No. 24 Men's Soccer at No. 21 UC Santa Barbara Tonight
9/7/2010 2:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Match 3 at UC Santa Barbara • Tuesday, Sept. 7 • 9:00 p.m. (CST)
#24 Creighton Bluejays at #21 UCSB Gauchos
Meredith Field at Harder Stadium • Santa Barbara, Calif.
Following the Jays: Live stats and live audio will be provided by UC Santa Barbara for tonight's match. Fans can access both features by following the links provided at www.gocreighton.com.
This Week: The 24th-ranked Bluejays head to California to play at the site of this year's College Cup, taking on 21st-ranked UC Santa Barbara at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium in the Gauchos' home opener Tuesday night at 9 p.m. (CST). UCSB led the NCAA in attendance last year, averaging better than 4,300 fans per home match. The Jays then return home to host DePaul on Saturday night at Morrison Stadium.
Last Week: Creighton opened the season with a pair of shutout victories, winning 2-0 at Loyola Chicago to open the season last Wednesday and topping UNC Greensboro 4-0 on Saturday in its home opener. The Jays allowed only two shots, none on goal, in their win at Loyola, with Kris Clark and Jose Gomez scoring in the win. Clark added another tally against UNCG, and Ethan Finlay had a pair of goals in the home opening win.
Scouting #24 Creighton (2-0-0): Creighton narrowly missed its 18th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, finishing with a 7-4-5 record, mainly in part to its poorest offensive showing since 1984 – 20 goals in 16 matches. Through two matches, the Jays appear to have the offensive woes corrected, scoring six goals in two contests. The Bluejays return 12 players and six starters from last year's squad and are led by first-year head coach Jamie Clark. CU, which ranked 18th in the NCAA in goals against average last year, is again poised to rank among national leaders after posting two shutouts to open the season. Junior goalkeeper Brian Holt, who owns the CU and MVC career record with a 0.60, is back for his third season starting in net. Holt has posted 21 solo shutouts in 37 career starts. Senior Kyle Deremer, a preseason all-MVC honoree, is the only returning starter for the CU defense. Preseason All-American Ethan Finlay, a first-team all-MVC and all-region pick last year after leading the team with eight goals and 19 points, begins the season on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Finlay and fellow junior Kris Clark each have two goals through two matches, while newcomer Jose Gomez and Deremer each have two assists. The Bluejay attack also returns 2009 MVC Freshman of the Year Dion Acoff. Midfielder Greg Jordan has started both matches this season after the sophomore redshirted last season following a knee injury suffered in the second match of the season.
Scouting #21 UC Santa Barbara (0-1-1): The Gauchos were ranked eighth in the NSCAA preseason poll, but opened the season with a 1-0 loss at Cal State Bakersfield and a 1-1 tie at New Mexico last week. UCSB, which won the 2006 NCAA Tournament, is hosting the College Cup this year on their home pitch, hoping to return to the College Cup for the third time in seven seasons. Last year, UCSB finished 17-5-2, advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament in their eighth straight appearance. Sam Garza has UCSB's lone goal this season. Sam Hayden has made eight saves in goal and has posted a 0.87 goals against average, playing every minute of the Gauchos' two overtime matches to start the season.
Head Coach: Jamie Clark (Stanford, 1999) is in his first season at Creighton after spending two successful seasons at Harvard in his first head coaching assignment. A former MLS player and collegiate All-American, Clark is 28-10-1 (.731) in his third season as a head coach, guiding Harvard to the NCAA Tournament in his first two years as a head coach. He was named the NSCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2009 while leading Harvard to a top-10 ranking, Ivy League championship and third round of the NCAA Tournament. Prior to becoming a head coach he served as an assistant at New Mexico and Notre Dame.
CU-UCSB Series: The Bluejays and Gauchos will meet for the first time Tuesday night.
California Dreaming: Tonight, Creighton will look to improve upon its 9-0-3 record against California-based school in its last 12 meetings. With a pair of 1-0 victories over ranked California teams last year (Cal Poly, UCLA), the Bluejays remained undefeated in their last dozen matches against California schools. In fact, Creighton has not allowed a goal to a California school in its last eight meetings, out-scoring Golden State squads 9-0 in that span. CU last allowed a goal to a California school in a 2-2 tie with San Diego State on Aug. 31, 2007 and last lost to a team from California on Sept. 7, 2003 (2-1, 2OT, at Loyola Marymount).
Golden Staters: Creighton has four players from California on the roster, three of which have started both matches this season and the other which was named 2009 MVC Freshman of the Year. Dion Acoff (Upland) is the reigning MVC Freshman of the Year, and assisted the first goal of CU's season, scored by another Cali native – Kris Clark (Monte Sereno). Both Sergio Castillo (Escondido) and Jose Gomez (Santa Ana) were born in Mexico, but attended high school in California. Gomez started his college career at Cal State Fullerton. Head coach Jamie Clark is a Stanford (1999) alum.
Road Warriors: After a 2-0 win at Loyola Chicago (Sept. 1) to open the season, the Bluejays are now undefeated in their last 18 regular-season road matches dating back to a 2006 loss. They were 2-0-4 in true road games during the regular-season last year and are 11-0-7 in regular-season road games over the last three years (4-0-1 in 2007, 4-0-2 in 2008). CU last lost a regular-season road match on Oct. 28, 2006, a 2-1 defeat at Bradley. Since the start of the 2007 season, the Bluejays are now 15-3-7 overall in matches away from Omaha, including 11-2-7 in true road matches and 4-1-0 in neutral contests.
Pulling Rank: Creighton went 2-1-0 against top-25 opponents last year, defeating No. 23 Cal Poly and No. 7 UCLA by 1-0 scores. The Bluejays are 53-39-9 (.569) all-time against the coaches top 25, including 21-16-7 (.557) in true road games against ranked opponents.
Getting Offensive: Creighton has scored six goals through its first two matches this season, after it needed seven matches to reach six total goals in 2009. The Bluejays scored three goals in the first half of their home opener against UNC Greensboro last Saturday. In 2009, the Bluejays did not score three total goals at home until their fifth home contest of the season. The Bluejays, who have scored at least two goals in their first two games, did not score two goals in a match until their seventh contest last year and scored two or more goals in a match just four times in 16 contests in 2009.
Double the Output: Junior Kris Clark had scored two career goals in 32 career matches entering the season. Last week he scored a goal in each of CU's victories – including the game-winner at Loyola Chicago (Sept. 1) – doubling his career total in just two matches. Senior Kyle Deremer had two assists in 34 career matches at Creighton before this year, but doubled his career assist total with a pair of helpers against UNC Greensboro (Sept. 4).
Finlay's a Winner: Junior Ethan Finlay scored two goals against UNC Greensboro (Sept. 4) last Saturday, his second career multiple goal match. Included in the match, was his first career penalty kick attempt (and make) and his 10th career game-winning goal. Finlay, who has led the MVC in game-winning goals in each of his first two collegiate seasons, now has 10 game-winning goals of his 16 career scores.
A Hoie There!: Redshirt junior goalkeeper Bryan Hoie made his regular-season collegiate debut for the Bluejays in their shutout of UNC Greensboro (Sept. 4). Hoie, in his fourth year with the program, faced no shots while playing just over nine minutes in his first action as a Bluejay.
Bluejays Hit Blackjack: Creighton has its smallest roster since 1996, with just 21 student-athletes listed on the squad this year. The entire roster of 21 played in CU's 4-0 win over UNC Greensboro on Sept. 4. The small roster is in sharp contrast to the last decade at Creighton, where the average roster size was 30.2 between 2000-09. That 1996 team had 22 players on the squad, but capped the season by appearing in the first College Cup Final Four in school history.
Home Openers: For just the fourth time since the program restarted in 1990, Creighton opened the season away from Omaha this year. The Bluejays returned home to defeat UNC Greensboro 4-0 in their 2010 home debut, extended their undefeated streak to 15 matches in home opening contests. The Jays are now 11-0-4 in their last 15 home-openers, with a 3-1 loss to No. 20 Duke in 1995 serving as the last home opening loss. The Jays are now 5-0-3 in home openers at Morrison Stadium, scoring four goals in four of the five wins.
Home-Opening Attendance: Bluejay fans typically make the home-opener a highly-attended contest. Since moving to Morrison Stadium in 2003, the average attendance at CU home-openers is 3,140. Four home-opening crowds have topped 3,400, with two of the seven openers ranking in the top-10 in CU single-game attendance.
Home-Openers at Morrison Stadium
Year Opponent Attendance
2010 UNC Greensboro - W, 4-0 2,524
2009 Loyola (Ill.) - T, 0-0 2,758
2008 Gonzaga - W, 4-1 4,071
2007 San Diego State - T, 2-2 3,716
2006 Georgetown - W, 3-2 (ot) 3,746
2005 Loyola (Ill.) - W, 4-2 2,728
2004 Western Michigan - W, 4-0 2,089
2003 Butler - T, 0-0 3,483
Home Sweet Morrison: The Jays are 53-11-11 (.780) all-time at Morrison Stadium, including a 5-2-1 mark last year. Creighton has lost just one home match in four of its last six seasons. Since 1990, the Bluejays are 155-27-15 (.825) at home.
Clark Wins Debut: Head coach Jamie Clark won 2-0 over Loyola Chicago on Sept. 1 in his first match as CU's leader. The win puts the six all-time Bluejay coaches at 5-1-0 in their debut match. (The only head coach to lose in his debut was Bret Simon, falling to No. 20 Duke in 1995.) Clark is now 2-1-0 in season-openers in his head coaching career.
Scoring in Debut: Sophomore transfer Jose Gomez scored at Loyola Chicago on Sept. 1 to become the first Bluejay to score in his Creighton debut since another transfer did so in 2005. Brian Kallman (older brother of current sophomore Brent Kallman) scored in his first game of his only season at Creighton, helping the Bluejays tie Portland 1-1 on Sept. 2, 2005. Gomez hopes to avoid Kallman's fate, as that proved to be the only goal of his season.
Don't Shoot: The Bluejays did not allow a shot on goal in their season-opening win at Loyola Chicago (Sept. 1). It marked the first time since Oct. 18, 2008 that the Bluejays held an opponent without a shot on goal. CU allowed only two shots total to the Ramblers, the fewest shots by a Bluejay foe since Memphis attempted only three shots on Oct. 8, 2008. Since 2000, the Jays have posted six matches in which they allowed three shots, but none with two or fewer before their 2010 opener.
Ethan Finlay Nets Preseason Honors: Junior forward Ethan Finlay has joined a long list of former Bluejays that have been candidates for college soccer's top individual honor, as he has been named to the preseason Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List. Finlay, who has also been tabbed to Soccer America's Preseason All-America Team, led the team with eight goals and 19 points as a sophomore and is CU's active career leader with 14 goals, seven assists and 35 points. He has led the team and MVC in game-winning goals in each of his first two seasons, as nine of his 14 career goals have been game-winners. Finlay is now on the long list of National Player of the Year candidates from Creighton, including the 1997 winner and current assistant coach, Johnny Torres.
CU National Player of the Year Candidates
Year Player
2010 Ethan Finlay
2009 Byron Dacy, Chris Schuler, Seth Sinovic
2008 Byron Dacy, Andrei Gotsmanov
2007 Byron Dacy, Matt Allen
2006 Byron Dacy
2004 Julian Nash
2003 David Wagenfuhr
2002 Mike Tranchilla
2001 Mike Tranchilla
1997 Johnny Torres (Won)
1996 Ross Paule
1993 Keith DeFini & Brian Kamler
That's Offensive: Creighton started the season with a combined 20 career goals (scored at CU) from its 19 field players. Of those 20 goals, 14 came from Ethan Finlay. Beyond Finlay's 14 goals, the remainder of the Bluejay roster had a combined six career goals – Kris Clark (2), Josh Moran (1), Dion Acoff (1), Greg Jordan (1) and Sergio Castillo (1). Finlay (9) and Clark (1) were the only two players with any game-winning goals prior to this season.
Senior Citizens: Creighton has four seniors on the roster this year, all starters. Defender Kyle Deremer, a second-team all-MVC honoree in 2009, has started 34 of the 35 matches he has played in during his three seasons at CU. Sergio Castillo, a two-time MVC All-Tournament Team selection, has started 42 of his 53 career games. Andrew Duran has been slowed by injuries throughout his career, limiting him to 20 starts in 31 matches. Josh Moran started 13 of 15 matches and led the team with five assists in his first year with the Jays last year, earning second-team all-MVC notice for his play.
Nine Newbies: Creighton welcomes nine newcomers to Omaha this fall, including a pair of transfers and seven freshmen. Both transfers – junior Jace Peters and sophomore Jose Gomez started in the season-opener, along with freshman Tyler Polak. Polak, a Lincoln native, is a U-17 and U-20 U.S. National Team member. Polak has been named one of the College Soccer News “100 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On”. Another freshman who debuted in the opener, Liam Kelly, is a member of the U-20 Canadian National Team.
MVC Preseason Poll: For the first time since 2004, the Bluejays are not favored to win the Missouri Valley Conference as voted on by league coaches. MVC coaches have tabbed Creighton for a third-place finish, behind Evansville and defending regular-season champion Missouri State. This marks just the second time in 20 years of MVC soccer that the Jays have not been picked to finish in the top-two, as CU was tabbed third in the initial MVC preseason poll in 1991. The Bluejays, who have been picked to win The Valley 12 times, own a league record nine regular-season titles.
Welcome and Goodbye: The MVC welcomes two new affiliate men's soccer members this fall, as Southern Illinois Edwardsville and Central Arkansas join the league for the sport. This season also marks the final season that Eastern Illinois will be an affiliate of the MVC in men's soccer. The Panthers, who have been an MVC soccer affiliate since 1996, will become an affiliate member of the Summit League in 2011.
Strong Schedule: Jamie Clark inherited one of the toughest schedules in the nation this year, one that features seven teams which advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2009. Akron, the 2009 NCAA runner-up, begins the season ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA, Soccer America and College Soccer News preseason polls. The Jays also play preseason No. 7 Tulsa and No. 8 UC Santa Barbara. The Jays play at UCSB – the site of this season's NCAA College Cup – on Sept. 7. MVC foe Drake, which advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals last year, is ranked 14th in the preseason NSCAA poll. CU also hosts preseason No. 20 Indiana. In addition to those five squads, the Jays also take on 2009 NCAA teams Dartmouth and Missouri State this fall.
Exhibition Summary: Creighton won both of its exhibition matches by 2-1 scores, defeating Denver (Aug. 21) on the road and winning a home contest against nationally-ranked NAIA foe Hastings (Neb.) College last Friday. Illinois natives Andrew Duran and Greg Jordan scored for the Bluejays in Denver, while Kyle Deremer and Ethan Finlay notched the tallies at home. Sophomore transfer Jose Gomez assisted three of CU's four goals in exhibition play. Junior goalkeeper Brian Holt logged seven saves and a 0.62 goals against average.
Familiar Faces Return: Jamie Clark retained assistant coach Johnny Torres on his staff, while two other former Bluejay standouts have returned to the bench this fall. Matt Wieland, the 2003 MVC Defensive Player of the Year and 2005 NSCAA Third-Team All-American, is serving as CU's graduate manager this season. Michael Kraus, 2006 MVC Player of the Year, has returned to campus to complete his undergraduate work this semester and will be a student assistant coach for the Bluejays while finishing up his school work.
Updated & Extended Coverage: Fans will notice Creighton home matches not only have a new live stats platform, but will also benefit from Creighton's change to BCS Stats. The new live stats provider allows fans to follow the live action on their mobile device at www.gocreightonstats.com. Fans can also find more info on Bluejay athletics on Facebook at the “Official Creighton Athletics Page” and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gocreighton.
