Men's Soccer Faces St. John's With Seeding Implications on the Line

Omaha, Neb. -- The final game of the regular season brings immense implications and fittingly the BIG EAST set the schedule that all six matches will begin at 1:00 pm (CT). Creighton and St. John's are each playing to host an opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament, while the bottom five squads in the conference are battling for the final spot in the tournament overall.

Creighton at St. John's
Saturday, October 28 @ 1:00 pm

Stats: https://creighton.statbroadcast.com

Online Stream - FloFC: https://www.flofc.com/live/67337

Series History: Creighton tied with St. John's, 5-5-3
The Bluejays and Red Storm have a storied history, meeting twice in the College Cup and once more in the NCAA Tournament. Those three meetings came before the two sides linked up as BIG EAST foes. In 13 meetings Creighton and St. John's have an even split with five victories each and three draws. The Bluejays hold a 2-1-1 edge against St. John's in Omaha.

Date   Opponent   Score
Dec. 13, 1996   & vs. St. John's (Richmond, Va.)   L, 1-2
Dec. 1, 2002   % at St. John's   W, 1-0 (ot)
Dec. 7, 2003   & vs. St. John's (College Park, Md.)   L, 2-3
Sept. 21, 2013   * vs. St. John's   W, 1-1 (2ot)
Oct. 15, 2014   * at St. John's   W, 1-0
Oct. 10, 2015   * vs. St. John's   W, 2-1
Oct. 1, 2016   * at St. John's   T, 1-1 (2ot)
Oct. 6, 2017   * vs. St. John's   T, 2-2 (2ot)
Nov. 4, 2017   ^ at St. John's   L, 1-3
Oct. 6, 2018   * at St. John's   W, 3-1
Oct. 19, 2019   * vs. St. John's   L, 0-2
Sept. 24, 2021   * at St. John's   L, 0-2
Oct. 8, 2022   * vs. St. John's   L, 0-2

* = BIG EAST       ^ = BIG EAST Tournament
% = NCAA Tournament   & = NCAA College Cup

Scouting St. John's (8-3-4, 3-1-3 BIG EAST)
The Red Storm are one of the hottest squads in the BIG EAST, going 4-0-3 in their last seven matches. In addition, St. John's is 5-0-2 at home this season.

The key to the Red Storm's offense is Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau, who has 12 of St. John's 28 goals this season. While Fleuriau Chateau is the primary weapon to put the goal in the back of the net, the offense flows through the trio of Miguel Diaz (eight assists), Macoumba Ba (five assists) and Max McNulty (four assists). The trio have a combined 17 assists.

Defensively the Red Storm have allowed just 16 goals in 15 matches. Three players have seen time in net, but the bulk of the action has gone to Alex McLachlan with 14 matches and 1,170 minutes logged. McLachlan has a 7-2-4 record, posting four shutouts and making 34 saves.

Scouting Creighton (4-6-5, 3-3-1 BIG EAST)
The Bluejays regular season has been inconsistent at best. Yet the Bluejays return much of the squad that hit the afterburner in the 2022 postseason. A few areas that could turn the tide could incorporate a bit of luck. Last season the Bluejays were 10-of-11 in penalty kicks, while this season Creighton is 0-for-0. In addition the Bluejays have seen six goals waived off by calls of offside and another taken off the board as a corner kick entry was ruled to have curved out of bounds before bending back in to find a Bluejay noggin and the back of the net.

Alfie Pope leads Creighton with six goals (12 points), while Giorgio Probo has seven assists. Five other Bluejays have at least two goals, including freshman Miguel Arilla with three goals and four assists (10 assists).

Sophomore Blake Gillingham has been in goal for the last nine matches, allowing 13 goals (1.44 GAA). Gillingham is 3-3-3 with one shutout.

What is at Stake on Saturday
Eight teams will reach the BIG EAST Tournament, with the top four teams hosting first round matches. Entering the final match on Saturday, the top seven teams in the standings (below). With the Midwest Division winner automatically earning the second seed, Creighton could finish second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth.

With the Bluejays facing the Red Storm and Xavier battling Connecticut on Sunday, these two matches have the largest impact for Creighton. Without going through every possible outcome.

A Creighton win will secure a home match unless Connecticut and Xavier finish in a draw.
If Creighton wins and Connecticut wins, Creighton will be the two seed
If Creighton wins and Xavier wins, Creighton will be the four seed
If Creighton wins and the Musketeers and Huskies draw, Creighton would be the five seed.

Either a loss or draw by the Bluejays will put the team on the road in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.

Place   Team       Points   Future Opponent        Max Points
1.   Georgetown    16   at Marquette           19
2.   Xavier       12   at Connecticut           15
3.   Providence   14   at Seton Hall           17
4.   Connecticut   12   Xavier               15
5.   St. John's   12   Creighton           15
6.   Creighton   10   at St. John's           13
7.   Akron       10   at Butler               13
8.   Seton Hall   7   Providence           10
9.   Butler       6   Akron               9
10.   DePaul       5   Villanova           8
11.   Villanova   5   DePaul               8
12.   Marquette   5   Georgetown           8

Men's Soccer Faces St. John's With Seeding Implications on the Line

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Players Mentioned

Miguel Arilla

Blake Gillingham

Alfie Pope

Giorgio Probo