California State University at Northridge
Creighton
CSUN Travels to No. 3 Creighton, Omaha
9/1/2015 12:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Matadors Face Blue Jays, Mavericks
COMPLETE WEEKLY NOTES IN PDF FORMAT
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- The CSUN Matadors (1-0-0) travel to America's Heartland for a pair of non-conference matches as they meet the No. 3 Creighton Blue Jays and the Omaha Mavericks. The Matadors and Blue Jays will meet on Friday, Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. (CT) // 5:30 p.m. (PT) at Morrison Stadium. Two days later, the Matadors will meet the Omaha Mavericks for a 1 p.m. (CT) // 11 a.m. (PT) fixture as the teams celebrate the Labor Day Holiday weekend. Live stats and other media will be available for the contests and fans are encouraged to check with the CSUN Athletic Department's official Twitter handles (@GoMatadors, @CSUNCapeCrew and @CSUNMensSoccer) for updates throughout the weekend.
Last week, CSUN won its season opener in thrilling fashion by rallying from a halftime deficit to defeat Loyola-Chicago 2-1 on Sunday, Aug. 30 at Matador Soccer Field. Redshirt sophomore Steven Manios tied the match with his first career goal in the 55th minute with Trevor Morley and Adam Hobbs recording assists on the play.Â
Eighteen minutes later, Shane Steffes cleaned up a hectic play at the far post by scoring the game-winning goal for his first career strike as well. Dean Wright, playing in his first game in two years after overcoming injuries, and Manios recorded assists on the play. Hobbs made three saves in addition to his assist to earn his 22nd career win, the fifth-most in CSUN men's soccer history.Â
CSUN will return to Matador Soccer Field on Friday, Sept. 11 for a 7 p.m. match with New Mexico. Two days later, the Matadors will renew rivalries with the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners in a 6 p.m. fixture at Matador Soccer Field.
Scouting No. 3 CreightonÂ
On Friday, Sept. 4, the Matadors will test their mettle against a nationally ranked Creighton squad that is already off to a 2-0 start without conceding a goal. The Blue Jays, who earned a No. 6 preseason ranking, defeated Michigan 1-0 before blasting Milwaukee 4-0 in a pair of home matches and have moved up to No. 3 in the latest NSCAA poll.Â
Fabian Herbers, a 6-0 junior forward from Germany, scored a pair of goals and added an assist in the two matches to earn Big East Offensive Player of the Week. Fernando Castellanos, Timo Pitter and Myles Englis also scored for the Blue Jays in the opening weekend. Creighton fired off 41 shots in the two matches, placing 18 on target.
Defensively, Connor Sparrow earned Big East Defensive Player of the Week honors after making eight saves and posting the pair of shutouts. Creighton committed 34 fouls in its two matches, but picked up just one yellow card. Conversely, opponents were cautioned four times after committing 28 total fouls. The Blue Jays also held Michigan and Milwaukee to a combined four corner kicks in 180 minutes of action.
Elmar Bolowich is in his fifth season as the head coach of Creighton, having taken the Blue Jays to a pair of College Cups in his first four seasons in Omaha. CSUN is 0-1 against Creighton in the all-time series, falling 1-0 in double OT in the 2008 season in Omaha.
Scouting Omaha
The Matadors and Omaha Mavericks meet for the second-straight season on Sunday, Sept. 6 with a 1 p.m. match at Caniglia Field. The Mavericks are also 2-0 on the young season, having defeated UMKC and Pacific by identical 2-1 score lines.Â
Junior Fazlo Alihodzic earned Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honors after finishing with a goal and an assist in the two matches. Irvin Andres, Mark Moulton and Logan Mendez also scored for Omaha in the wins over the Kangaroos and Tigers.Â
Defensively, Joseph Ghitis played all 180 minutes in goal for Omaha last weekend and posted three saves. The Mavericks limited UMKC and Pacific to a total of 16 shots with five on target in the first two matches, although the Kangaroos and Tigers combined for a dozen corner kicks.Â
Jason Sims is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Mavericks. The two teams played to a scoreless draw in 2014 at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. Omaha was picked to finish second in the 2015 Summit League Preseason Poll.
