Is this finally Creighton's year? This is the Blue Jays sixth trip to the College Cup (nee Final Four) and they've never won a national title. The only other team to make it to 5 FFs without winning a title was UCLA, which went to Final or SF 5 times between 1970-84 before winning it all on its sixth try in 85. Clemson and Michigan State both won on their fifth try while Army made four in a row without winning a title back in the early 60s.
Weird - there aren't any tickets available for the Friday games on the NCAA website - just for the finals.
The Friday tickets are "sold out" (and were sold out on Sat). How can that be when a) teams didn't even know if they'd be there until Sunday and b) there aren't any local teams left?
This is great info, thank you! In only 1 of the previous 5 College Cups did Creighton make it to the final, losing to UConn 2-0 in 2000 after beating Indiana in 3OT in the semi. In 1996, 2002, and 2012, Creighton lost in the semi by a single goal, which came in 2OT in 2002. The most heartbreaking elimination was in 2011, when Creighton had the NCAA's best defense of all time. They lost in the semis the only way they possibly could have, a 0-0 draw followed by a PK elimination. Not only has Creighton never won the NCAA soccer title, the school has never won a national championship in ANY sport, men's or women's, and has never made a title game appearance other than the 2000 soccer final. Needless to say, a College Cup championship would be cherished by the entire athletic department and fanbase!
I have no idea how this can be SOLD OUT. Four out of town teams. Including my Pitt Panthers. No way 10,000 ticket packages were sold for this without allowing any fans of the teams playing in to purchase tix. Something definitely strange going on here. No tickets are on any of the secondary markets either.
We've been wondering the same thing. But in the words of one of my colleagues, "if it can be screwed up the NCAA will do it. "
As with many college cups in Cary(except covid season), There is a youth event that same weekend in Raleigh run by NCFC. They used to give tickets to the players (to entice parents to purchase tickets - not sure this is the same now). Don’t think it ever affected tickets for traveling fans in the past though?
... and the kids don't usually go to the game after having to play all during the day. I'd be very surprised if they weren't selling tickets at the complex for "standing room" knowing that plenty of seats will be available.
I find this kind of amazing for the ACC - since having it's streak of 17 straight seasons with at least one conference member making the College Cup broken in 2018, the ACC has responded with 8 College Cup appearances in 4 years. In this era of fewer pro prospects playing college soccer, for the ACC to maintain its dominance seems even more surprising. I really thought it would result in more parity and the conference being less dominant. 2022 - Pitt, Syracuse 2021 - Clemson, Notre Dame 2020* - North Carolina, Pitt 2019 - Virginia, Wake Forest 2018 - None 2017 - North Carolina 2016 - North Carolina, Wake Forest 2015 - Clemson, Syracuse 2014 - Virginia 2013 - Maryland, Notre Dame, Virginia 2012 - Maryland 2011 - North Carolina 2010 - North Carolina 2009 - North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest 2008 - Maryland, North Carolina, Wake Forest 2007 - Virginia Tech, Wake Forest 2006 - Virginia, Wake Forest 2005 - Clemson, Maryland 2004 - Duke, Maryland 2003 - Maryland 2002 - Maryland 2001 - North Carolina
Congrats - I have been following Creighton (since the BE Tourney) and they have put together a pretty remarkable string of come-behind wins. Nicely done.
Good coaching does the recruiting. The college sporting communities are relatively small worlds, word gets around. There are a lot of good recruiters, (car salesman), but those that can coach ultimately get top players. Current players, if happy, are also the best recruiters.
We just found out that IU's "total allotment" of tickets is 250. That means there are 9,000 seats unaccounted for, kids' games or no. I suspect fraud.
The ACC has become an international conference like many others. Syracuse and Pitt are driven by their international players so they are recruiting older and more experienced players since many of the younger US players are signing pro. Like the "one and done" in basketball, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Creighton is split about 50/50 but their top scorers are American including a former part-time player with 22 goals (kudos on player development to coaches and player). IU is the only team in the final that is all-American in their starting lineup and most of their reserves.
Of course, it's not just the ACC. Of the teams IU played in the NCAA tourney thus far, SLU had a mere 6 internationals on their squad and UNCG had 8 internationals starting. Then there's Marshall with 18 internationals. Pitt (ACC), who we play in the semis, has 14 internationals on their squad. The B1G is not immune - OSU has recently taken a bite of the apple with 5 or 6 internationals.
Yes, Bluejays is one word, unlike the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. And yes, you spelled Big East right, too. Welcome, Akron, to the Big East! Creighton fans are thrilled the Zips are joining the conference and bringing their strong tradition, fanbase, and commitment to soccer. We are a little sad that we will no longer be playing Georgetown every season, though, with the split into divisions.
Creighton has never won a national championship in any sport But the 2000 Bluejays men’s soccer team came the closest
Stats-wise, looks like it's a toss up between Indiana #7 Karsen Henderlong (6'5", 195lbs), Pitt #32 Andrew Noel (6'5", 197lbs), and Syracuse #19 Buster Sjoberg (6'5", 195lbs). In all seriousness Indiana's attack tends to run through #18 Ryan Wittenbrink. He's good on set pieces and the team tends to win when he plays well. #5 Daniel Munie is a well-rated defender. Pitt's #8 Valentin Noel is all-Region and clearly the leading scorer (11 goals). #21 Filip Mirkovic has 12 assists and is similarly all-Region. Creighton #13 Duncan McGuire can't stop scoring on this run the Bluejays are on. He has 22 goals and is a Mac Herrmann semifinalist. #8 Charles Auguste is a strong defensive center mid who will likely have an opportunity at the professional level. Syracuse has quite a few all-Region players. #14 Levonte Johnson (10G, 6A) is a Mac Hermann semifinalist. #10 Nathan Opoku (9G, 6A) is also first team all-Region. I'm probably missing a few players, especially defenders...so anyone feel free to supplement my post with more information.
NCAA College Cup Semifinals, Cary, NC (3) Syracuse 3, Creighton 2 -- Creighton eliminated (13) Indiana 2, Pittsburgh 0 -- Pittsburgh eliminated