Photo by: Justin Kreutzian
Bluejay Men's Soccer Opens 2023 Season with California Weekend
8/23/2023 2:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Creighton to Face No. 7 Stanford and UC Irvine
Omaha, Neb. -- Coming off the sixth appearance in the College Cup in 2022, the Creighton men's soccer team looks for to start strong season in 2023 as the No. 8 Bluejays open the season with a road match at No. 7 Stanford on Thursday, Aug. 24. The California trip continues on Sunday, Aug. 27 at UC Irvine. Both matches are slated to begin at 5:00 p.m.
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Season Opening Success
The Bluejays are 26-7-7 during their first match of the season since Creighton restarted its men's soccer program in 1990. In the first road match of the year the Bluejays are 24-11-5
in the first road match of the year. Over the last 15 seasons, Creighton is 11-2-2 in the first match, including a 6-0 win over Oakland last season in Omaha.
Series History: Creighton leads Stanford, 4-3-1
The Bluejays and Cardinal have met eight times previously, with Creighton holding a slight 4-3-1 edge. The two programs have met three times in Omaha and three in Palo Alto, battling to a 1-1 tie last season in Omaha on Sept. 9.
Date   Opponent   Score
Sept. 8, 1995Â Â Â vs. Stanford (at San Francisco)Â Â Â W, 2-1
Aug. 31, 1996   Stanford   W, 4-0
Oct. 4, 1998   at #19 Stanford   L, 0-2
Dec. 13, 2002Â Â Â $ vs. #15 Stanford (at Dallas)Â Â Â L, 1-2 (2OT)
Sept. 19, 2008   at Stanford   W, 1-0
Aug. 29, 2014   #20 Stanford   W, 2-0
Sept. 1, 2017   at #1 Stanford   L, 0-3
Sept. 9, 2014   #2 Stanford   T, 1-1
$ = NCAA College Cup
Series History: Creighton leads UC Irvine, 2-1-0
The Bluejays and Cardinal have met eight times previously, with Creighton holding a slight 4-3-1 edge. The two programs have met three times in Omaha and three in Palo Alto, battling to a 1-1 tie last season in Omaha on Sept. 9.
Date   Opponent   Score
Oct. 15, 2011   #13 UC Irvine   W, 3-1
Sept. 6, 2015   #13 UC Irvine   W, 4-0
Sept. 13, 2019   UC Irvine   L, 1-3
Scouting Creighton (0-0-0)
Entering the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 6 seed, the Bluejays bulldozed through No. 3 Xavier, No. 2 Seton Hall and national No. 14 (also BIG EAST top seed) Georgetown to reach the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
Creighton's magical run continued with a home win over Missouri State in the NCAA First Round, then road victories at No. 1 Washington, at Tulsa and at No. 4 Duke to reach the sixth College Cup in program history. The Bluejay season came to a close with a 3-2 defeat by No. 3 Syracuse, the Orangemen went on to win the National Championship.
MAC Hermann Trophy winner and Bluejays' leading scorer Duncan McGuire won't be
returning, yet top players Jackson Castro and Giorgio Probo remain in the fold. Castro delivered 10 goals and eight assists in 2022, while Probo led the team with 14 assists on the season and also notched five goals.
A veteran trio guides Creighton's defensive unit as Mark O'Neill, Luke Mitchell, and Miguel Ventura return to the pitch for the 2023 season. The trio combined to start 48 matches and log over 4,250 minutes. Â
Nathan Schnur will take over in goal, returning to the pitch as starting goalkeeper after playing the entirety of the 2020 season.
Scouting Stanford (0-0-0)
In the 2022 season, Stanford posted a 12-2-6 record, their season coming to an end by way of penalty kicks in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Shane de Flores led the Cardinal with eight goals on the season and will return to the pitch for the 2023 season.
Stanford's 2023 preseason matches resulted in 3-1 victory over Sacramento State.
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Scouting UC Irvine (0-0-0)
The Anteaters completed a down season in 2022, closing with a 6-12-2 mark. UC Irvine, however, was 5-3-1 in Big West action.
The leading returner for UCI is sophomore Agaton Pourshahidi, who collected three goals in 2022. Junior goalkeeper Luka Pruter returns after starting 19 matches last season. The California native made 63 saves, allowing 30 goals for a 1.56 GAA. He record was 5-12-2 with three shutouts.
Exhibition Recap: Creighton 6, Opponents 3
The Bluejays claimed two of three exhibitions matches in the preseason, taking down Northern Illinois 4-1, falling 1-0 to Drake and besting Missouri State 2-1 in the final tune-up. Each contest served a purpose as the starting until saw extensive time against Northern Illinois, while the second unit played the bulk of minutes versus Drake. The meeting with Missouri State afforded a chance to play on a grass pitch (Swope Park in Kansas City), similar to what the Bluejays will be on at Stanford.
History Favors the Bluejays
Coming off the sixth College Cup appearance in program history, Creighton has at least reached the NCAA Tournament the following season in each of previous five occurrences. The Bluejays reached the College Cup in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2011, 2012 and 2022. Creighton appeared the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 2001 and 2013 and reached the Elite Eight in 2003.
Let's Share a Plane
Following Creighton and UC Irvine's match on Sunday, Aug. 27, the two teams may want to consider sharing a plane back to Omaha. Creighton returns to campus for its home opener on Friday, Sept. 1 against Grand Canyon, while UC Irvine begins its road schedule against Omaha on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Bluejays Led NCAA in Goals in 2022, Enter 2023 with Goal in 24 Straight Matches
During 2022 Creighton led the NCAA in goals with 65 goals, including 23 from Hermann Trophy winner Duncan McGuire. The 42 remaining goals would have tied for 19th in the NCAA. In addition the Bluejays have scored in 24 consecutive matches. The last time Creighton was shut out came in the Second Round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, a 1-0 loss at No. 2 Tulsa.
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2023 Season Opener
No. 8 Creighton at No. 7 Stanford
Thursday, August 24 @ 5:00 pm
Stats: https://creighton.statbroadcast.com
Pac-12: https://pac-12.com/mens-soccer/event/2023/08/24/creighton-stanford
No. 8 Creighton at UC Irvine
Sunday, August 27 @ 5:00 pm
Stats: https://ucirvinesports.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
ESPN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/841cb5c1-6056-4eec-920a-4c0d763fd232/redirected/true
No. 8 Creighton at No. 7 Stanford
Thursday, August 24 @ 5:00 pm
Stats: https://creighton.statbroadcast.com
Pac-12: https://pac-12.com/mens-soccer/event/2023/08/24/creighton-stanford
No. 8 Creighton at UC Irvine
Sunday, August 27 @ 5:00 pm
Stats: https://ucirvinesports.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary
ESPN+: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/841cb5c1-6056-4eec-920a-4c0d763fd232/redirected/true
Season Opening Success
The Bluejays are 26-7-7 during their first match of the season since Creighton restarted its men's soccer program in 1990. In the first road match of the year the Bluejays are 24-11-5
in the first road match of the year. Over the last 15 seasons, Creighton is 11-2-2 in the first match, including a 6-0 win over Oakland last season in Omaha.
Series History: Creighton leads Stanford, 4-3-1
The Bluejays and Cardinal have met eight times previously, with Creighton holding a slight 4-3-1 edge. The two programs have met three times in Omaha and three in Palo Alto, battling to a 1-1 tie last season in Omaha on Sept. 9.
Date   Opponent   Score
Sept. 8, 1995Â Â Â vs. Stanford (at San Francisco)Â Â Â W, 2-1
Aug. 31, 1996   Stanford   W, 4-0
Oct. 4, 1998   at #19 Stanford   L, 0-2
Dec. 13, 2002Â Â Â $ vs. #15 Stanford (at Dallas)Â Â Â L, 1-2 (2OT)
Sept. 19, 2008   at Stanford   W, 1-0
Aug. 29, 2014   #20 Stanford   W, 2-0
Sept. 1, 2017   at #1 Stanford   L, 0-3
Sept. 9, 2014   #2 Stanford   T, 1-1
$ = NCAA College Cup
Series History: Creighton leads UC Irvine, 2-1-0
The Bluejays and Cardinal have met eight times previously, with Creighton holding a slight 4-3-1 edge. The two programs have met three times in Omaha and three in Palo Alto, battling to a 1-1 tie last season in Omaha on Sept. 9.
Date   Opponent   Score
Oct. 15, 2011   #13 UC Irvine   W, 3-1
Sept. 6, 2015   #13 UC Irvine   W, 4-0
Sept. 13, 2019   UC Irvine   L, 1-3
Scouting Creighton (0-0-0)
Entering the BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 6 seed, the Bluejays bulldozed through No. 3 Xavier, No. 2 Seton Hall and national No. 14 (also BIG EAST top seed) Georgetown to reach the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
Creighton's magical run continued with a home win over Missouri State in the NCAA First Round, then road victories at No. 1 Washington, at Tulsa and at No. 4 Duke to reach the sixth College Cup in program history. The Bluejay season came to a close with a 3-2 defeat by No. 3 Syracuse, the Orangemen went on to win the National Championship.
MAC Hermann Trophy winner and Bluejays' leading scorer Duncan McGuire won't be
returning, yet top players Jackson Castro and Giorgio Probo remain in the fold. Castro delivered 10 goals and eight assists in 2022, while Probo led the team with 14 assists on the season and also notched five goals.
A veteran trio guides Creighton's defensive unit as Mark O'Neill, Luke Mitchell, and Miguel Ventura return to the pitch for the 2023 season. The trio combined to start 48 matches and log over 4,250 minutes. Â
Nathan Schnur will take over in goal, returning to the pitch as starting goalkeeper after playing the entirety of the 2020 season.
Scouting Stanford (0-0-0)
In the 2022 season, Stanford posted a 12-2-6 record, their season coming to an end by way of penalty kicks in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Shane de Flores led the Cardinal with eight goals on the season and will return to the pitch for the 2023 season.
Stanford's 2023 preseason matches resulted in 3-1 victory over Sacramento State.
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Scouting UC Irvine (0-0-0)
The Anteaters completed a down season in 2022, closing with a 6-12-2 mark. UC Irvine, however, was 5-3-1 in Big West action.
The leading returner for UCI is sophomore Agaton Pourshahidi, who collected three goals in 2022. Junior goalkeeper Luka Pruter returns after starting 19 matches last season. The California native made 63 saves, allowing 30 goals for a 1.56 GAA. He record was 5-12-2 with three shutouts.
Exhibition Recap: Creighton 6, Opponents 3
The Bluejays claimed two of three exhibitions matches in the preseason, taking down Northern Illinois 4-1, falling 1-0 to Drake and besting Missouri State 2-1 in the final tune-up. Each contest served a purpose as the starting until saw extensive time against Northern Illinois, while the second unit played the bulk of minutes versus Drake. The meeting with Missouri State afforded a chance to play on a grass pitch (Swope Park in Kansas City), similar to what the Bluejays will be on at Stanford.
History Favors the Bluejays
Coming off the sixth College Cup appearance in program history, Creighton has at least reached the NCAA Tournament the following season in each of previous five occurrences. The Bluejays reached the College Cup in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2011, 2012 and 2022. Creighton appeared the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 2001 and 2013 and reached the Elite Eight in 2003.
Let's Share a Plane
Following Creighton and UC Irvine's match on Sunday, Aug. 27, the two teams may want to consider sharing a plane back to Omaha. Creighton returns to campus for its home opener on Friday, Sept. 1 against Grand Canyon, while UC Irvine begins its road schedule against Omaha on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Bluejays Led NCAA in Goals in 2022, Enter 2023 with Goal in 24 Straight Matches
During 2022 Creighton led the NCAA in goals with 65 goals, including 23 from Hermann Trophy winner Duncan McGuire. The 42 remaining goals would have tied for 19th in the NCAA. In addition the Bluejays have scored in 24 consecutive matches. The last time Creighton was shut out came in the Second Round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, a 1-0 loss at No. 2 Tulsa.
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Players Mentioned
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