Men's Soccer Picked Second in BIG EAST; Lopez-Espin and Stauffer Named Preseason All-BIG EAST

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men's soccer team has been picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference in a preseason vote of the league coaches, the conference announced on Wednesday, Aug. 16. Seniors Ricky Lopez-Espin and Lucas Stauffer were also voted to the Preseason All-BIG EAST team.

The Bluejays received 70 points to place second behind Providence who received the maximum nine first place votes and 81 points as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team or their own student-athletes. Creighton received Providence's first-place vote. The Bluejays return eight starters from a squad that finished 13-7-3 and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in the past six seasons.

Creighton claimed two points more than Butler (68) to take the runner-up position in the preseason poll. Villanova received 52 points for fourth, Georgetown collected 46 in fifth and Xavier placed sixth with 45. Marquette (30), St. John's (27), DePaul (20) and Seton Hall (10) rounded out the poll.

The Bluejays were picked to win the BIG EAST last season before finishing in a tie for third place with Villanova.

Creighton is one of four schools with two players listed on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team. Preseason favorite and defending regular-season champion Providence, defending tournament champion Butler, and Georgetown, also had two players voted onto the squad. The Bluejays have had at least two players listed on the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad each year since joining the conference prior to the 2013 season.

Lopez-Espin, a forward from Miami, Fla., returns after leading Creighton with 22 points (10 goals, two assists) during the 2016 season. The senior was listed on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List earlier this month. Lopez-Espin earned a spot of the 2016 NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team, the All-BIG EAST Second Team and BIG EAST All-Tournament team. He owns 18 goals in 56 career matches played.

Stauffer is listed on the Preseason All-BIG EAST team for the second consecutive fall. The Owensboro, Ky., native, ended last season as one of six Bluejays to start each game and earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team as a defender after playing all but 39 possible minutes. Stauffer has started 49 consecutive matches for Creighton and played in all 68 possible matches the past three seasons.

Creighton, ranked No. 14 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25, continues its exhibition schedule with a match tonight at Wisconsin (7 p.m.) and hosts Ohio State on Saturday night at Morrison Stadium at 7 p.m.

The Bluejays open regular season play on Aug. 25 at home against preseason No. 17 Virginia Tech. Creighton will host nine regular-season home matches at Morrison Stadium, including four against teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season. For ticket information call 402-280-JAYS.

2017 Men's Soccer Preseason Honors

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Mac Steeves, Providence, RS-Sr., F

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Cory Brown, Xavier, Sr., D

Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
JT Marcinkowski, Georgetown, Jr.

2017 Men's Soccer Preseason All-BIG EAST #
Ricky Lopez-Espin, Creighton, Sr., F
Mac Steeves, Providence, RS-Sr., F
Harry Cooksley, St. John's, So., F ^
Lewis Suddick, Butler, So., M
Jared Timmer, Butler, Jr., M
Christopher Lema, Georgetown, Sr., M
Luka Prpa, Marquette, So., M
Andreas Bartosinksi, Villanova, Sr., M
Lucas Stauffer, Creighton, Jr., D
Mark Jecewiz, Providence, RS-Jr., D
Cory Brown, Xavier, Sr., D ^
JT Marcinkowski, Georgetown, Jr., GK

2017 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
First place votes in ( )

1. Providence (9)	81 pts.
2. Creighton (1)	70
3. Butler	68
4. Villanova	52
5. Georgetown	46
6. Xavier	45
7. Marquette	30
8. St. John's	27
9. DePaul	21
10. Seton Hall	10

^ - denotes unanimous selection
# there is an extra player on the preseason All-BIG EAST team due to a tie in voting

Men's Soccer Picked Second in BIG EAST; Lopez-Espin and Stauffer Named Preseason All-BIG EAST

Players Mentioned

Ricky Lopez-Espin

Lucas Stauffer

Related Videos