. #1 SMU L, 1-2 (4OT)
10/27/10 at #1 Akron L, 0-1
11/25/12 at #1 Akron T, 1-1 (2OT)*
9/01/17 at #1 Stanford L, 0-3
*Creighton advanced in NCAA Tournament on PKs
Across the Creighton sports landscape, the last time the Bluejays beat a No. 1-ranked team in any sport was April 24, 2001. On that night, the Creighton baseball team beat No. 1 Nebraska in Lincoln, with an 11-8 win in 10 innings at Buck Beltzer Field.
Scoring First Yields Success
The team who has scored first during each of the last 15 Creighton matches has proceeded to claim the victory.
The Bluejays fell behind 2-0 against Tulsa on Thursday night before falling 2-1 and were shut out at Saint Louis, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon.
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 3-14-1 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 the lid-lifter against Tulsa on Aug. 26.
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).
