Creighton University
Clemson
Men's Soccer Opens Regular-Season With Home Matches Against No. 11 Clemson and UC Davis
8/22/2018 4:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Creighton plays No. 11 Clemson on Friday before playing UC Davis on Sunday, both matches set for 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 26Â | UC Davis at Creighton | Omaha, Neb. |Â 7:00 p.m. (CST)
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Up Next
The Bluejays open the regular season with matches at home against No. 11 Clemson (Friday) and UC Davis (Sunday).Â
Follow the Match
Friday's match will be broadcast on FOX Sports Go, which can be found at FOXSportsGo.com and on the FOX Sports Go app.
Sunday's match will be broadcast on JAYS Video, which can be found at GoCreighton.com/JaysVideo.Â
Live stats for each contest can be found at Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.
Bluejay fans can also stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSOC.
Scouting Creighton
The Bluejays enter the 2018 season seeking their 25th NCAA tournament appearance in program history. Last season, Creighton finished 9-7-2 and missed the NCAAs for only the second time since 1992.Â
Head coach Elmar Bolowich enters his eighth season in Omaha as six starters return from last fall. The Bluejays also welcomed 16
newcomers for the 2018 campaign.
Preseason All-BIG EAST midfielder Joel Rydstrand led Creighton in assists each of the past two seasons (8 in 2017, 7 in 2016) and owns starts in 63 of 64 matches during the past three seasons.Â
Scouting Clemson
Clemson enters 2018 as the No. 11 team in the Preseason United Soccer Coaches Top 25. The Tigers went 12-6-1 during 2017 and lost during the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Coastal Carolina.
Goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland earned a spot on the 2018 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Sutherland earned SoCon Goalkeper of the Year honors as the starting goalie at East Tennessee State before transferring to Clemson prior to the 2018 season.Â
Robbie Robinson leads the returners for the Tigers after posting four goals and and one assist on his way to 2017 ACC All-Freshman Team honors.Â
Clemson was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Division of the ACC in the 2018 preseason coaches' poll.
Head coach Mike Noonan is in his ninth season at the helm of the Tigers.
Scouting UC Davis
UC Davis ended the 2017 season as the Big West North Division Champion with an 11-7-3 record overall and 7-2-1 mark during league action.
The Aggies were picked to finish fourth in the league this year in the single eight-team league after the teams were split into separate divisions for the previous six seasons.
Senior Roy Boateng, the 2017 Big West Defensive Player of the Year, helped lead the squad to four shutouts last season.Â
Adam Mickelson returns after leading the 2017 squad with 15 points from four goals and seven assists, while earning All-Big West Second Team accolades.Â
Head coach Dwayne Shaffer enters his 22nd season as head coach of the UC Davis Men's Soccer program.Â
Series History Against the Tigers
Clemson leads the all-time series against the Bluejays 2-0-0.Â
The two teams last met on Sept. 2, 2016, as the Tigers scored during the second minute for a 1-0 victory in Clemson, South Carolina.Â
Friday marks the first meeting between the two schools in Omaha.Â
Series History Against the Aggies
Sunday marks the first ever meeting between UC Davis and Creighton.Â
Exhibition Recap
Creighton wrapped up its preseason slate with a 3-0-0 record.Â
The Bluejays claimed victories on the road against Nebraska-Omaha (2-1) and Ohio State (2-0) before earning a 2-1 win at home against Northern Illinois this past Saturday.Â
Season-Opener Success
Creighton is 8-1-1 during its past 10 lid-lifters.
The Bluejays are also 19-3-6 during their first match of the season since Creighton restarted its men's soccer program in 1990.Â
In 35 overall seasons, the Bluejays are 23-6-6 during season-opening matches.Â
Home-Opener Success Too
Friday is not only the season-opener, but it is also the first of 10 regular-season home matches for Creighton.Â
The Bluejays own only one loss (2-0 vs. Virginia Tech, 2017) during 15 home openers at Morrison Stadium (10-1-4), and have only two losses in the first home match of the season since 1995 (3-1 vs. No. 20 Duke).Â
Creighton is 26-4-5 all-time in home-opening matches.
Rydstrand Named To Preseason All-BIG EAST
Senior midfielder Joel Rydstrand earned a spot on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team, the league announced on Aug. 15.
Rydstrand is one of two returning players to start all 18 matches during Creighton's 2017 season.Â
The Almunge, Sweden native, led the Bluejays with eight assists during 2017 and owns 18 career helpers during 64 matches played (63 starts) in three seasons at Creighton. The Bluejays went 5-2-1 during matches in which Rydstrand posted an assist last year.Â
The senior also scored one goal last season and claims a total of seven during his career.
Rydstrand, a 2018 co-captain, earned BIG EAST All-Freshman team honors in 2015 and claimed Creighton's Young Leadership Award for 2017.
Bluejays Tied for Fourth In BIG EAST Coaches Poll
Creighton earned 54 points in the preseason coaches' poll to place fourth.Â
The Bluejays went 3-4-2 during BIG EAST play last season to tie for fifth place before bowing out of the postseason during the first round of the BIG EAST Championship.Â
The squad returns six starters and a total of 13 letterwinners from a season ago and welcomes 16 newcomers for the 2018 campaign.Â
Defending BIG EAST tournament champion Georgetown claimed the top spot with 79 points, including seven first-place votes. Butler, the 2017 regular-season champion, tallied three first-place votes and a total of 73 points to place second. Xavier totaled 60 points for third, followed by Creighton and Providence with 54 points a piece to tie for fourth.Â
Marquette (37), St. John's (33), Villanova (31), Seton Hall (20) and DePaul (9) rounded out the poll.
Opening Up Against Ranked Competition
Creighton will open the season against a team ranked inside the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25 for the third consecutive season, and fifth time in the past six seasons.Â
The Bluejays are 3-1-0 during those four previous matchups. Additionally, each of the contests have resulted in 2-0 final scores.
2013 #14 Tulsa W, 2-0
2014 #20 Stanford W, 2-0
2016 at #25 Rutgers W, 2-0
2017 #17 Virgina Tech L, 0-2
2018 #11 Clemson ???
Clemson is the highest ranked team that the Bluejays have hosted for a season-opener since Creighton opened the 1998 season at home against No. 4 Saint Louis. The Bluejays defeated the Billikens in that match, 1-0.
2018 Season Outlook
Eighth-year head coach Elmar Bolowich claimed his 100th victory at Creighton last season and guided the squad to 9-7-2 record during 2017, including a 7-1-1 mark at home.Â
The Bluejays look to rebound after failing to reach the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in the past 26 seasons and finishing with more losses than wins during conference play (3-4-2) for the first time in program history.
Creighton returns six starters from a season ago and is seeking its first conference regular-season title since 2014 when the Bluejays claimed the BIG EAST crown during their second season in the league. The squad has yet to claim a BIG EAST Tournament title.Â
Senior Joel Rydstrand returns as the only player to record at least 10 points last season after pacing the team with eight assists. Rydstrand owns 63 career starts in a Bluejay uniform and has 18 career assists from his midfielder position.Â
Junior Luke Haakenson tied for third on the team a year ago with three goals, which is the best mark among returners. The junior owns 25 starts during his first two seasons in Omaha and will be relied on to provide an offensive spark.Â
Kuba Polat, a 2017 unanimous All-BIG EAST Freshman Team selection, joins Rydstrand as the only two returners to start all 18 matches last season. Polat will look to build off his rookie
campaign, which included four assists and one goal from the middle of the Bluejays' attack.Â
Defenders Akeem Ward, Julius Fohr, Mitch LaGro and Bryce Gibson each return after playing significant roles for the
backline, which produced seven shutouts last season. LaGro, a co-captain of the 2017 squad, started the first 14 matches before suffering a season-ending foot injury. The Bluejays were outscored 10-7 and went 1-3-0 during his absence at the conclusion of the season.Â
Creighton welcomes 16 newcomers for the 2018 season, which includes 10 freshmen, five players with two years of eligibility remaining and one graduate transfer.Â
Two newcomers head to Omaha with national championship experience. Midfielder Yudai Tashiro helped Tyler Junior College claim both the 2016 and 2017 NJCAA national titles, while Tor Trosten had two goals and six assists while part of Hastings College's run to the 2016 NAIA national championship.
With the departure of starting goalkeeper Michael Kluver, the Bluejays welcome freshmen Paul Kruse and Duncan Werling and graduate transfer Jack Robinson (Fairfield) to compete for the starting job. Â
Kruse played goalkeeper for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on their way to the 2016 U-19 German National Championship. Werling redshirted during one season at UCLA, while Robinson made six starts for Fairfield.
Younes Boudadi joins Creighton after playing two seasons as a starting defender at Boston College. Boudadi led the Golden Eagles with eight assists
during 2017.Â
Pepe Cejudo, a transfer from the University of Northwestern Ohio, tallied 19 goals and 14 assists on his way to First Team All-Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference during each of his two seasons with the Racers.Â
Creighton hosts 10 matches at Morrison Stadium during the 2018 season, including five contests against BIG EAST opponents.Â
Since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013 season, the Bluejays boast a 48-8-5 record at Morrison Stadium, including 17-4-1 in league play.Â
NCAA Tournament History
The 2017 season marked Creighton's second time missing the NCAA Tournament during the past 26 seasons.Â
The last time Creighton did not make the NCAA Tournament was during the 2009 season -- the only other time since its first appearance in 1992.Â
Creighton is 34-20-7 during NCAA action, and has advanced to the College Cup five times (1996, 2000, 2002, 2011, 2012), including a runner-up finish during the 2000 season.
With a victory against Kentucky during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Championship, the Bluejays won at least two NCAA Tournaments matches during a single season during three consecutive years, and has 12 times in program history.Â
Creighton teams coached by Elmar Bolowich have advanced to at least the Elite Eight four of eight seasons and to the College Cup twice.
The Bluejays are one of eight schools to make the NCAA tournament at least 20 times since 1992 (Creighton's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament).
Teams with at least 20 NCAA appearances since 1992:
Indiana - 26
Virginia - 26
UCLA - 25
Creighton - 24
Maryland - 23
North Carolina - 20
St. John's - 20
SMU - 20
Seeing Double Briggs
Freshmen Cameron Briggs and Dominic Briggs join the Bluejay program as twins. Cameron will wear number 22 for Creighton, while Dominic will sport the number 12.Â
The Briggs twins are the first set of twins to play for the Creighton men's soccer program.Â
Across all of Creighton Atheltics, there have been 11 known sets of twins to play in the same sport. Two others pairs of players were part of triplets:
Men's Soccer: Cameron and Dominic Briggs (2018)
Rowing: Taylor and Payton Genis (2015-16); Joy and Mary Dobrauc (two of triplets) (1998-2002)
Softball: Alex and Mac Millspaugh (2014); Brittanee and Malloree Grove (two of triplets) (2011)
Women's Tennis: Sarah and Leesa Cadwallader (2007-2011); Jeanne and Jenny Daker (1995-2000); Kim and Lisa Lamberti (1985-87)
Women's Soccer: Katy and Ally Peetz (2004-07)
Men's Golf: Aaron and Adam Tschuor (2001-05); Joe and Tom Zaccone (1987-91)Â
Women's Cross Country: Nikki and Tara Novotney (1991-94)Â
Men's Basketball: Gary and Glen McCracker (1985-86)
Additionally, Kate Elman (volleyball) and Taylor Elman (baseball) were twins. Kate played volleyball for the Bluejays from 2012-15, while Taylor played baseball from 2013-16.
Brothers Valdivia
In addition to the Briggs twins, Collin Valdivia (junior) and Dominic Valdivia (sophomore) are brothers on the Creighton soccer squad.
Last season, both Dominic and Collin appeared during Creighton's match at Seton Hall (Sept. 30, 2017) and played on the field at the same time for 18 minutes, marking the first match since Dec. 13, 2002 (College Cup vs. Stanford) in which brothers were on the field at the same for the Bluejays when Joe Wieland and Matt Wieland both started.Â
Collin and Dominic are also the first set of brothers to appear in at least one match for Creighton during the same season since the Wieland brothers in 2002.Â
Dominic, a true freshman, made his Creighton debut during the second half of the Bluejays' overtime victory against Tulsa on Sept. 19, 2017.Â
Collin made his Bluejay debut earlier last season against Cal (Sept. 3, 2017), and made the first start of his career on Oct. 6, 2017 against St. John's.
Vince Odorisio and Tony Odorisio both played at Creighton during the 2004 and 2005 seasons, but Vince and Tony were cousins.
Bolowich Part of Creighton's 100-Victory Club
Head coach Elmar Bolowich earned his 100th victory at Creighton on Sept. 23, 2017 against Villanova, and is the second head coach in program history to achieve 100 or more wins.Â
Bolowich moved into second place on Creighton's all-time wins list with a 3-0 victory over Cal on Sept. 3, 2017, and is currently 104-36-14 as head man of the Bluejays since taking over before the 2011 season.
Bolowich passed Bret Simon, who coached at Creighton from 1995-2000 and was inducted into the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame on April 23, 2017, on Creighton's career-wins list.
Bolowich now trails only Bob Warming on Creighton's all-time wins list.Â
Coach W-L-T Â Â Years with program
Bob Warming  190-61-34 1990-94, 2001-09
Elmar Bolowich    104-36-14 2011-PresentÂ
Bret Simon 96-26-8 Â 1995-2000Â
Leading the Ship
Seniors Mitch LaGro and Joel Rydstrand were named captains for the 2018 season.Â
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