No. 24 Bluejays Knock Off No. 21 Gauchos 1-0 in Men's Soccer

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Playing as a ranked team for the first time in nearly a year Tuesday night, the 24th-ranked Creighton men's soccer team knocked off another ranked squad, as the Bluejays topped 21st-ranked UC Santa Barbara 1-0 at Harder Stadium. The win was Creighton's third consecutive clean sheet to start the season, as the Bluejays received a first-half goal from Andrew Duran and more outstanding team defense for the upset victory over the preseason top-10 Gauchos.

Creighton's (3-0-0) win over UCSB (0-2-1) extended several impressive streaks for the Bluejays. The victory was the ninth consecutive time the Bluejays have shutout a team from California - the last three were each 1-0 wins over nationally-ranked squads. The win also moved the Bluejays to 10-0-3 in their last 13 matches against Golden State squads, while improving to 12-0-7 in their last 19 regular-season road matches.

The Bluejays put the only tally on the board in the 37th minute, when Duran, a senior, scored his first collegiate goal. As the Bluejays have done so well early this season, they capitalized on a set play, this time scoring a corner kick. Duran was able to head in Jose Gomez's corner at the 36:43 mark for the difference in the match. The assist, was Gomez's team-best third in as many games.

Junior goalkeeper Brian Holt kept his perfect goals against average alive, posting his second solo shutout of the year. The Omaha native made three saves to preserve the clean sheet, his 22nd career shutout in 38 starts as a Bluejay.

Creighton controlled play throughout the match, keeping a talented UCSB offense from getting in to any kind of rhythm on the attack.

"I thought in the first half we were very good," said first year Bluejay coach Jamie Clark after the big win. "We went toe-to-toe with them and went up a goal and we were fortunate to come away with a win. Not many teams come to Santa Barbara and walk out with a win."

UCSB, which has appeared in two College Cups in the previous six seasons, winning the NCAA title in 2006, was 83-22-12 (.761) at home since 1999 entering its 2010 home opener.

"That team could easily end up 15-2-1 at the end of the regular-season," said Clark of the Gauchos. "They will still be major players in the NCAA Tournament and this will be a big win for us come November."

Creighton will look to continue its winning streak when it returns home to host DePaul on Saturday at Morrison Stadium. Kick off in Omaha is set for 7 p.m., against the Blue Demons.

No. 24 Bluejays Knock Off No. 21 Gauchos 1-0 in Men's Soccer

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Andrew Duran

Jose Gomez

Brian Holt