No. 5 Men's Soccer Squares Off With Providence For Trip To BIG EAST Title Match

BIG EAST Semifinal • Thurs., Nov. 12 • #5 Creighton vs. Providence • Omaha, Neb. • 7:00 p.m. CST

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   For the third time in as many years, Creighton (16-2-0, 7-2-0 BIG EAST) will square off against Providence (8-6-3, 4-4-1 BIG EAST) in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship. The Bluejays and Friars will go toe-to-toe in semifinal action on Thursday, Nov. 12.
   Second-seeded Creighton received a bye into the semifinal round after posting a 7-2-0 record in league play. Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Providence advanced past third-seeded Butler in penalty kicks (4-2) on Nov. 8 in Indianapolis, Ind.
   The match will kick off at 7:00 p.m. CST and will take place at Morrison Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

Follow The Match
   Thursday's match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network. To access the feed free-of-charge via FOX Sports GO, visit FOXSportsGO.com. The BIG EAST is the first and only collegiate conference to be hosted on FOX's mobile platform, FOX Sports GO.
   FOX Sports Go is currently available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and phones, select Windows devices, and on desktops. Fans can download the mobile app for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store, and Windows Store.
   Live stats for the match can be accessed Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
   Scoring updates, infographics, and periodic video highlights will be provided via Twitter at @CreightonMSOC.
    Fans looking to follow the action during the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship can visit Tournament Central at BIGEAST.com.

Scouting Creighton
   The No. 5 Bluejays are 16-2-0 on the season after wins versus Michigan (1-0), Milwaukee (4-0), CSUN (2-1), No. 13 UC Irvine (4-0), Michigan State (1-0), Tulsa (1-0), Northern Illinois (2-0), Seton Hall (4-2), Missouri State (4-0), DePaul (1-0), Drake (2-1), St. John's (2-1), Butler (1-0), Marquette (3-1), Villanova (5-1), Providence (3-1), and losses to Xavier (2-1) and No. 6 Georgetown (2-1).
   The Bluejays return eight starters and 13 lettermen from last year's team that won the BIG EAST Conference regular-season title, advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, and ranked No. 7 in the year-end NSCAA poll.
   Creighton returns 30 of its 32 goals from last year, including each of its top six scorers. The Bluejays also return 24-of-30 assists from a year ago, and all but five minutes of the nearly 2,044 minutes in goal from last season.
   Junior forward Fabian Herbers (14g, 12a this year) has emerged as a frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors, as he's contributed at least one point in 17 of Creighton's 18 games, including a point in the Bluejays' first 10 matches. With 40 total points, Herbers is the leading point scorer in NCAA Division I and the only player to rank in the top 10 in both goals (14) and assists (12). Last week, Herbers was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year for a second-consecutive year. Last season, he led the conference with 28 points, was second in the league with four game-winning goals, and third in both goals (10) and assists (8) en route to earning First-Team All-America accolades. Herbers was also a Third Team CoSIDA Academic All-American last year. He ranks fourth among active NCAA D-I players for career points per game (1.37).
   Senior Timo Pitter (7g, 3a this year) paced the league in assists (9), shots (75) and shots on goal (36) during a 2014 campaign that saw him add Second Team All-America plaudits. Joining teammates Fabian Herbers and Vincent Keller on the All-BIG EAST First Team this season, Pitter was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year for a second-consecutive year. He currently ranks fifth among NCAA D-I active players for career points (80).
   Senior goalkeeper Connor Sparrow (0.67 GAA this year) returns in net after ranking second nationally in goals against average (0.49) and 10th in save percentage (.841) a year ago. Sparrow's career 0.55 goals against average as a Bluejay is the best in Creighton history among goalies with at least 2,000 minutes in net. Last week, Sparrow was named BIG EAST Co-Goalkeeper of the Year alongside Xavier's Dallas Jaye.
   Five players have scored at least nine points for the Bluejays this season: Fabian Herbers (40), Timo Pitter (17), Myles Englis (9), Ricardo Perez (9), and Fernando Castellanos (9).

Scouting Providence
   The Friars' lone loss since Oct. 14 came against Creighton, with the Bluejays earning a 3-1 victory in Providence, R.I., on Oct. 31. They earned a spot in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship Semifinal by advancing past Butler in penalty kicks (4-2) on Nov. 8 in Indianapolis. Goal scorers for Providence were Mac Steeves and Jake Drew, respectively.
   Providence is paced on the pitch by two juniors, Steeves (Needham, Mass.) and Julian Gressel (Neustadt an der Alsch, Germany). Steeves (13G, 1A) ranks second in the BIG EAST for goals behind Creighton's Fabian Herbers. Meanwhile, Gressel (4G, 11A) ranks second in the league for assists. Steeves was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, while Gressel earned All-Second Team honors.
   The Friars saw three freshmen earn spots on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team, with Brendan Constantine, Tiago Mendonca, and Klisman Sousa garnering the distinction. The three have combined to record three goals and eight assists for Providence this season.
   Last season, Providence advanced to the NCAA College Cup before being eliminated by eventual national runner-up UCLA.

Series History
   The all-time series between Creighton and Providence is knotted at 3-3-0.
   Prior to Creighton joining the BIG EAST, Creighton had won its only match-up versus Providence, besting the Friars, 3-0, in Omaha in 2011. However, in BIG EAST play over the past two years, Providence owns a 3-2-0 record over the Bluejays, with two of those victories coming in the league tournament. Providence eliminated Creighton from the BIG EAST tournament in 2013 (quarterfinals) and 2014 (semifinals).
   Two of Creighton's three victories in the series have come at home inside Morrison Stadium, while Providence has won two of three meetings in Providence, R.I. The Friars' conference tournament semifinal win last season came at a neutral site (Chester, Pa.).

All-BIG EAST Honors
   Last week, five Creighton players earned All-BIG EAST honors: Fabian Herbers, Vincent Keller, Timo Pitter, Joel Rydstrand, and Connor Sparrow.
   Herbers, Keller, and Pitter were each selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team. For the second-consecutive year, Herbers was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and Pitter was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year. Sparrow, who shared BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year honors with Xavier's Dallas Jaye, was named to the All-Second Team. Meanwhile, Rydstrand was a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team.

Balanced Bluejays
   Only eight teams nationally have allowed fewer goals than Creighton's 12. The Bluejays nine shutouts are tied for 13th-most in the nation.
   Complementing its stellar defense, Creighton's offensive attack has been one of the nation's best this season. The Bluejays' mark of 2.33 goals per contest is sixth-best among NCAA Division I teams.
   Not surprisingly, No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 Clemson, and No. 5 Creighton are the only programs to be ranked in the nation's top 10 for both scoring offense and team goals against average.

Herbers For Hermann
   Fabian Herbers recorded at least one point (a goal or an assist) in each of Creighton's first ten regular-season games this fall.
   Herbers was the first Bluejay to start a season in such fashion since restarting the program in 1990. MLS standout and Creighton alumnus, Ethan Finlay, had a run of nine straight such games from Sept. 17-Oct. 23, 2010.
   The junior forward has notched a point in 17 of Creighton's 18 contests, including 13 multi-point outings.

Herbers Dominates BIG EAST Stats
   The BIG EAST Conference updates stat leaders after each set of games, and the latest stat provides a glimpse at just how dominant junior forward Fabian Herbers has been.
   The league tracks nine different offensive categories, and Herbers ranks first in six of the nine (shots, goals, assists, assists per game, points, and points per game).

BIG EAST Final Appearance Up For Grabs
   With a win on Thursday, Creighton could clinch the program's first appearance in the BIG EAST title match. This season marks the third year Creighton has participated in the tournament.
   Meanwhile, Providence will look to win its second-consecutive BIG EAST tournament championship. Last season, as a No. 4 seed, Providence bested second-seed Xavier, 2-1, in the final.

Starting Strong
   Creighton's 15-0-0 start to the season marked the program's best start to a season since 1993 when the Bluejays began 19-0-0.

Creighton was the nation's last remaining unbeaten and untied team in Division I (men's or women's) remaining in 2015 prior to the Bluejays' narrow, 2-1 loss to Xavier on Oct. 28.
   The Bluejays' 15-0-0 start to a season marked the best start in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer since 2009 when Akron began its campaign with 23-consecutive wins en route to a College Cup appearance.

Pitter Continues To Shine
   With his game-winning goal at Butler on Oct. 14, Timo Pitter moved into seventh-place on Creighton's all-time list for career goals (30) and ninth-place for career points (80), moving past former All-American and current Creighton women's soccer head coach, Ross Paule, on both lists.

Top 10 Crowds
   The Bluejays' total home attendance of 41,983 this season is the top mark nationally, and is a program-best, surpassing 2011's total of 40,720. Creighton is currently averaging 3,499 fans through 12 home dates, which ranks thirdnationally through games as of Nov. 10.
   Creighton's average home attendance of 3,499 is more than triple that of any other BIG EAST institution. Butler and Georgetown rank tied for second with averages of 933.
   The 4,838 fans for Michigan on Aug. 28 ranked as the largest crowd in school history to witness a season-opener, while the crowd of 4,907 vs. CSUN on Sept. 4 was the program's largest crowd since 2012. CU's crowd of 6,453 on Sept. 19 vs. Tulsa was the second-largest home crowd in program history.
   Creighton finished last season 10th nationally in average home attendance and fifth overall in total home attendance.
   It was the 11th-straight season the Bluejays have finished in the top-10 nationally in average home attendance.

We're No. 1, We're No. 1
   Through Oct. 27 Creighton was ranked first nationally in the NSCAA, Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News polls. The Bluejays enjoyed the nation's top ranking for a program-best eight-consecutive weeks (Sept. 8-Oct. 27).
   Creighton was ranked No. 1 the final five weeks of the 1993 season by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America.
   Since the NSCAA poll became the poll of record in 1996, Creighton has been No. 1 for one week each on Sept. 15, 1999 and Sept. 10, 2013.
   During Creighton's 2013 stint atop the poll, the Bluejays lost 3-2 in double-overtime vs. William & Mary to drop to fifth, and would actually end the season unranked.

Herbers, Keller Earn Academic Accolades
   As announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Oct. 29, Creighton's Fabian Herbers and Vincent Keller have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team.
   CoSIDA's Academic All-District Men's Soccer Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
   Last season, Herbers was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team and CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team. Meanwhile, Keller earned BIG EAST All-Academic honors and was the recipient of Creighton's Carl M. Reinert, S.J., Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year award.

Postseason Success
   Since arriving at Creighton, Head Coach Elmar Bolowich is 11-4-3 in postseason play, including consecutive trips to the NCAA College Cup in 2011 and 2012.

No. 5 Men's Soccer Squares Off With Providence For Trip To BIG EAST Title Match

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Players Mentioned

Fernando Castellanos

Myles Englis

Fabian Herbers

Vincent Keller

Ricardo Perez

Timo Pitter

Joel Rydstrand

Connor Sparrow