Creighton men's soccer team claims 26th NCAA Tournament bid
The Creighton men's soccer team will make its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and second straight under head coach Johnny Torres, as the Bluejays earned an automatic bid to the 48-team field on Monday.
By News Channel NebraskaOMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men's soccer team will make its 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and second straight under head coach Johnny Torres, as the Bluejays earned an automatic bid to the 48-team field on Monday, Nov. 14.
Creighton will play host to former Missouri Valley Conference rival Missouri State at 4 p.m. Central on Thursday, Nov. 17 inside Morrison Stadium. The Bluejays and the Bears met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, with Creighton ending Missouri State's season with a 1-0 win behind a goal from Diego Gutierrez in the 78th minute.
The Bluejays enter the postseason with an RPI of 30 after going 9-4-6 overall and securing their first BIG EAST Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday with a 3-0 shutout over top-seeded No. 14 ranked Georgetown. The Bluejays are led by the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Duncan McGuire, who leads the NCAA in goals (19), goals per game (1.00), points (40) and points per game (2.11). McGuire earned the BIG EAST Championships Most Outstanding Offensive Player after tying the BIG EAST Tournament record with six goals over three matches. McGuire currently sits tied for third in school-history for goals scored in a single-season (19), after tying the BIG EAST Tournament record and becoming just the eighth player in program history to score four goals in a single match against Seton Hall on Thursday, Nov. 10.
Midfielder's Charles Auguste (2 goals, 2 assists) and Owen O'Malley (7 goals, 5 assists) were each First Team All-BIG EAST performers, and midfielder Jackson Castro (9 goals, 8 assists) was a Second Team All-BIG EAST Selections. Sophomore midfielder Giorgio Probo (4 goals, 11 assists) and senior midfielder Callum Watson (3 goals, 3 assists), as well as fifth-year senior goalkeeper Paul Kruse (1.38 GAA, 2.84 saves per game) were all Third Team All-BIG EAST honorees. Kruse also claimed the BIG EAST Championships Most Outstanding Defensive Player registering three saves in Sunday's championship match, while allowing just one goal in a trio of tournament matches.
Creighton made its first postseason appearance in 1992, part of a stretch that saw the Bluejays make 24-of-25 (all but 2009) NCAA Tournaments. Creighton has won at least one game in 17 of those trips, and multiple victories on 12 occasions. The Bluejays own 11 trips to the national quarterfinals, five trips to the College Cup (1996, 2002, 2002, 2011, 2012) and one trip to the national title match (2000). Three of the four most recent postseason trips have seen the Bluejays win multiple games.
Missouri State is 12-1-4 on the season, with the lone blemish coming to Tulsa. The Bears have outscored their opponents 37-9 this fall, including a 1-0 win vs. Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference title game. Senior Nicolo Mulatero owns a team-best 20 points, scoring eight times and assisting on four others. Eleven different Bears have scored at least one goal. Junior goalkeeper Harry Townsend has a 0.53 goals against average, having made 37 saves while surrendering eight goals and recording 12 shutouts this season.
Creighton owns a 23-9-4 lead all-time in the series against Missouri State, with the last meeting taking place last November when the Bluejays won a 1-0 match in Springfield. Creighton is 13-3-0 all-time in Omaha against the Bears.
The winner of Thursday's match advances to play No.2 seed Washington on Sunday, Nov. 20 in Seattle, Wash.
Creighton is one of three BIG EAST teams in the NCAA Tournament, where it will be joined by Georgetown and Seton Hall. This is the 36th straight academic year that Creighton has sent at least one of its teams to the NCAA Tournament.