Men's Soccer Faces DePaul For Senior Night On Saturday

Download Complete Notes

Saturday, Oct. 28 | DePaul at Creighton | Omaha, Neb. | 7:00 p.m. (CST)

Up Next
Creighton plays its final home match of the regular season on Saturday night against DePaul. The Bluejays will also honor their six seniors -- Noah Franke, Michael Kluver, Marios Lomis, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Lucas Stauffer, Stefan Wutte -- prior to Saturday's match.

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. Jon Schriner will handle play-by-play duties, while Donny Baarns will provide color commentary.

The match will also feature a Spanish radio broadcast on La Nueva (99.5 FM & 1020 AM in the Omaha area and online: http://player.listenlive.co/49031/es).

Live stats for the contest can be found on StatBroadcast: Creighton.Statbroadcast.com.

Bluejay fans can also stay updated through the Creighton men's soccer Twitter feed: Twitter.com/CreightonMSoc.

Scouting Creighton (8-5-2, 2-3-2 BE)
The Bluejays enter Saturday's match with a seven-match unbeaten streak at home (6-0-1).

Creighton also enters the contest in the sixth place in the BIG EAST standings. The top six teams earn spots in the postseason conference tournament.

Senior forward Ricky Lopez-Espin leads the Bluejays and is tied for the BIG EAST lead with nine goals. He also has two assists to pace the squad with 20 points and rank second in the conference.

Marios Lomis and Noah Franke are tied for second on the team with 10 points. Lomis has five goals, while Franke has three goals and four assists.

Joel Rydstrand leads the Bluejays and is tied atop of the BIG EAST with seven assists.

Senior goalkeeper Michael Kluver is 8-4-1 with five shutouts and a 1.13 goals against average.

Last Time Out
The Creighton men's soccer team scored three unanswered goals during the second half but lost 4-3 against Marquette on Wednesday night at Valley Fields in Milwaukee.

The Bluejays dropped to 2-3-2 in BIG EAST play and 8-5-2 overall, while Marquette improved to 3-3-1 in league play and 3-9-2 overall.

Noah Franke scored Creighton's first goal of the match during the 63rd minute. Luke Haakenson drifted a ball across the six-yard box towards the far post where Franke headed the ball into the net for his third goal of the season to cut the Marquette lead to three goals, 4-1.

During the 83rd minute, Marios Lomis back-heeled a ball into the back of the net for the Bluejays' second goal. Haakenson served the ball into the 18-yard box where Lomis one-touched the ball with the back of his foot and past the Marquette goalkeeper who was off his line.

Lomis cut the final deficit to one goal with 30 seconds remaining on the clock. Joel Rydstrand serviced the ball towards the far post where Lomis headed the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the night and Creighton's third of the second half.

Marquette scored three times during the first half and once during the opening stages of the second half to take a 4-0 lead during the 61st minute.

Scouting DePaul (4-10-2, 1-5-1 BE)
The Blue Demons are winless during their last six matches (0-5-1), with their last victory coming on Sept. 30 against Villanova.

Philipp Konigstein and Stijn van der Slot have combined for 11 of the Blue Demons' 17 goals this season.

DePaul is 0-2-1 on the road during BIG EAST play.

Goalkeeper Quentin Low owns two shutouts and a 1.45 goals against average while playing all but 10 minutes this season for the Blue Demons.

Head coach Craig Blazer is in his 17th season at DePaul.

Series History vs. Blue Demons
Creighton leads the all-time series against DePaul 7-0-0.

The Bluejays defeated the Blue Demons 4-1 last season at Wish Field in Chicago, as Riggs Lennon tied a program record by scoring four goals.

Creighton is 4-0 against DePaul at home and has allowed only one goal during those four contests (9-1 combined score).

Tight BIG EAST Race
Creighton is currently in sixth place in the BIG EAST standings with two matches remaining during the regular season.

The top six teams in the final standings qualify for the BIG EAST postseason tournament.

The Bluejays have eight points (2-3-2) and are currently two points out of fifth place behind Marquette, and only one point ahead of seventh-placed Providence.

Butler currently sits in first place with 18 points (6-1-0), while Georgetown is second (5-1-1, 16 points), St. John's is third (4-2-1, 13 points) and Xavier is fourth with 12 points (4-3-0).

Butler and Georgetown each clinched spots in the BIG EAST postseason tournament with positive results (Butler win, Georgetown tie) on Wednesday, while St. John's and Xavier can clinch as early as Saturday.

The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive home-field advantage in the semifinal round of the tournament (Nov. 8), while the third and fourth-seeded teams will host the No. 5 and No. 6 teams in first-round matches on Nov. 4.

The BIG EAST postseason championship will be decided at the home-field of the highest remaining seed on Sunday, Nov. 12.

Butler and Georgetown can each clinch a top-two finish in the league standings with victories on Saturday. Both the Bulldogs and Hoyas have clinched a top-four finish and home field during either the first round or semifinals.

Creighton CANNOT solidify a spot in the conference tournament with any result on Saturday.

The Bluejays have qualified for the BIG EAST conference tournament each year since joining the conference in 2013, but has never won the tournament and finished runner-up twice (2015, 2016).

Fortress Morrison
Creighton is 129-23-18 overall at Morrison Stadium, including a 6-1-1 record (2-0-1 during BIG EAST play) at home so far this season.

The Bluejays currently hold a seven-match unbeaten streak at home (6-0-1), with their last and only home 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).

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).

CU finished the 2016 season 9-2-2 at home, including 4-1-0 during BIG EAST regular-season play.

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 19 of Creighton's 27 goals and own a combined 12 assists.

Lopez-Espin leads the team and is tied for the BIG EAST lead with nine goals. The Miami, Florida, native, also has two assists.

Franke owns three goals and four assists while ranking fourth on the team with 1,194 minutes played.

Stauffer has five assists, two goals and leads the team with 1,280 minutes played this season.

Lomis has five 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, and two multi-goal matches.

Wutte has played 32 minutes this season.

Kluver, during his fifth year with the program, claims five shutouts during 14 starts. He also holds a 1.13 goals against average. The Omaha native, also has one assist.

Creighton will recognize its six seniors prior to the final home regular season match of the season on Saturday against DePaul.

Creighton Lights Up Shot Column
The Bluejays fired 31 shots on Wednesday against Marquette, the most by a Creighton team since Oct. 24, 2015 when the Jays had 39 during a 5-1 victory over Villanova.

Marios Lomis also recorded a career-high nine shots, the most by a Creighton individual since Riggs Lennon had 10 last season at St. John's (Oct. 1, 2016).

Creighton leads the BIG EAST and ranks 8th in Division I with 16.00 shots per match.

Corner Kicks A Plenty
Creighton recorded 13 corner kicks during Wednesday's match against Marquette, the most in a single match since the Bluejays had 15 at SMU on Nov. 21, 2010 during Creighton's last match not coached by Elmar Bolowich.

The Bluejays have taken 103 corner kicks this season. The program record for corners during a single season is 163, achieved by the 2002 College Cup squad.

Creighton averages 6.87 corner kicks per match, which leads the BIG EAST and ranks 7th in Division I.

Three Is The Magic Number
The Bluejays have scored three or more goals four times this during the 2017 season, and Wednesday marked their first loss in program history when scoring three or more goals since 1990 (second time overall).

Creighton had won 45 consecutive matches when scoring three or more goals, dating back to a 3-3 tie against Drake (11/7/09). The Bluejays have scored three or more goals 226 times in program history while going 221-2-3 in those matches.

The other loss came during the 1990 season when the Bluejays fell to Missouri State 5-4 in overtime on Nov. 10, 1990.

Creighton finished 9-0-0 when scoring three or more goals last season and are 3-1-0 this season.

Rare Defensive Mishap
Wednesday's match against Marquette marked Creighton's first time allowing four goals since 2006 against Notre Dame (4-1 loss on Aug. 27, 2006), and the first time since 1997 against UNC Greensboro in which the Bluejays fell behind by four goals during a match (4-0 loss on Sept. 19, 1997).

Creighton allowed three goals during regulation time on Sept. 1 against No. 1 Stanford (L 0-3) for the first time since 2013 when the Bluejays fell to Seton Hall 3-2.

Since Elmar Bolowich took over as head coach in 2011, Creighton has allowed three or more goals during regulation only four times and six times overall.

Prior to the Jays' match at Stanford (Sept. 1), Creighton had not trailed by three goals at any point during a match coached by Elmar Bolowich (138 consecutive matches).

Creighton's loss to Stanford marked the Bluejays' first three-goal loss since Nov. 10, 2006 (at Washington, L 0-3).

Two-Goal Match
Marios Lomis scored a pair of goals during Creighton's match at Marquette on Wednesday for his second brace during the 2017 season.

Ricky Lopez-Espin recorded his second brace of the season with goals during the seventh and 59th minutes against Xavier (Oct. 14).

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.

Lomis' first brace came against Drake (Oct. 10) and marked the second multi-goal performance for Creighton this season.

Creighton had a total of five individuals record at least two goals in a match during the 2016 season (Joel Rydstrand, Riggs Lennon, Ricardo Perez, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Myles Englis).

RPI Rankings Update
The Bluejays were ranked 37th in the fourth official RPI rankings that were released on Monday, Oct. 23.

Creighton is one of four BIG EAST teams listed in the top 60 (of 205 Division I programs).

11.   Georgetown
15.   Butler
37.   Creighton
55.   Xavier

The top 10 includes 1) North Carolina, 2) Wake Forest, 3) Duke, 4) Clemson, 5) Indiana, 6) Western Michigan, 7) Notre Dame, 8) Michigan State, 9) Virginia, 10) Louisville.

Iron Men Stauffer and Franke
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 83 matches, while Franke currently owns 82 appearances.

Stauffer also played in his 50th match at Morrison Stadium on Oct. 14 against Xavier, 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 two matches remaining (including Saturday) during the 2017 regular-season, including one scheduled to be played at Morrison Stadium.

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 Oct. 10.

The Jays also scored six goals at Morrison Stadium against Central Arkansas on Sept. 27, 2006, and against UMKC on Nov. 22, 2003.

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).

Bluejays Keep Finding Back of the Net
Creighton scored a total of 10 goals during two matches after tying a Morrison Stadium record with six against Drake (Oct. 10) and scoring four against Xavier on Oct. 14.

The consecutive matches against Drake and Xavier marked the first time since September of 2006 in which the Bluejays scored 10 goals during a two-match stretch (6-1 W vs. Central Arkansas and 4-0 vs. Western Kentucky).

Creighton currently leads the BIG EAST in goals with 28, including 13 during league play.

Conference Success
With a victory on the final day of the 2016 regular season against Georgetown (Nov. 3), Creighton finished above .500 in conference play for the 25th time in program history.

The Bluejays went 5-3-1 in BIG EAST regular-season play this season and finished in a tie for third place.

In 26 seasons combined in the Missouri Valley Conference (22 seasons) and BIG EAST (four seasons), Creighton has never finished with more losses than wins during conference play and finished at .500 only once (4-4-1 in 2013).

Men's Soccer Faces DePaul For Senior Night On Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Myles Englis

Noah Franke

Luke Haakenson

Michael Kluver

Riggs Lennon

Marios Lomis

Ricky Lopez-Espin

Ricardo Perez

Joel Rydstrand

Lucas Stauffer

Stefan Wutte