Thursday, November 17
4:00 p.m.
Creighton University
vs
#23 Missouri State
Photo by: Creighton Athletics
Bluejay Men's Soccer Opens NCAA Tournament Against #23 Missouri State
11/16/2022 8:37:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Omaha, Neb. -- The NCAA brought Creighton and #23 Missouri State a bit of déjà vu as the Bluejays and Bears meet in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. The biggest difference from the match in 2021 is the location as Creighton is hosting Missouri State on Thursday.
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Series History: Creighton leads Missouri State, 23-9-4
In a repeat of the opening round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Creighton and Missouri State will face off on Thursday. Last season Creighton went to Springfield, Missouri to claim a 1-0 win over the Bears. This year the two teams open the NCAA Tournament in Omaha.
Creighton holds a significant series edge on the Bears, including a 13-3-0 mark against Missouri State in Omaha. Â
Date   Opponent   Score
October 21, 1983   Missouri State   W, 1-0
November 10, 1985   Missouri State   W, 3-1
November 10, 1990   at Missouri State    L, 4-5 (OT)
October 23, 92   * at Missouri State    W, 7-0
October 10, 1993   * at Missouri State   W, 4-0
November 5, 94   * at Missouri State    W, 1-0
October 20, 1995   * at Missouri State   W, 3-0
November 3, 1995Â Â Â ** vs. Missouri State (in Evansville, Ind.)Â Â Â W, 5-2
October 27, 1996   * at Missouri State   W, 6-2
November 2, 1997   * at Missouri State    L, 1-2 (OT)
November 16, 1997Â Â Â ** vs. #12 Missouri State (in Evansville, Ind.)Â Â Â W, 4-1
October 25, 1998   * at Missouri State   W, 1-0
November 15, 1998   ** at Missouri State    W, 1-0
October 31, 1999   * at Missouri State    T, 2-2
September 29, 2000   * at Missouri State    L, 1-2
October 26, 2001   * at Missouri State   L, 1-2 (2OT)
November 16, 2001Â Â Â ** vs. Missouri State (in St. Louis, Mo.)Â Â Â W, 3-0
October 18, 2002   * at Missouri State    W, 1-0
November 15, 2002Â Â Â ** vs. Missouri State (in St. Louis, Mo.)Â Â Â W, 3-1
October 12, 2003   * at Missouri State   W, 2-0
November 8, 2003   ** at Missouri State   L, 0-1
October 31, 2004   * at Missouri State   L, 0-1
October 12, 2005   * at Missouri State   W, 2-0
October 4, 2006   * at Missouri State   T, 1-1 (2OT)
October 27, 2007   * at Missouri State   W, 1-0
October 21, 2008   * at Missouri State   T, 0-0 (2OT)
November 16, 2008Â Â Â ** vs. Missouri State (in Evansville, Ind.)Â Â Â W, 1-0
September 19, 2009   * at Missouri State   L, 0-1
October 7, 2009   * at Missouri State   T, 0-0 (2OT)
November 3, 2010   * at Missouri State   W, 2-0
October 12, 2011   * at Missouri State   L, 0-1
November 13, 2011   ** at Missouri State   W, 1-0
October 27, 2012   * at Missouri State   W, 1-0
September 29, 2015   at Missouri State   W, 4-0
March 10, 2021Â Â Â vs. #19 Missouri State (in Kansas City, Mo.)Â Â Â L, 0-2Â Â Â
November 18, 2021   # at #10 Missouri State   W, 1-0
* = MVC Match
** = MVC Tournament
# = NCAA Tournament
Scouting Creighton (9-4-6)
It has been an interesting and eventful 2022 season for the Bluejays. Creighton came out of the gates with back-to-back six goal matches, including a 6-1 win over Rutgers (an NCAA Tournament team). As the BIG EAST season drew towards its close the Bluejays needed a little help to reach the conference tournament as the six seed. Once into the postseason the Bluejays posted a road win at Xavier, then ran through the top two seeds (Seton Hall and Georgetown) by a combined score of 9-0 to claim the BIG EAST's automatic bid.
Offensive the Bluejays are second in the NCAA with 53 goals, led by the NCAA leader Duncan McGuire's 19. Creighton, however, is much more than a one-man show. Jackson Castro has nine goals and eight assists (26 points), while Owen O'Malley and Giorgio Probo each bring 19 points to the table.
Defensively the Bluejays enter the NCAA Tournament on a scoreless streak over 200 minutes (206:04) and have allowed just one goal in their last three matches.
Scouting Missouri State (12-1-4)
The Bears enter the game at Creighton with just one loss, that coming on September 20 at Tulsa (L, 0-3). Missouri State has won three straight, all by shutout.
The last goal surrendered by MIssouri State was on October 28 to Drake. The Bears' scoreless streak stands at 328:15.
Goalkeeper Harry Townsend has played every second for Missouri State this season, allowing nine goals in 17 contests. He has a 0.53 GAA and 37 saves in 2002.
Offensively the Bears have 37 goals in 2022, led by eight from Nicolo Mulatero as well as four each by Kian Yari and Jesus Barea.
McGuire Maintains NCAA Lead with 19 Goals
Following up his four goal performance in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinal, Creighton junior Duncan McGuire delivered another in the Championship final to climb to 19 goals in 2022.
McGuire was the Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the BIG EAST Championship with six combined goals in three contests.
The last time Creighton had a player score at least 19 goals in a single-season was in 2000. That season Mike Tranchilla delivered 19. The Creighton record for goals in one season came in 1980 as Ray Nikodem pushed the ball into the net 22 times.
Single-Season Goal Scorers
22 Ray Nikodem, So. 1980
21 Keith DeFini, Sr. 1993
19 Duncan McGuire, Jr. 2022
19 Mike Tranchilla, So. 2000
19 Keith DeFini, Fr. 1990
18 Brian Mullan, Sr. 2000
18 Johnny Torres, Jr. 1996
McGuire and Kruse Highlight Four Bluejays on BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Duncan McGuire, Giorgio Probo, Alejandro Maillet and Paul Kruse were each recognized for their play in the BIG EAST Championship as the quartet were named to the All-Tournament Team.
McGuire and Kruse earned top honors as the Most Outstanding Offensive and Defensive Players. Kruse allowed just one goal in three matches to help Creighton best the top three seeds in the tournament with a 2-1 win over No. 3 Xavier, a 6-0 win over No. 2 Seton Hall and a 3-0 upset of No. 1 Georgetown. McGuire scored in each contest, putting a combined six goals in the back of the net.
Paul Kruse Named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Paul Kruse earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic
All-District First Team on Tuesday, November 15.
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The 2022 Academic All-District ® Men's Soccer Team, selected by CSC, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes soccer honorees in four divisions – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division II and NAIA.
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Kruse advances to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. Academic All-America honorees will be announced in early December.
Duncan McGuire Named College Soccer News National Player of the Week
After earning National Player of the Week honors to open the season, Creighton men's soccer junior Duncan
McGuire closed the 2022 season by being named the National Player of the Week by College Soccer News on Monday,
November 14. The Omaha native also claimed a spot on NCAA.com's Top XI of 2022 on Tuesday, November 15.
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In addition to McGuire earning his second National Player of the Week honor, the Omaha native collected the BIG EAST Championships Most Outstanding Offensive Player after tying a BIG EAST Tournament record with six goals over three matches. Within those three matches, McGuire led the Bluejays to a 6-0 win over No. 2 seeded Seton Hall on Nov. 10, becoming just the eighth Bluejay in program history to score four goals in a single match, tying a BIG EAST Tournament record. Three days later McGuire tallied his nation leading 19thgoal of the season with a goal in the 48th minute to give Creighton a 2-0 lead.
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Overall, the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, lead the NCAA in goals scored (19), goals per game (1.00), points (40) and points per game (2.11). McGuire currently sits tied for third in school-history for goals scored in a single-season (19) with Mike Tranchilla (2000) and Keith DeFini (1990).
McGuire is the first Omaha native to lead the Bluejays in goals scored since Creighton Prep graduate, Byron Dacy, netted a team-high nine goals during the 2005 season.
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Maillet Takes Advantage of Start with Game-Winning Goal Against #14 Georgetown
Earning his first start of the 2022 season in the BIG EAST Championship Final, graduate student Alejandro Maillet made the most of the opportunity as the Denmark native scored the Bluejays first goal of the 3-0 win over #14 Georgetown. Maillet's tally proved to be the game-winner. Â
NCAA Tournament History
Creighton is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first since 2016. The Bluejays made 17 straight tournaments from 1992-2008, missed out in 2009, and then made seven trips in a row from 2010-2016.
Creighton is 35-21-7 during NCAA action, and has advanced to the College Cup five times (1996, 2000, 2002, 2011, 2012), including a runner-up
finish during the 2000 season.
During NCAA Tournament play, Creighton is 18-8-5 all-time in road matches, 1-6-1 at neutral sites and 16-6-1 in home matches.
The Bluejays are one of five schools to make the NCAA tournament at least 26 times since 1992 (Creighton's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament).
Teams with at least 26 NCAA appearances since 1992:
Indiana - 31
Virginia - 29
Maryland - 28
UCLA - 28
Creighton - 26
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#23 Missouri State at Creighton
Thursday, November 17 @ 4:00 p.m. (CT)
Stats: http://creighton.statbroadcast.com
Video Stream: (ESPN+)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/ba8fc2e8-f4d6-4d60-9a0c-bd4807bf281e
Thursday, November 17 @ 4:00 p.m. (CT)
Stats: http://creighton.statbroadcast.com
Video Stream: (ESPN+)
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/ba8fc2e8-f4d6-4d60-9a0c-bd4807bf281e
Series History: Creighton leads Missouri State, 23-9-4
In a repeat of the opening round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Creighton and Missouri State will face off on Thursday. Last season Creighton went to Springfield, Missouri to claim a 1-0 win over the Bears. This year the two teams open the NCAA Tournament in Omaha.
Creighton holds a significant series edge on the Bears, including a 13-3-0 mark against Missouri State in Omaha. Â
Date   Opponent   Score
October 21, 1983   Missouri State   W, 1-0
November 10, 1985   Missouri State   W, 3-1
November 10, 1990   at Missouri State    L, 4-5 (OT)
October 23, 92   * at Missouri State    W, 7-0
October 10, 1993   * at Missouri State   W, 4-0
November 5, 94   * at Missouri State    W, 1-0
October 20, 1995   * at Missouri State   W, 3-0
November 3, 1995Â Â Â ** vs. Missouri State (in Evansville, Ind.)Â Â Â W, 5-2
October 27, 1996   * at Missouri State   W, 6-2
November 2, 1997   * at Missouri State    L, 1-2 (OT)
November 16, 1997Â Â Â ** vs. #12 Missouri State (in Evansville, Ind.)Â Â Â W, 4-1
October 25, 1998   * at Missouri State   W, 1-0
November 15, 1998   ** at Missouri State    W, 1-0
October 31, 1999   * at Missouri State    T, 2-2
September 29, 2000   * at Missouri State    L, 1-2
October 26, 2001   * at Missouri State   L, 1-2 (2OT)
November 16, 2001Â Â Â ** vs. Missouri State (in St. Louis, Mo.)Â Â Â W, 3-0
October 18, 2002   * at Missouri State    W, 1-0
November 15, 2002Â Â Â ** vs. Missouri State (in St. Louis, Mo.)Â Â Â W, 3-1
October 12, 2003   * at Missouri State   W, 2-0
November 8, 2003   ** at Missouri State   L, 0-1
October 31, 2004   * at Missouri State   L, 0-1
October 12, 2005   * at Missouri State   W, 2-0
October 4, 2006   * at Missouri State   T, 1-1 (2OT)
October 27, 2007   * at Missouri State   W, 1-0
October 21, 2008   * at Missouri State   T, 0-0 (2OT)
November 16, 2008Â Â Â ** vs. Missouri State (in Evansville, Ind.)Â Â Â W, 1-0
September 19, 2009   * at Missouri State   L, 0-1
October 7, 2009   * at Missouri State   T, 0-0 (2OT)
November 3, 2010   * at Missouri State   W, 2-0
October 12, 2011   * at Missouri State   L, 0-1
November 13, 2011   ** at Missouri State   W, 1-0
October 27, 2012   * at Missouri State   W, 1-0
September 29, 2015   at Missouri State   W, 4-0
March 10, 2021Â Â Â vs. #19 Missouri State (in Kansas City, Mo.)Â Â Â L, 0-2Â Â Â
November 18, 2021   # at #10 Missouri State   W, 1-0
* = MVC Match
** = MVC Tournament
# = NCAA Tournament
Scouting Creighton (9-4-6)
It has been an interesting and eventful 2022 season for the Bluejays. Creighton came out of the gates with back-to-back six goal matches, including a 6-1 win over Rutgers (an NCAA Tournament team). As the BIG EAST season drew towards its close the Bluejays needed a little help to reach the conference tournament as the six seed. Once into the postseason the Bluejays posted a road win at Xavier, then ran through the top two seeds (Seton Hall and Georgetown) by a combined score of 9-0 to claim the BIG EAST's automatic bid.
Offensive the Bluejays are second in the NCAA with 53 goals, led by the NCAA leader Duncan McGuire's 19. Creighton, however, is much more than a one-man show. Jackson Castro has nine goals and eight assists (26 points), while Owen O'Malley and Giorgio Probo each bring 19 points to the table.
Defensively the Bluejays enter the NCAA Tournament on a scoreless streak over 200 minutes (206:04) and have allowed just one goal in their last three matches.
Scouting Missouri State (12-1-4)
The Bears enter the game at Creighton with just one loss, that coming on September 20 at Tulsa (L, 0-3). Missouri State has won three straight, all by shutout.
The last goal surrendered by MIssouri State was on October 28 to Drake. The Bears' scoreless streak stands at 328:15.
Goalkeeper Harry Townsend has played every second for Missouri State this season, allowing nine goals in 17 contests. He has a 0.53 GAA and 37 saves in 2002.
Offensively the Bears have 37 goals in 2022, led by eight from Nicolo Mulatero as well as four each by Kian Yari and Jesus Barea.
McGuire Maintains NCAA Lead with 19 Goals
Following up his four goal performance in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinal, Creighton junior Duncan McGuire delivered another in the Championship final to climb to 19 goals in 2022.
McGuire was the Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the BIG EAST Championship with six combined goals in three contests.
The last time Creighton had a player score at least 19 goals in a single-season was in 2000. That season Mike Tranchilla delivered 19. The Creighton record for goals in one season came in 1980 as Ray Nikodem pushed the ball into the net 22 times.
Single-Season Goal Scorers
22 Ray Nikodem, So. 1980
21 Keith DeFini, Sr. 1993
19 Duncan McGuire, Jr. 2022
19 Mike Tranchilla, So. 2000
19 Keith DeFini, Fr. 1990
18 Brian Mullan, Sr. 2000
18 Johnny Torres, Jr. 1996
McGuire and Kruse Highlight Four Bluejays on BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Duncan McGuire, Giorgio Probo, Alejandro Maillet and Paul Kruse were each recognized for their play in the BIG EAST Championship as the quartet were named to the All-Tournament Team.
McGuire and Kruse earned top honors as the Most Outstanding Offensive and Defensive Players. Kruse allowed just one goal in three matches to help Creighton best the top three seeds in the tournament with a 2-1 win over No. 3 Xavier, a 6-0 win over No. 2 Seton Hall and a 3-0 upset of No. 1 Georgetown. McGuire scored in each contest, putting a combined six goals in the back of the net.
Paul Kruse Named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
Creighton men's soccer goalkeeper Paul Kruse earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic
All-District First Team on Tuesday, November 15.
Â
The 2022 Academic All-District ® Men's Soccer Team, selected by CSC, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes soccer honorees in four divisions – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division II and NAIA.
Â
Kruse advances to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. Academic All-America honorees will be announced in early December.
Duncan McGuire Named College Soccer News National Player of the Week
After earning National Player of the Week honors to open the season, Creighton men's soccer junior Duncan
McGuire closed the 2022 season by being named the National Player of the Week by College Soccer News on Monday,
November 14. The Omaha native also claimed a spot on NCAA.com's Top XI of 2022 on Tuesday, November 15.
Â
In addition to McGuire earning his second National Player of the Week honor, the Omaha native collected the BIG EAST Championships Most Outstanding Offensive Player after tying a BIG EAST Tournament record with six goals over three matches. Within those three matches, McGuire led the Bluejays to a 6-0 win over No. 2 seeded Seton Hall on Nov. 10, becoming just the eighth Bluejay in program history to score four goals in a single match, tying a BIG EAST Tournament record. Three days later McGuire tallied his nation leading 19thgoal of the season with a goal in the 48th minute to give Creighton a 2-0 lead.
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Overall, the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, lead the NCAA in goals scored (19), goals per game (1.00), points (40) and points per game (2.11). McGuire currently sits tied for third in school-history for goals scored in a single-season (19) with Mike Tranchilla (2000) and Keith DeFini (1990).
McGuire is the first Omaha native to lead the Bluejays in goals scored since Creighton Prep graduate, Byron Dacy, netted a team-high nine goals during the 2005 season.
Â
Maillet Takes Advantage of Start with Game-Winning Goal Against #14 Georgetown
Earning his first start of the 2022 season in the BIG EAST Championship Final, graduate student Alejandro Maillet made the most of the opportunity as the Denmark native scored the Bluejays first goal of the 3-0 win over #14 Georgetown. Maillet's tally proved to be the game-winner. Â
NCAA Tournament History
Creighton is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first since 2016. The Bluejays made 17 straight tournaments from 1992-2008, missed out in 2009, and then made seven trips in a row from 2010-2016.
Creighton is 35-21-7 during NCAA action, and has advanced to the College Cup five times (1996, 2000, 2002, 2011, 2012), including a runner-up
finish during the 2000 season.
During NCAA Tournament play, Creighton is 18-8-5 all-time in road matches, 1-6-1 at neutral sites and 16-6-1 in home matches.
The Bluejays are one of five schools to make the NCAA tournament at least 26 times since 1992 (Creighton's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament).
Teams with at least 26 NCAA appearances since 1992:
Indiana - 31
Virginia - 29
Maryland - 28
UCLA - 28
Creighton - 26
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Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Soccer
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