OMAHA, Neb. (Oct. 15) - The Creighton men's soccer team returns to Morrison Stadium this week to begin a three-match home stand. The Jays open by hosting UMKC at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Last Week:

10/9: W, 3-2 (OT) at Princeton [ESPNU]

10/13: W, 3-0 at Central Arkansas

This Week:

10/16: vs. UMKC, 7 p.m.

10/20: vs. Bradley, 7 p.m.

Scouting the No. 24 Creighton Bluejays (9-3-2, 2-0-1 MVC):

The No. 24 Creighton men's soccer team won a fourth straight match for the first time this season as the Jays downed Central Arkansas 3-0 for their tenth consecutive shutout of a Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) opponent Saturday Oct. 13.

With the 3-0 win, Creighton extended its shutout streak to 10 consecutive games against MVC foes. The last score allowed to a league opponent by CU came in the conference opener last season (Oct. 12) versus Missouri State at 22:54. It's been nearly 1,093 minutes since Creighton allowed a goal to an MVC team.

CU freshman Timo Pitter posted his first career two-goal game and his second game winner in four contests at UCA. Senior Jose Gomez scored his third goal of the season and posted his sixth assist in four games in the victory.

Pitter got the Jays' offense started early, scoring the first goal in the fourth minute off of a crossing pass from junior Bruno Castro. It marked Pitter's fourth goal of his career and first on the road. Castro's assist was his second of the season.

Gomez recorded a goal of his own minutes later by putting it into the left side of the Bears' net from 20 yards out in the tenth minute of the contest.

In the 56th minute of the second half, Gomez fed Pitter on the Jays' final score of the game. Pitter boasts 12 points on the year and leads the team with five goals to go with two assists.

Gomez leads the Jays' offense with 13 points on the year with a trio of goals and a team-high seven assists. He earned TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Week honors for his offensive output last week.

CU freshman goalkeeper Jeff Gal earned his third shutout of the season by making six saves against the Bears and improved to 5-0 in 2012.

Scouting the UMKC Kangaroos (5-6-2, 3-1-0 SUMMIT):

UMKC returns to Creighton's Morrison Stadium for the first time since Sept. 13, 2008 when the 'Roos upset the No. 3 Jays 1-0. In 2012, Kansas City comes into the match having lost a battle for first place in the Summit League, 3-1, at Oakland University Saturday night.

The Kangaroos' lone road win this season came at Eastern Illinois on Sept. 30 in a 3-0 decision. UMKC is 1-4-2 overall away from home. The visitors claim just two non-conference wins this year, both at home against Central Arkansas (Sept. 26) and versus Baker (Sept. 6).

UMKC and Creighton share five common opponents this season in Tulsa, Drake, St. Louis, SIUE and Central Arkansas. Both teams defeated UCA and dropped contests to St. Louis and Tulsa. Neither squad mustered a goal in games versus Drake as UMKC fell 1-0 while Creighton earned a 0-0 tie against the Bulldogs. The Jays defeated SIUE at home while the 'Roos fell 1-0 in Edwardsville.

Sophomore Jordan Rideout leads the team with 10 points and a team-high four goals this season. Kangaroo senior David Sarabia is second on the team with three goals and seven points this season. Sophomore Ashley Reece leads UMKC with four assists.

Freshman Connor Sparrow has started in goal for the 'Roos in five of the last six matches, posting a 4-4-1 record this season.  Sparrow carries a 1.89 GAA and a 0.67 save percentage this year.

Gomez Tabbed National Player of the Week

Senior Jose Gomez claimed Men's College Soccer National Player of the Week honors from TopDrawerSoccer.com and earned a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week on Monday.

The national honors for Gomez this week mark the first of his career. He is just the second CU player in the past four seasons to garner the National Player of the Week award. Departed senior Ethan Finlay claimed the honor last season on Dec. 5.

Gomez posted six points in CU's two road victories last week. On Oct. 13, he netted a score and an assist in a 3-0 victory at MVC foe Central Arkansas. Earlier in the week, Gomez assisted on all three Bluejay goals, including the game-winning score in overtime, in a 3-2 victory at Princeton in front of a national television audience on ESPNU Tuesday, Oct. 9.

The Santa Ana, Calif., native is the first Bluejay to earn an assist on three Creighton goals in the same game since CU's Seth Sinovic helped on three scores at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 8, 2008.

After the prolific week on offense, Gomez now leads the conference in assists (7) and shot attempts (42). Additionally, his 13 points this season currently tops the Jays' stat sheet and ranks in a tie for second in the Valley.

Ribeiro Garners MVC Honor

Senior Andrew Ribeiro garnered MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. The conference accolade is the second of his career and in 2012.

Ribeiro played every minute of the Jays' pair of road wins last week. The senior captain anchored a back line that has now held CU's opponents scoreless in four of the last five games dating back to Sept. 25. The last score allowed to an MVC opponent by Ribeiro and the CU defense came in the conference opener last season on Oct. 12, 2011 versus Missouri State - accounting for 1,092 minutes.

The Green Bay, Wis., native has started every match for the Jays this season and leads the team with 1,300 minutes played in 2012.

Jays Rank No. 17 in First NCAA RPI

Creighton stands at No. 17 in the initial Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) released by the NCAA on Monday, Oct. 15.

The highest-rated opponent left on the Jays' regular-season schedule is Saturday's guest, No. 76 Bradley. CU finished No. 2 in the RPI after a run to the 2011 College Cup semis.

Offense Comes Alive

Creighton's 3-0 victory at UCA Oct. 13 combined with the Jays' 3-2 OT win at Princeton Oct. 9 marked the first time the Jays' offense scored three or more goals in consecutive matches away from home since 2001.

Defense Remains Dominant vs. MVC

CU logged its 10th consecutive shutout of an MVC opponent in the 3-0 win at UCA Saturday. The last goal surrendered to an MVC foe by the Jays came in the conference opener last season (10/12/11) to Missouri State at 22:54. It has been 1092:59 since CU allowed a goal to an MVC team.

Cutting It Close

After a 3-2 overtime victory at Princeton Oct. 9, the Jays are 6-1 in games decided by one goal in 2012. The win over the Tigers also marked CU's second straight overtime victory. The Bluejays are 2-0-2 in extra time this season.

Overtime Success

The Jays have not suffered an overtime loss in 13 matches dating back to a 3-2 downfall in extra time to SMU on Sept. 17, 2010 at the Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic. During that span Creighton boasts an 8-0-5 record.

TV Stars

Creighton stunned Princeton 3-2 in front of a national television audience Oct. 9 on ESPNU. With the overtime win, the Jays remain undefeated in televised broadcasts this season at 2-0-1. CU tied No. 7 Akron 1-1 on NET (8/31) and beat William & Mary 2-1 on COX (9/16) earlier this year.

One and Done

CU has won its last nine games that were decided by a 1-0 score, including a 4-0 record this season. The Jays are 5-0 in each of their last five road wins resulting in a 1-0 decision.

MF Eric Miller Wraps Up Play at Marbella Cup for U.S. Under-20 National Team

Creighton sophomore Eric Miller was one of 19 players selected to play for the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team, announced late Monday Oct. 1.

U.S. National Team head coach Tab Ramos leads the U.S. team in a series of international friendlies from Oct. 6-17 at the 2012 Marbella Cup in Marbella, Spain.

Miller played 69 minutes off the bench in a 2-1 loss to Canada in Marbella on Oct. 10.

The U.S. bounced back to beat Scotland 2-0 on Oct. 12, as Miller saw 63 minutes of match time.

Team USA wraps up the Marbella Cup on Oct. 16 at 11 a.m. ET against Azerbaijan. 

Miller returns to the Jays on Oct. 17, missing the Bluejays' match vs. UMKC (Oct. 16).

Four Jays Represented on TopDrawerSoccer.com's Midseason 100 to Watch:

At midseason (10/3) soccer website TopDrawerSoccer.com ranked senior Jose Gomez as the No. 3 college
prospect in the country.  Three other Jays also made the Top 100 as sophomore Eric Miller rated No. 32, junior Zach Barnes stood No. 75 and senior Andrew Ribeiro ranked No. 98.

Opponents Seeking Goals

Creighton has kept four of its last five opponents off of the scoreboard this season after shutout wins at UCA (10/13), vs. SIUE (10/6) and Loyola-Chicago (10/2) along with a scoreless draw at Drake (9/29).

Princeton's first goal Oct. 9 halted the Jays' opponent scoreless streak at 320:49. In 2011, CU had two shutout streaks of 700+ minutes.

Jays' goalkeepers Alex Bolowich and Jeff Gal have combined for seven shutouts this season.

Gomez Climbing Morrison Record Book Senior Jose Gomez is among the top-five for Morrison Stadium records in points, assists and shots on goal.  Currently Gomez ranks no. 4 in points with 30, No. 2 in assists with 14 and No. 2 in shots on goal with 35 at home.

The Shots Stop Here

Redshirt freshman Jeff Gal and sophomore Alex Bolowich have split time in net during Creighton's first 14 contests. Bolowich is 4-3-2 with four shutouts, a 1.03 GAA, 38 saves and a .792 save percentage. Gal, meanwhile, is 5-0-0 with three shutouts, a 0.40 GAA, 12 saves and a .900 save percentage.

Gal's GAA and save percentage would top the MVC if he met the minimum games played. Bolowich is No. 4 in both categories.

The duo is battling to replace record-setting goalkeeper Brian Holt. Holt started 79-of-80 games from 2008-11, including the final 67.

The last man other than Holt to start a game in goal for the Jays was Nick Goldreich, who blanked Missouri State on Oct. 21, 2008 in Springfield, Mo. Creighton had not had multiple players make multiple starts in goal in one season since 2004, when Andrew Brown, Matt Allen and Zac Gibbens shared the goalie role.

Ribas Earns MVC Scholar-Athlete Award

Jose Ribas was selected Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week.  Ribas was honored for his performance during the period of September 10-16.

A sophomore from Guayaquil, Ecuador, Ribas was the most consistent Jays' offensive threat at the Creighton Invitational, as the Jays fell 2-1 to No. 14 Old Dominion (9/14) but defeated William & Mary 2-1 (9/16).

Ribas, who has a 3.60 cumulative grade point average in business, set up teammate Jose Gomez in the opening minutes against Old Dominion to give the Bluejays 1-0 lead. He finished the two matches with an assist and three shots to earn Creighton Invitational all-tournament team honors.

Alex Bolowich Named MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week

Alex Bolowich of the Creighton men's soccer team was selected Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week for his performance during the period of Aug. 27-Sept. 2.

A sophomore from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Bolowich was named to the Ameritas Classic Championship All-Tournament team, while backstopping the Bluejays to a 1-1 draw with No. 7 Akron (8/31) and a 3-0 victory over Rutgers (9/2).

Bolowich, who has a 3.43 cumulative grade point average in communications, allowed one goal in 200 combined minutes against Akron and Rutgers.  In fact, he held Akron to just one goal on 15 shots, despite the Zips being one of the top scoring teams in the NCAA over the past three seasons.

Flying in a Pack

The Jays set a single-match attendance record in their 2-1 loss to No. 14 Old Dominion (9/14) as 6,848 fans watched the match.  That mark eclipsed the previous attendance record of 5,812, set in a match against UCLA on Sept. 8, 2007. Creighton has welcomed 22,639 fans at home this year.

Top 10 Creighton Home Crowds

            1.         6,848 vs. Old Dominion, Sept. 14, 2012

            2.         5,812 vs. UCLA, Sept. 8, 2007

            3.         5,743 vs. Stanford (Exh.), Aug. 26, 2005

            4.         5,609 vs. Missouri State, Sept. 19, 2009

            5.         5,425 vs. Drexel, Sept. 4, 2011

            6.         4,407 vs. Saint Louis, Aug. 31, 1997

            7.         4,345 vs. Virginia (Exh.), Aug. 28, 1993

            8.         4,242 vs. Fordham, Sept. 9, 2011

            9.         4,071 vs. Gonzaga, Aug. 29, 2008

            10.       4,029 vs. UMKC (Exh.), Aug. 27, 2004

CU vs. Top 25 

Creighton was 6-1-0 against top 25 teams in 2011, including five wins at Morrison Stadium. Through 14 matches this season the Jays at 0-1-1 against the top 25 vs. Akron (8/31) and vs. Old Dominion (9/14).  The Bluejays are an impressive 20-3-2 (.840) against the NSCAA Top 25 at Morrison Stadium, including victories over No. 22 Kentucky, No. 7 UC Irvine, No. 22 Bradley, No. 13 UC Santa Barbara and at No. 10 Indiana in 2011.  Creighton's lone loss to a ranked team in 2011 was at No. 3 Maryland. CU is 61-43-12 (.578) all-time against the NSCAA top 25.

Newcomers Score First for Creighton

A newcomer scored the first goal of the season in 2012 for the third consecutive year.

This season newcomer Sean Kim scored Creighton's first goal to pull the Jays even against Northern Illinois.  Carlos McCrary also notched his first goal as a Jay in the win over the Huskies.

Jose Gomez notched a goal in 2010 as the Bluejays defeated Loyola 2-0. In 2011 it was Guido Pena helping Creighton down Denver, 1-0.