No. 2 Men's Soccer Hosts No. 7-seed USF Saturday in NCAA Quarterfinals

NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals vs. South Florida Bulls
Saturday, December 3 • 1:00 pm
#12 USF Bulls (13-3-4) at #2 Creighton Bluejays (20-2-0)
Morrison Stadium • Omaha, Neb.
Series History: Creighton leads 1-0-0
NCAA Tournament Bracket
Live Stats • Free Video • Tickets
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Following the Jays: This NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal match will have free live video available and live stats will be provided by Gametracker throughout the NCAA Tournament. Fans can access both live video and live stats through the links at www.gocreighton.com.

Tickets: Tickets for this NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal match can be purchased in person at the Wayne & Eileen Ryan Athletic Center Ticket Office through Friday at 4:30 pm and then at the Morrison Stadium Ticket Office one hour prior to kickoff on Saturday. Fans can also visit www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets (Baker's, Younkers) or call Ticketmaster and order by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Fans are encouraged to buy tickets in advance to avoid the lines on Saturday.

This Week: The No. 2-ranked and No. 2-seeded Bluejays (20-2-0) play host to No. 12-ranked and No. 7-seeded South Florida (13-3-4) in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. The Bluejays and Bulls will kickoff at 1 pm at Morrison Stadium this Saturday. The winner will advance to next week's College Cup in Hoover, Alabama.

NCAA Recap: Creighton has reached its eighth NCAA quarterfinal appearance with a pair of home wins to improve to 13-0-0 at home this season. The Bluejays topped Northern Illinois 3-0 in the second round on Nov. 20, after earning a first round bye. Ethan Finlay scored twice in the shutout win, Creighton's eighth straight clean sheet. The Jays then knocked off No. 15-seed UC Santa Barbara 2-1 last Sunday, scoring twice in the first 20 minutes and then holding off the NCAA's third-ranked offense. Bruno Castro scored on a penalty kick in the eighth minute and Andrew Ribeiro cleaned up a corner kick in the 19th minute to provide the scoring. CU has allowed just three shots on goal through two NCAA Tournament matches.

Scouting #2 Creighton (20-2-0, 5-1-0 MVC): The Bluejays lead the NCAA with 20 wins and are the top defensive team in the country, having posted a nation's best 17 shutouts ... Creighton leads the NCAA in goals against average (0.22), save percentage (.919) and shutout percentage (.773) ... Creighton, the MVC regular-season co-champions and MVC Tournament champions, started the season with eight straight shutout victories and had another eight-game shutout streak snapped last Sunday ... The Bluejays, who were ranked No. 1 in the NCAA RPI for the last two weeks of the regular-season, are making their eighth NCAA quarterfinal appearance, while appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 19th time in 20 seasons ... Creighton is 13-0-0 at home this season, outscoring opponents 27-2 in Omaha ... Creighton has allowed only five goals all year, but also ranks 15th in the NCAA with 39 goals scored this year ... The Bluejays, who have won 10 straight, are led by MVC Goalkeeper of the Year, MVC Tournament MVP and Senior CLASS Award Finalist Brian Holt, who leads the NCAA with a 0.23 GAA and 91.5 save percentage. Holt, who has played more minutes than anyone in school history, is also the CU and MVC career leader with 56 wins, 42 shutouts and a 0.63 career GAA ... Helping Holt lead the nation's best defense is MVC Defensive Player of the Year Andrew Duran and first-team all-MVC defender and MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Tyler Polak ... Two-time MVC Player of the Year and two-time MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Ethan Finlay ranks 14th in the NCAA with an MVC-best 32 points and his 13 goals rank 15th in the nation. The All-American is the MVC's active career leader in goals (42), assists (17) and points (101) ... Junior midfielder Greg Jordan was CU's fifth first-team all-MVC player this season, as 10 of CU's 11 starters earned an honor from the MVC ... Three CU midfielders earned second-team all-MVC honors – Bruno Castro (6 g, 8 a), Jose Gomez (4 g, 8 a) and Dion Acoff (3 g, 2 a).

Head Coach: Elmar Bolowich is in his first year at Creighton following a 22-year stint at North Carolina, where he guided the Tar Heels to 15 NCAA Tournaments, four College Cup appearances and the 2001 NCAA Title. The 2001 NSCAA National Coach of the Year is 22-13-4 (.667) all-time in the NCAA Tournament and now 300-146-40 (.658) in his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach. Bolowich guided UNC to back-to-back ACC championships in his final two seasons in Chapel Hill, while his final three Tar Heel teams advanced to the College Cup. He is one of five active coaches in NCAA Division I soccer to lead a team to four College Cup appearances. The native of Germany led the MVC Coaching Staff of the Year in his debut season at Creighton.

Scouting #12 USF (13-3-4, 7-0-2 Big East): The Bulls were ranked 12th in the final NSCAA poll and are the No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, after ending the season with an RPI of 9 ... USF is appearing in its fifth straight NCAA Tournament and sixth in the last seven years ... USF has lost just once since Sept. 16, a 1-0 loss to Villanova in the Big East Tournament on Nov. 6 ... The Bulls won the Red Division of the Big East with an undefeated 7-0-2 mark, which included wins over nationally-ranked West Virginia, St. John's and Louisville ... USF has scored 36 goals on the season, but been shutout in three of its last four matches, including a scoreless draw with New Mexico in the third round (USF advanced 6-5 in a shootout) ... Big East Offensive Player of the Year Dom Dwyer leads the team and ranks ninth in the NCAA with 16 goals and 34 points, while Leston Paul ranks a distant second on the team with four goals ... Wesley Charpie leads USF with six assists and ranks second with 12 points ... Chris Blais (0.86 GAA) has played every minute in goal for USF, with 69 saves, 18 goals allowed and eight shutouts this season.

CU-USF Series: Creighton won the only previous meetings between the teams, 3-1, on Sept. 27, 1991 in a tournament hosted by Florida International in Miami.

NCAA Tournament History: Creighton is making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance, all in the past 20 seasons (missed in 2009). Creighton is 25-16-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 10-4-0 at home and 9-1-0 at Morrison Stadium. The Jays have now won at least one NCAA Tournament match in 13 of their 19 trips. The Jays are 15-6-3 in their last nine appearances, advancing to the quarterfinals in five of their last nine trips to the tourney. Creighton is appearing in its eighth quarterfinal and searching for its fourth College Cup appearance (1996, 2000, 2002). Complete NCAA Tournament history on page nine of these game notes.

NCAA at Morrison: Creighton is 9-1-0 in NCAA Tournament matches played at Morrison Stadium (since 2003). The Bluejays have scored at least two goals in each of their nine victories and have out-scored opponents 28-7 in the first 10 NCAA matches here. CU beat UMKC 6-0 in the 2003 first round, out-did nationally-ranked Northwestern 3-2 in the 2004 second round, blanked Lafayette 3-0 in the first round in 2005, topped fifth-ranked SMU 3-0 in the 2007 second round, before falling to Illinois-Chicago 1-0 to end their 2007 season. The Jays won a pair of 2-1 matches against nationally-ranked Tulsa and Connecticut in the 2008 postseason and crushed New Mexico 4-1 in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Round Three Recap: Creighton improved its home record to 13-0-0 this year with a 2-1 win over No. 15-seed UC Santa Barbara last Sunday. Bruno Castro was awarded a penalty kick in the eighth minute after UCSB was whistled for a foul in the box during a Castro corner kick. The Jays went ahead 2-0 in the 19th minute when Andrew Ribeiro sent a blast in from close range following a Jose Gomez corner kick. The Jays allowed a goal in the 79th minute, snapping their eight-game scoreless streak, but held off UCSB.

Round Two Recap: Creighton topped Northern Illinois 3-0 on Nov. 20 in the second round to open NCAA Tournament play. Jose Gomez scored in the 21st minute off of a crossing pass from Eric Miller and Ethan Finlay added a tally in the 43rd minute to give the Jays a 2-0 lead at halftime. Finlay added his second goal of the match and league-leading 13th of the season, in the 88th minute to conclude scoring in the match. CU outshot NIU 13-4 in the contest, limiting the Huskies to only one shot on goal, as the Jays posted their eighth straight clean sheet.

Against the Field: Creighton has now played eight matches against NCAA Tournament teams this year, going 7-1-0 against those squads. CU owns two wins over Bradley, wins over No. 16 seed Indiana, No. 15 seed UC Santa Barbara, No. 8 Seed UC Irvine, and wins over Saint Mary's and Northern Illinois. CU's only loss to the tournament field came to No. 5 seed Maryland.

And the Winner Has ...: The winner of Creighton's match with South Florida will advance to the College Cup in Hoover, Ala. The semifinal opponent for this game's winner will be either No. 3-seed UConn (19-3-2) or unseeded Charlotte (15-4-2). The teams will meet at Regions Park in Hoover on Friday, Dec. 9. Creighton and UConn played in the 2000 National Championship match, a 2-0 UConn victory, while CU ended UConn's season in the NCAA Tournament in 2008.

December to Remember: Creighton is playing just the second December home match in school history. The first December home match was a third round NCAA Tournament 1-0 loss to Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 1, 2007. Temperature at kickoff in that UIC match was 39 degrees, with a light rain falling throughout the match. The Bluejays are looking to snap a five-match December losing streak, dating back to their 2002 College Cup loss to Stanford. The Bluejays are 5-8-1 all-time in December.

Chasing NCAA History: Creighton enters this week looking to continue its quest for an NCAA title and looking to make statistical history along the way:
• Brian Holt has tied for the NCAA record with 42 career shutouts with Indiana's T.J. Hannig (1997-00) and Bowling Green's Scott Vallow (1995-98).
• Holt's 0.23 goals against average ranks second in NCAA history and his 91.5 save percentage ranks sixth in NCAA history.
• CU has a 0.22 team goals against average – a mark that is tops in NCAA history. Evansville established the current GAA record of 0.24 in 1990.
• CU's 17 shutouts are tied for fourth in NCAA history, trailing Evansville (20 - 1990), Akron (19 - 2009) and Indiana (18 - 1979).

Coach Hits 300: Head coach Elmar Bolowich not only moved his team along in the NCAA Tournament with a win over UCSB last Sunday, but that victory was also a career milestone, serving as his 300th career victory. The first 280 came at North Carolina, while his 20th victory at Creighton helped him become the 13th active Division I head coach with 300 career wins.

We're No. 1: Creighton leads the NCAA with 20 wins, 17 shutouts and a .909 winning percentage. The Bluejays also tied for the national lead with seven road wins this year – even with Fordham, UC Irvine and Northern Illinois. Creighton continues to be the top defensive team in the NCAA, ranking first in the nation in goals against average (0.22), save percentage (.919) and shutout percentage (.773) – with an NCAA best 17 shutouts. Brian Holt leads the NCAA with his 0.23 GAA and 91.5 save percentage.

Lucky 13: Creighton's 13 home wins this season are tied with the 1993 team for the school-record. The 1993 team finished 13-1-0 at home. The Bluejays will not only be looking for the school record for home wins in a season, but they are also in search of their first undefeated home season since the 1998 team went 8-0-0 in Omaha.

CU vs. Top 25: Creighton owns five wins over top 25 teams this year, including four at home to move the Bluejays to an impressive 19-2-1 (.886) against the NSCAA top 25 at Morrison Stadium. The Jays are now 29-9-2 (.750) all-time against nationally-ranked opponents at home. The Jays are 5-1-0 against the NSCAA top 25 this year – with wins over No. 22 Kentucky, No. 7 UC Irvine, No. 22 Bradley, No. 13 UC Santa Barbara and at No. 10 Indiana and a loss at No. 3 Maryland. CU is 60-42-10 (.580) all-time against the coaches top 25.

Streaking Note:
• Creighton's 10-game winning streak is its longest since the 2000 team won 11 straight in order to reach the the NCAA title match.
• Creighton entered the NCAA Tournament on an eight-game winning streak, the second-longest streak entering the NCAA postseason in school history (behind the 1993 team which entered the tourney on a 19-game streak).
• Creighton has now posted two winning streaks of at least eight games this season – a first in school history.
• CU has played its last seven matches at home, a school record home stand. CU had previously played five-straight games at home on six occasions.
• Creighton has logged eight straight shutouts twice this season, the second streak ending last Sunday in a 2-1 win over UCSB. Before this season, the CU record for consecutive shutouts was six. This Jays also opened the season with eight straight clean sheets.
• CU's six-match shutout streak at home was also a school record.
• Creighton's school-record shutout streak of 826:44 consecutive scoreless minutes ended when UCSB scored last Sunday, it was the first goal CU had allowed since Oct. 15.
• Brian Holt had his record consecutive shutout streak snapped last Sunday at 816:44 straight minutes. He now owns the top three consecutive scoreless minute streaks in school history - 816:44, 753:34 and 722:12.
• CU has won 14 straight home games, dating back to last year's 4-1 NCAA Tournament win over New Mexico. The 14 straight home wins mark CU's longest home winning streak since setting the school record of 15 between 1997 and 1999.
• CU has not allowed more than one goal in any of its 22 matches this season – the longest such streak in school history (the former mark was 14 in 1999).
• A win against USF would put head coach Elmar Bolowich into his fourth consecutive College Cup (2008-10 at North Carolina).

Home Sweet Morrison: Creighton is 13-0-0 at home this season, having outscored opponents 27-2 in Omaha this year. CU completed its first undefeated home regular-season since 1998 (8-0-0) and is looking to finish an entire season unbeaten at home for the first time since that season. CU is now 72-13-12 (.804) all-time at Morrison Stadium (since 2003). The 12 wins at Morrison Stadium are a single-season record, while the 13 wins equal the 1993 team's school-record for home wins in a season. The Bluejays are 19-2-1 (.886) against top 25 foes at Morrison Stadium and since 1990, the Bluejays are 173-29-16 (.830) at home.

Attendance Figures: Creighton is averaging 2,952 fans in 13 home matches this fall, which unofficially ranks sixth in the NCAA in national attendance figures compiled by the Creighton Sports Information office. The Bluejays drew 29,681 fans in nine regular-season home dates, compared to 24,974 fans combined drawn by the rest of the MVC in 47 home dates (531 average). Including this season, Creighton has ranked in the top-10 in the NCAA in attendance every season since moving into Morrison Stadium in 2003.

Unofficial NCAA Attendance Leaders
(through Dec. 2)
1. UC Santa Barbara – 4,782
2. Maryland – 3,781
3. New Mexico – 3,749
4. Connecticut – 3,462
5. Akron – 3,300
6. Creighton – 2,952
7. Louisville – 2,858
8. Cal Poly – 2,140
9. Clemson – 2,111
10. Wake Forest – 2,007

Protecting this House: Since moving into Morrison Stadium in 2003, more than half of Creighton's matches have resulted in a Bluejay shutout – 51 clean sheets in 97 matches. The Bluejays have outscored opponents 187-62 at the venue and posted an impressive 0.62 home goals against average at Morrison Stadium, including a 0.16 home GAA this season.

CU's Defense at Morrison Stadium
Year    GAA    GA    Sho    W-L-T
2003    0.44    5    7    7-2-2
2004    0.90    11    2    10-1-1
2005    0.68    7    6    8-1-1
2006    0.62    6    5    6-1-2
2007    0.85    12    5    6-3-4
2008    0.53    6    6    10-1-0
2009    0.49    4    4    5-2-1
2010    0.88    9    5    7-2-1
2011    0.16    2    11    13-0-0
Totals    0.62    62    51    72-13-12

Holt Breaks His Own Record – Again: Senior goalkeeper Brian Holt has again set a school record for consecutive scoreless minutes, the third time he has set the record in his career. Holt went better than 816 minutes between goals allowed from Oct. 15 to Nov. 27, before UCSB scored in last Sunday's 2-1 CU win, to break a record he set earlier this season. He started the season by not allowing a goal in his first 733:19 played. Adding that streak to the final 20:15 of the 2010 season, Holt did not allowed a goal in 753:34 minutes played. His first streak of 722:12 was set as a freshman. No other keeper in school history has gone more than 600 straight scoreless minutes.

Consecutive CU Shutout Minutes Streak
Brian Holt - 816:44, Oct. 15 – Nov. 27, 2011
B. Holt - 753:34, Nov. 21, 2010 – Sept. 10, 2011
Brian Holt - 722:12, Sept. 13-Oct. 11, 2008
Kevin Doyle - 562:44, Oct. 11-Nov. 7, 1992
Tom Zawislan - 500:20, Oct. 1-29, 1999

NCAA Stats: In addition to leading the NCAA in wins (20), winning percentage (.909), goals against average (0.22), shutout percentage (.773) and save percentage (.919), the Bluejays are ranked highly in other national categories. CU ranks 15th in the nation with 39 goals scores. In addition to Brian Holt's NCAA-best 0.23 GAA and .915 save percentage, other Jays rank among national leaders. Ethan Finlay ranks 14th in the NCAA with 32 points and 15th with 13 goals. Bruno Castro and Jose Gomez are tied for 20th in the NCAA with eight assists.

Winning: Brian Holt not only helped Creighton capture the MVC Tournament title and earn MVC Tournament MVP honors in CU's 1-0 win over Missouri State on Nov. 13, but he also became the winningest goalkeeper in school history in the victory. The win over MSU was the 54th of his career, moving him past the former record of Jay Fitzgerald (1991-95). He now has 56 career wins.

Simply the Best: Creighton brought home four of the five MVC specialty awards when postseason honors were handed out. Ethan Finlay became the first Bluejay to twice be named MVC Player of the Year (third two-time winner in MVC history), Andrew Duran was tabbed the MVC Defensive Player of the Year and Brian Holt was named the MVC Goalkeeper of the Year. For the third time in four years and with the third different head coach, Creighton earned MVC Coaching Staff of the Year honors – recognizing head coach Elmar Bolowich, assistants Johnny Torres and Justin Hughes and graduate manager Matt Wieland.

MVC Tournament Summary: Creighton won its MVC-best 12th Valley Tournament title with a pair of shutouts on Nov. 11 & 13, winning its first MVC tourney title in Omaha since 1994. CU topped Bradley 1-0 in the semifinals (Nov. 11) behind a Jose Gomez goal and then avenged one of its two losses this season by beating Missouri State 1-0 in the championship match, with freshman Jose Ribas scoring his first career goal for the game-winner. Senior goalkeeper Brian Holt was named the MVC Tournament MVP, while he was joined by senior defender Andrew Duran, sophomore defender Tyler Polak and senior forward Ethan Finlay on the All-Tournament Team.

MVC Title Town: Creighton captured its 11th MVC regular-season title this year (sharing with Missouri State) and followed by winning its 12th tournament title, making the seventh time the Bluejays have won both crowns in the same season – 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2006, 2008 and 2011. CU's 11 Valley regular-season titles are more than twice as many as the next closest teams – Bradley, Missouri State and SMU all have four regular-season MVC crowns. The regular-season title was CU's second straight and its fifth in the last six years. CU's 12 tournament crowns are more than all other MVC teams combined, while its 31 wins in MVC tourney play are also a school record.

MVC Honors: In addition to the specialty honors, 10 of Creighton's 11 starters were recognized by the MVC this season.
MVC First-Team
Andrew Duran, Sr., D
Ethan Finlay, Sr., F
Brian Holt, Sr., GK
Greg Jordan, Jr., M
Tyler Polak, So., D
MVC Second-Team
Dion Acoff, Jr., M
Bruno Castro, So., M
Jose Gomez, Jr., M
MVC Honorable Mention
Andrew Ribeiro, Jr., M
MVC All-Freshman Team
Eric Miller, Fr., D

Finlay's Figures: All-American Ethan Finlay has scored five goals in his last four NCAA Tournament matches, scoring multiple goals in two of his last three home matches. He scored twice in CU's 3-0 win over Northern Illinois (Nov. 20) after he also had a brace against New Mexico at home in last year's tourney. He scored in CU's season-finale last year at SMU as well. His five goals in NCAA Tournament play are one shy of the CU school-record of six shared by Brian Mullan and Mike Tranchilla. Of Finlay's 13 goals scored this year, 11 have come at home, giving him 27 home goals (of 42) in his career.

At Home in the Valley: Creighton is 26-4-3 (.833) all-time at Morrison Stadium in MVC regular-season play, compared to just 4-2-1 (.643) at the venue in MVC Tournament play. The Bluejays are an even more impressive 61-7-4 (.875) at home in Valley play all-time. The Jays are 14-2-1 (.853) in MVC Tournament matches held in Omaha all-time.

Shutout Records: Creighton leads the NCAA with 17 shutouts – which is an MVC and school record and ranks fourth in NCAA history. The former school mark of 13 was set in 2008, and the old MVC record of 14 was set by SMU in 2001. Creighton has posted 11 shutouts at home, breaking the former school record of seven home clean sheets set in 2003 – CU's first season at Morrison Stadium. Brian Holt has 15 solo shutouts this year, breaking his former CU record of 12 set as a freshman in 2008. His 42 career clean sheets are tied for the NCAA record with Indiana's T.J. Hannig (1997-00) and Bowling Green's Scott Vallow (1995-98).

RPI Report: Creighton was No. 1 in the RPI for the final two weeks of the regular-season before it finished No. 2 in the NCAA ratings heading into NCAA play. The Bluejays were No. 3 in the RPI poll in each of the first two weeks of the release. Six of CU's regular-season opponents finished in the RPI top-50: Maryland (5), UC Irvine (8), Indiana (14), Bradley (21), Providence (23) and Wisconsin (49). The Jays are 6-1-0 against the teams in the RPI top-50 this year. USF's final RPI was 9, UCSB's was 15 and Northern Illinois had an RPI of 24.

Poll Position: Creighton was ranked second in the NSCAA's final regular-season poll, the third straight week and fourth overall week it has held down the No. 2 spot in the coaches poll. The Bluejays were ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA Midwest Region all 12 weeks of the season. The Jays are also ranked second in the latest polls released by Soccer Times and College Soccer News, and third by TopDrawerSoccer and Soccer America.

Dairy State Product: Two-time MVC Player of the Year Ethan Finlay has moved up the MVC and CU career charts this season. The All-American is the fifth player in CU history and ninth in league history to reach 40 career goals. His 101 career points rank sixth in school history and 10th in Valley history. Of his 42 career goals, 19 have been game-winners and 27 of his 42 goals have been scored at home. He has five multi-goal matches this year and 10 in his career. The senior owns Morrison Stadium career records for goals (27), points (64), shots (136) and shots on goal (65).

Finlay's Hat Trick vs. UC Irvine: All-American Ethan Finlay tallied his first career hat trick against No. 7 UC Irvine (Oct. 15), after he had previously scored two goals in a match seven times in his career. The three-goal match for Finlay was Creighton's first hat trick since Julian Nash turned in the feat on Oct. 3, 2004 against a nationally-ranked Tulsa team. He is just the 12th player in the storied history of Creighton soccer to record a hat trick. He joined Nash and Brian Biggerstaff (Nov. 22, 2003 vs. UMKC) as the only three players to notch a hat trick at Morrison Stadium.

Multiplicity: Ethan Finlay scored twice in CU's second round win over Northern Illinois (Nov. 20), his fifth multi-goal match of the season. Only Keith DeFini had more multi-goal matches in a single-season in school history, as DeFini had six multi-goal matches in 1990. Finlay also had four multi-goal matches last year and he now has 10 in his career to rank fourth in school history.

CU Multi-Goal Matches in a Season
    1.    6    Keith DeFini    1990
    2.    5    Ethan Finlay    2011
        5    Keith DeFini    1993

Special Day for Ribas: Freshman Jose Ribas picked the perfect time to score his first collegiate goal, scoring the only goal of the MVC Tournament championship match to help CU top Missouri State 1-0 (Nov. 13). Scoring a game-winner as your career first goal in the title match is exciting enough, but add the fact that Ribas' parents traveled from Ecuador to attend the match and the goal is that more memorable.

Not a Regular Season: Creighton won more games in the regular-season this year (16) than it finished with last year (13). The 16 regular-season wins were the second-most in school history and the most since the 2000 national runner-up CU squad had 15 regular-season wins en route to leading the nation with 22 victories that season. The 1993 team set the school record with 17 regular-season wins, going a perfect 17-0-0 that year.

1-0 W (x9) = Success: Nine of Creighton's 20 wins this season have been 1-0 finals after 1-0 victories over Bradley (Nov. 11) and Missouri State (Nov. 13) in the MVC Tournament. The nine 1-0 wins are the most in single-season school history, topping the 2002 College Cup team which posted six 1-0 victories en route to the NCAA semifinals.

Minuteman: Senior goalkeeper Brian Holt has played more minutes in goal than any player in school history, as his 7,099 have surpassed the former school mark of his predecessor Matt Allen (6,531). Holt now ranks fourth in MVC history in minutes played, as he is one of four keepers in league history to play better than 7,000 minutes in his career.

Another Record for Finlay: Senior Ethan Finlay was named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week five times this season – a league record. Never in league history had a player earned more than three MVC Offensive Player of the Week nods. Finlay was helped by his four multi-goal matches this year.

Dynamic Duo: Senior co-captains Ethan Finlay and Brian Holt have written their names all over the MVC and Creighton records books. Here is a look at how some of their numbers intertwine.
• Finlay has scored at least one goal in 25 of Holt's 56 career wins.
• Finlay has scored the game-winning goal in 15 of Holt's 42 career shutouts.
• Finlay has scored every goal in a Holt shutout eight times and scored every goal in a Holt victory nine times.

Polak Honored: Sophomore Tyler Polak became the fourth different Bluejay to be named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week this year on Oct. 31, following his play in shutout wins over Drake and Central Arkansas. Polak and the CU defense held both DU and UCA to just two shots each in the dominating performances. The left back also scored his first goal of the year and added his fifth assist in Creighton's 3-0 win over UCA.

Duran Recognized: On Oct. 24, senior Andrew Duran was honored for his outstanding play during Creighton's 1-0 shutouts at Bradley (Oct. 19) and SIUE (Oct. 22). Duran was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week and honored on the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week for his play in the pair of shutouts.

That's a Winner: Four different Bluejays have at least three game-winning goals this year, led by Ethan Finlay's five. All four of Andrew Ribeiro's goals this season have been game-winners, while Bruno Castro and Jose Gomez have three game-winners.

Road Streak Snapped: Creighton had a 14-match unbeaten streak in MVC regular-season road matches snapped in a 1-0 loss at Missouri State on Oct. 12. The Bluejays were 8-0-6 on the MVC road since their previous loss – a 2-1 defeat at Bradley on Oct. 28, 2006. The Jays went 2-0-1 on the MVC road in 2007, 2-0-1 in 2008, 1-0-4 in 2009 and 3-0-0 in 2010. The loss also marked the first Bluejay defeat to a non-ranked team on the road in the regular-season since that same Bradley loss in 2006.

Road Warriors: Since the start of the 2007 season, the Bluejays are an impressive 22-3-7 (.797) in regular-season road matches. Two of the three losses have come to top-five teams, losing 1-0 at No. 1-ranked Akron in 2010 and 1-0 at No. 3-ranked Maryland this season. The Bluejays are 27-8-8 (.721) overall in matches away from Omaha since 2007, including 0-3-1 in postseason road matches and 5-2-0 at neutral sites.

Acoff Doubles Up: Junior midfielder Dion Acoff scored his first two goals of the season to earn MVC Offensive Player of the Week honors and be named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Oct. 10. Acoff scored his first goal at Wisconsin (Oct. 5) and then scored the game's only goal in a 1-0 win at 10th-ranked Indiana (Oct. 9). The score at IU was Acoff's first career game-winning goal.

Rare Jordan: Redshirt junior Greg Jordan scored just his second career game-winning goal when he knocked in the golden goal to beat Wisconsin in overtime on Oct. 5. Jordan, who ranks third on the team with three goals this year, now has seven career goals. His previous game-winner came against DePaul last September.

Holt Has CLASS: Senior Brian Holt is one of 10 national finalists for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Fans can vote for Holt once a day every day through Nov. 14 on Facebook and at www.seniorclassaward.com. Holt and teammate Ethan Finlay were among the 30 preseason candidates for the award.

Bolowich's Best: With an 8-0-0 start this season, Creighton helped head coach Elmar Bolowich to the best start of his 23-year coaching career. In 22 seasons at North Carolina, Bolowich never won more than four matches to start a season. His 2005 team started 7-0-1 after winning its first four matches for the longest unbeaten start to a season in his career.

Historic Start: Creighton's 8-0-0 start was its best since the 1993 team won its first 19 matches of the season en route to earning the No. 1 ranking for the final five weeks of the regular-season. The last two times Creighton started a season with six straight wins it advanced to the College Cup (1996 and 2000). The 2000 team advanced to the NCAA Championship match and led the NCAA with 22 wins. The Bluejays posted a school-record eight straight shutouts, never before had CU started a season with more than four straight clean sheets.

Defensive Players of the Week: A Bluejay was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week in four of the first five weeks this season, with Brian Holt bringing home the honor three times and junior center back Jake Brown winning the honor in week three. Brown earned his first two Bluejay starts and played every minute of CU's shutouts against Fordham (Sept. 9) and DePaul (Sept. 11). Holt has now earned the honor six times in his career as he made seven saves (one shy of his career high set as a freshman in 2008) at Denver to open the season in CU's 1-0 win and posted a solo shutout of Drexel after splitting time in goal of CU's 5-0 win at UMKC. His latest honor came after he shut down the second-highest scoring offense in the NCAA in a 2-0 win over No. 22 Kentucky (Sept. 21).

Fantastic Fans: Creighton drew 5,425 fans for its home opener against Drexel on Sept. 4, the fourth-largest crowd in school history and the third-largest in regular-season play. The fans were among the largest home crowd to witness a home victory, as the Bluejays are 0-2-1 in their highest three attended matches. CU's second home game against Fordham on Sept. 9 brought in 4,242 fans, the seventh-largest crowd. Creighton has ranked in the top-10 in the NCAA attendance in each of the first eight seasons of Morrison Stadium.

Top 10 Creighton Home Crowds
1 – 5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007
2 – 5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005
3 – 5,609 vs. Missouri State, Sept. 19, 2009
4 – 5,425 vs. Drexel, Sept. 4, 2011
5 – 4,407 vs. Saint Louis, Aug. 31, 1997
6 – 4,345 vs. Virginia (Exh.), Aug. 28, 1993
7 – 4,242 vs. Fordham, Sept. 9, 2011
8 – 4,071 vs. Gonzaga, Aug. 29, 2008
9 – 4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004
10 – 4,023 vs. Tulsa, Sept. 22, 2007

Offensive Output: Creighton's five goals against UMKC (Aug. 31) matched its highest scoring match of the previous four seasons and with nine goals through three matches, the Bluejays equalled the 2008 and 2004 teams for the most goals through three matches in the last 12 seasons. The 2008 team advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, while the 2004 team made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Big Win: Creighton toppled UMKC 5-0 for the Bluejays' most lopsided victory in five years on Aug. 31. CU's last give-goal win came over Central Arkansas (6-1) on Sept. 27. It was the Jays' most lopsided shutout since a 6-0 win at Georgetown on Oct. 19, 2005.

Finlay, Polak are MAC Hermann Candidates: Senior forward Ethan Finlay and sophomore defender Tyler Polak have been named to the preseason Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List. Finlay was an NSCAA Second-Team All-American last year in recording the highest scoring season by a Bluejay in a decade, while Polak was the 2010 MVC Freshman of the Year. In addition to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, both players have been named preseason All-Americans by College Soccer News and Soccer America.

Finlay, Polak Join Long List: Senior Ethan Finlay and sophomore Tyler Polak are each on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, joining a 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
2011    Ethan Finlay, Tyler Polak
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

Finlay is Top Prospect: TopDrawerSoccer.com has ranked Ethan Finlay as the top senior pro prospect in all of college soccer. Greg Jordan (6) Andrew Duran (33) and Brian Holt (49) are also ranked on that same top-100 senior prospects list. Sophomore Tyler Polak is ranked seventh on a list of the top-25 underclassmen by TDS. Polak was the highest ranked Bluejay by TDS in its first weekly ranking of the top-100 sophomores, juniors and seniors on Aug. 22. The sophomore defender was ranked fifth in the initial list, with Finlay (14), Jordan (74) and Duran (97) also ranking in the top-100 players in the NCAA according to TDS.

Follow Us!: Creighton men's soccer can now be found on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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No. 2 Men's Soccer Hosts No. 7-seed USF Saturday in NCAA Quarterfinals

Players Mentioned

Dion Acoff

Jake Brown

Bruno Castro

Andrew Duran

Ethan Finlay

Jose Gomez

Brian Holt

Greg Jordan

Eric Miller

Tyler Polak

Jose Ribas

Andrew Ribeiro

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