Saturday, October 14
Omaha, Neb.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
vs
Xavier
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Men's Soccer Concludes Home Stretch With BIG EAST Match Against Xavier
10/12/2017 3:40:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bluejays seek to extend six-match home unbeaten streak
Download Complete NotesÂ
Saturday, Oct. 14Â | Xavier at Creighton | Omaha, Neb. | 7:00 p.m. (CST)
Up Next
Creighton concludes a stretch of three-straight home matches with a BIG EAST
contest against Xavier on Saturday night.Â
Follow The Match
Saturday's match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network which can be found at FOXSportsGo.com and the FOX Sports Go app. John Fanta will handleÂ
commentary for the match.
Live stats for the contest can be found at www.creighton.statbroadcast.com.
Bluejay fans can also stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSoc.
Scouting Creighton (7-4-1, 1-2-1 BE)
The Bluejays enter Saturday's match on a six-match unbeaten streak at home.
Creighton is also 4-1-1 during its past six matches after starting the year at 3-3-0.
Senior forward Ricky Lopez-Espin leads the Bluejays and is tied for first in the BIG EAST with seven goals. He also owns two assists to pace the squad with 16 points, which ranks second in the league.
Joel Rydstrand and Lucas Stauffer each have five assists to lead the Bluejays and rank in a tie for second in the BIG EAST.Â
Creighton is second in the  BIG EAST and 26th in the nation with 14.42 shots per match.Â
Senior goalkeeper Michael Kluver is 7-3-0 with four shutouts and a 1.00 goals against average.Â
Last Time Out
The Creighton men's soccer team tied a Morrison Stadium record for goals in a single match with six, as the Bluejays defeated Drake 6-1 on Tuesday night in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Bluejays also scored six goals at Morrison Stadium on Sept. 27, 2006 against Central Arkansas and on Nov. 22, 2003 against UMKC.
The match against Central Arkansas during the 2006 season also marked the last time Creighton scored six times during one match.
Marios Lomis scored twice, while Connor Ramlo, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Joel Rydstrand and Lucas Stauffer each had one goal a piece.
Creighton's Michael Kluver made three saves during 65 minutes of action for his seventh victory of the season. Collin Valdivia also recorded a save while playing the final 25Â minutes of the match.
Scouting Xavier (7-3-2, 2-2-0 BE)
The Musketeers head to Omaha after a 2-1 loss at Villanova last weekend. Xavier is 2-2 in BIG EAST play and currently tied for fourth place in the standings.
Matt Vasquenza paces the Xavier offense with 15 points from six goals and three assists, while Samson Sergi leads the team with seven goals which is tied for tops in the BIG EAST.
Four different players own four or more goals as the Musketeers average just under two goals per match (1.92).
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Zachary Nelson has played all 1,140 minutes in goal for Xavier, claims two shutouts, and owns a 1.11 goals against average.
Head coach Andy Fleming is in his eighth season at the helm of the Musketeers.
Series History vs. Musketeers
Creighton leads the all-time series against Xavier 3-2-1.
The Musketeers defeated the Bluejays 2-1 in double overtime last season during the regular season at Xavier.
Creighton eliminated Xavier from the BIG EAST Touramnet with a 3-1Â victory during the first round in Omaha.
Morrison Stadium Goal Record
Creighton tied its own Morrison Stadium record for goals in a single match, as the Bluejays scored six against Drake on Tuesday.
The Jays also scored six goals at Morrison Stadium against Central Arkansas on Sept. 27, 2006, and against UMKC on Nov. 22, 2003.Â
Creighton's six goals also marked its highest total in any match since the Central Arkansas match on Sept. 27, 2006.
The program record for goals in a single match is 14 (14-0 vs. Concordia, 9/25/90).
BIG EAST High For Goals Scored
The Bluejays goal output on Tuesday was the highest by any BIG EAST school this season and most since the opening weekend of the 2015 season.
Creighton's six goals were the most by a BIG EAST school since Xavier scored eight against Eastern Illinois on Aug. 28, 2015.Â
Fortress Morrison
Creighton is 128-23-18 overall at Morrison Stadium, including a 5-1-1 record  (1-0-1 during BIG EAST play) at home so far this season.
The Bluejays currently hold a six-match unbeaten streak at home (5-0-1), with their last and only loss this season coming during the season-opener against then-No. 17 Virginia Tech.
Creighton has never lost consecutive matches at Morrison Stadium during the same season (since 2003).Â
The Bluejays' loss at Morrison Stadium against No. 17 Virginia Tech to open the 2017 season followed the team's loss at home to end last season (2-1 vs. Providence), marking the first time since 1985 that Creighton had lost consecutive home matches (spanning across two seasons).Â
CU finished the 2016 season 9-2-2 at home, including 4-1-0 during BIG EAST regular-season play.
Three Is The Magic Number
Creighton finished 9-0-0 when scoring three or more goals last season.
The Jays have scored three or more goals twice so far during the 2017 season (3-0 W at Cal, 6-1 W vs. Drake).Â
The Bluejays have won their last 44 matches when scoring three or more goals, dating back to a 3-3 tie against Drake on Nov. 7, 2009.
Creighton has scored three or more goals 224 times in program history while going 220-1-3 in those matches.
The one loss came during the 1990 season. The Bluejays fell to Missouri State 5-4 in overtime.Â
Two-Goal Match
Marios Lomis' brace on Tuesday against Drake marked the second multi-goal performance for Creighton this season.Â
Ricky Lopez-Espin also scored a pair of goals against Butler during the BIG EAST regular-season opener (Sept. 16) for the Bluejays' first multi-goal individual performance of 2017.Â
Creighton had a total of five individuals record at least two goals in a match during the 2016Â season (Joel Rydstrand, Riggs Lennon, Ricardo Perez, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Myles Englis).Â
RPI Rankings Update
The Bluejays were ranked 27th in the second official RPI rankings that were released on Monday, Oct. 9.
Creighton is one of five BIG EAST teams listed in the top 60 (of 205 Division I programs).
12.   Butler
15.   GeorgetownÂ
27.   Creighton
52.   Xavier
54.   St. John's
The top 10 includes 1) Michigan State, 2) Wake Forest, 3) North Carolina, 4) Louisville, 5) Notre Dame, 6) Virginia, 7) Duke, 8) Maryland, 9) Western Michigan, 10) Indiana.Â
Ramlo Listed On BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Sophomore midfielder Connor Ramlo earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after scoring his first career goal on last week against St. John's (Oct. 6).Â
Ramlo's goal during the 69th minute tied the match at 2-2 before the contest was called during the 81st minute after a lengthy delay because of lightning.Â
Ramlo also scored the first goal of Creighton's 6-1 rout of Drake (Oct. 10) and now has two goals during his past two matches.
Iron Men Stauffer and FrankeÂ
Seniors Lucas Stauffer and Noah Franke rank first and second in Division I Men's Soccer for matches played among active players.
Stauffer has played in 80 matches, while Franke currently owns 79 appearances.
Stauffer also played in his 49 matches at Morrison Stadium against Drake on Tuesday, which is third-most in program history. Ricardo Perez holds the record for matches played at Morrison Stadium with 52 appearances (2013-16).
The Creighton record for matches played in a career is 90, set by David Wagenfuhr (2000-2003).
The Bluejays have five matches remaining (including Saturday) during the 2017 regular-season, including two scheduled to be played at Morrison Stadium.Â
Valdivia Forced Into Action
Sophomore Collin Valdivia appeared in his second career match as a Bluejay on Sept. 30 at Seton Hall, following the ejection of starting goalkeeper Michael Kluver because of a red card during the ninth minute.
Valdivia played the final 81:46 against Seton Hall and made four saves. He also allowed two goals, including a PK during his first shot faced after coming off the bench.Â
Valdivia made his first career start on Friday against  St. John's  while Kluver served a one-game suspension and did not play against St. John's.
This season marks the first since 2013 in which two different goalkeepers have started at least one match for the Bluejays.Â
Nonconference Finale Success
Tuesday's 6-1 victory over Drake  marked Creighton's final regular-season nonconference match.
The Bluejays are 6-1 during the final nonconference regular-season match of the season under head coach Elmar Bolowich, including 4-0 against Drake (2013, '14, '15, '17).Â
Creighton had won five-staight nonconference regular-season finales before falling 2-1 to the Golden Hurricane last season to conclude the regular-season nonconference schedule.
The Bluejays are 8-2 during their last 10Â regular-season nonconference finales.Â
Senior Contributions
The Bluejays' 2017 roster features six seniors (Noah Franke, Michael Kluver, Marios Lomis, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Lucas Stauffer, Stefan Wutte).
The seniors have scored 14 of Creighton's 21 goals and contributed with 10 of the team's 19 assists.Â
Lopez-Espin leads the team and is tied for the BIG EAST lead with seven goals. The Miami, Florida, native, also has two assists.
Franke owns two goals and two assists.
Stauffer has five assists, two goals and leads the team with 1,032 minutes played this season.
Lomis has three goals, including the game-winner during Creighton's 1-0 double overtime victory over Grand Canyon (Aug. 27) for the team's first victory of the season.
Wutte has played 32 minutes this season.Â
Kluver, during his fifth year with the program, claims four shutouts during 11 starts. He also holds a 1.00 goals against average.
Â
Saturday, Oct. 14Â | Xavier at Creighton | Omaha, Neb. | 7:00 p.m. (CST)
Up Next
Creighton concludes a stretch of three-straight home matches with a BIG EAST
contest against Xavier on Saturday night.Â
Follow The Match
Saturday's match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network which can be found at FOXSportsGo.com and the FOX Sports Go app. John Fanta will handleÂ
commentary for the match.
Live stats for the contest can be found at www.creighton.statbroadcast.com.
Bluejay fans can also stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSoc.
Scouting Creighton (7-4-1, 1-2-1 BE)
The Bluejays enter Saturday's match on a six-match unbeaten streak at home.
Creighton is also 4-1-1 during its past six matches after starting the year at 3-3-0.
Senior forward Ricky Lopez-Espin leads the Bluejays and is tied for first in the BIG EAST with seven goals. He also owns two assists to pace the squad with 16 points, which ranks second in the league.
Joel Rydstrand and Lucas Stauffer each have five assists to lead the Bluejays and rank in a tie for second in the BIG EAST.Â
Creighton is second in the  BIG EAST and 26th in the nation with 14.42 shots per match.Â
Senior goalkeeper Michael Kluver is 7-3-0 with four shutouts and a 1.00 goals against average.Â
Last Time Out
The Creighton men's soccer team tied a Morrison Stadium record for goals in a single match with six, as the Bluejays defeated Drake 6-1 on Tuesday night in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Bluejays also scored six goals at Morrison Stadium on Sept. 27, 2006 against Central Arkansas and on Nov. 22, 2003 against UMKC.
The match against Central Arkansas during the 2006 season also marked the last time Creighton scored six times during one match.
Marios Lomis scored twice, while Connor Ramlo, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Joel Rydstrand and Lucas Stauffer each had one goal a piece.
Creighton's Michael Kluver made three saves during 65 minutes of action for his seventh victory of the season. Collin Valdivia also recorded a save while playing the final 25Â minutes of the match.
Scouting Xavier (7-3-2, 2-2-0 BE)
The Musketeers head to Omaha after a 2-1 loss at Villanova last weekend. Xavier is 2-2 in BIG EAST play and currently tied for fourth place in the standings.
Matt Vasquenza paces the Xavier offense with 15 points from six goals and three assists, while Samson Sergi leads the team with seven goals which is tied for tops in the BIG EAST.
Four different players own four or more goals as the Musketeers average just under two goals per match (1.92).
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Zachary Nelson has played all 1,140 minutes in goal for Xavier, claims two shutouts, and owns a 1.11 goals against average.
Head coach Andy Fleming is in his eighth season at the helm of the Musketeers.
Series History vs. Musketeers
Creighton leads the all-time series against Xavier 3-2-1.
The Musketeers defeated the Bluejays 2-1 in double overtime last season during the regular season at Xavier.
Creighton eliminated Xavier from the BIG EAST Touramnet with a 3-1Â victory during the first round in Omaha.
Morrison Stadium Goal Record
Creighton tied its own Morrison Stadium record for goals in a single match, as the Bluejays scored six against Drake on Tuesday.
The Jays also scored six goals at Morrison Stadium against Central Arkansas on Sept. 27, 2006, and against UMKC on Nov. 22, 2003.Â
Creighton's six goals also marked its highest total in any match since the Central Arkansas match on Sept. 27, 2006.
The program record for goals in a single match is 14 (14-0 vs. Concordia, 9/25/90).
BIG EAST High For Goals Scored
The Bluejays goal output on Tuesday was the highest by any BIG EAST school this season and most since the opening weekend of the 2015 season.
Creighton's six goals were the most by a BIG EAST school since Xavier scored eight against Eastern Illinois on Aug. 28, 2015.Â
Fortress Morrison
Creighton is 128-23-18 overall at Morrison Stadium, including a 5-1-1 record  (1-0-1 during BIG EAST play) at home so far this season.
The Bluejays currently hold a six-match unbeaten streak at home (5-0-1), with their last and only loss this season coming during the season-opener against then-No. 17 Virginia Tech.
Creighton has never lost consecutive matches at Morrison Stadium during the same season (since 2003).Â
The Bluejays' loss at Morrison Stadium against No. 17 Virginia Tech to open the 2017 season followed the team's loss at home to end last season (2-1 vs. Providence), marking the first time since 1985 that Creighton had lost consecutive home matches (spanning across two seasons).Â
CU finished the 2016 season 9-2-2 at home, including 4-1-0 during BIG EAST regular-season play.
Three Is The Magic Number
Creighton finished 9-0-0 when scoring three or more goals last season.
The Jays have scored three or more goals twice so far during the 2017 season (3-0 W at Cal, 6-1 W vs. Drake).Â
The Bluejays have won their last 44 matches when scoring three or more goals, dating back to a 3-3 tie against Drake on Nov. 7, 2009.
Creighton has scored three or more goals 224 times in program history while going 220-1-3 in those matches.
The one loss came during the 1990 season. The Bluejays fell to Missouri State 5-4 in overtime.Â
Two-Goal Match
Marios Lomis' brace on Tuesday against Drake marked the second multi-goal performance for Creighton this season.Â
Ricky Lopez-Espin also scored a pair of goals against Butler during the BIG EAST regular-season opener (Sept. 16) for the Bluejays' first multi-goal individual performance of 2017.Â
Creighton had a total of five individuals record at least two goals in a match during the 2016Â season (Joel Rydstrand, Riggs Lennon, Ricardo Perez, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Myles Englis).Â
RPI Rankings Update
The Bluejays were ranked 27th in the second official RPI rankings that were released on Monday, Oct. 9.
Creighton is one of five BIG EAST teams listed in the top 60 (of 205 Division I programs).
12.   Butler
15.   GeorgetownÂ
27.   Creighton
52.   Xavier
54.   St. John's
The top 10 includes 1) Michigan State, 2) Wake Forest, 3) North Carolina, 4) Louisville, 5) Notre Dame, 6) Virginia, 7) Duke, 8) Maryland, 9) Western Michigan, 10) Indiana.Â
Ramlo Listed On BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Sophomore midfielder Connor Ramlo earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after scoring his first career goal on last week against St. John's (Oct. 6).Â
Ramlo's goal during the 69th minute tied the match at 2-2 before the contest was called during the 81st minute after a lengthy delay because of lightning.Â
Ramlo also scored the first goal of Creighton's 6-1 rout of Drake (Oct. 10) and now has two goals during his past two matches.
Iron Men Stauffer and FrankeÂ
Seniors Lucas Stauffer and Noah Franke rank first and second in Division I Men's Soccer for matches played among active players.
Stauffer has played in 80 matches, while Franke currently owns 79 appearances.
Stauffer also played in his 49 matches at Morrison Stadium against Drake on Tuesday, which is third-most in program history. Ricardo Perez holds the record for matches played at Morrison Stadium with 52 appearances (2013-16).
The Creighton record for matches played in a career is 90, set by David Wagenfuhr (2000-2003).
The Bluejays have five matches remaining (including Saturday) during the 2017 regular-season, including two scheduled to be played at Morrison Stadium.Â
Valdivia Forced Into Action
Sophomore Collin Valdivia appeared in his second career match as a Bluejay on Sept. 30 at Seton Hall, following the ejection of starting goalkeeper Michael Kluver because of a red card during the ninth minute.
Valdivia played the final 81:46 against Seton Hall and made four saves. He also allowed two goals, including a PK during his first shot faced after coming off the bench.Â
Valdivia made his first career start on Friday against  St. John's  while Kluver served a one-game suspension and did not play against St. John's.
This season marks the first since 2013 in which two different goalkeepers have started at least one match for the Bluejays.Â
Nonconference Finale Success
Tuesday's 6-1 victory over Drake  marked Creighton's final regular-season nonconference match.
The Bluejays are 6-1 during the final nonconference regular-season match of the season under head coach Elmar Bolowich, including 4-0 against Drake (2013, '14, '15, '17).Â
Creighton had won five-staight nonconference regular-season finales before falling 2-1 to the Golden Hurricane last season to conclude the regular-season nonconference schedule.
The Bluejays are 8-2 during their last 10Â regular-season nonconference finales.Â
Senior Contributions
The Bluejays' 2017 roster features six seniors (Noah Franke, Michael Kluver, Marios Lomis, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Lucas Stauffer, Stefan Wutte).
The seniors have scored 14 of Creighton's 21 goals and contributed with 10 of the team's 19 assists.Â
Lopez-Espin leads the team and is tied for the BIG EAST lead with seven goals. The Miami, Florida, native, also has two assists.
Franke owns two goals and two assists.
Stauffer has five assists, two goals and leads the team with 1,032 minutes played this season.
Lomis has three goals, including the game-winner during Creighton's 1-0 double overtime victory over Grand Canyon (Aug. 27) for the team's first victory of the season.
Wutte has played 32 minutes this season.Â
Kluver, during his fifth year with the program, claims four shutouts during 11 starts. He also holds a 1.00 goals against average.
Â
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
M/F
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's SoccerCreighton MSOC Highlights & Postgame vs Oral Roberts--9-13-25
Sunday, September 14
Creighton MSOC Highlights & Postgame vs Omaha 9-10-25
Thursday, September 11
Creighton Men's Soccer Media Availability September 9
Tuesday, September 09
Creighton Men's Soccer Highlights & Postgame vs Denver 9-5-25
Saturday, September 06
