CONWAY — The Central Arkansas men's soccer team will close out the home portion of its schedule in style on Saturday as the Bears play host to the toughest opponent to ever come into Conway when they take on the No. 10 Creighton Bluejays at 2 p.m. at the Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex.
It will be UCA's third game against a ranked opponent since moving to Division I in 2006, and the Bluejays, who also sit No. 9 in the NCAA RPI, will be the first ranked team to come to Conway. The Bears played on the road against No. 6 SMU in 2007 (a 3-0 loss) and No. 25 Memphis in 2006 (a 2-0 loss).
In Creighton (10-2, 3-0 Missouri Valley), the Bears get a team that has not lost on the road in the regular season since 2006 – a streak of 21 matches – and is looking for its best MVC start since 1999. The Bluejays have won six of their last seven matches, with their only defeat coming in a 3-2 loss to Indiana on Oct. 9. Creighton has shut out six opponents this season, including their first four of the year along with Wisconsin and MVC foe Eastern Illinois.
The Bluejays are tops in the league at 2.1 goals per game, 6.8 points per game and 2.6 assists per game. Ethan Finlay, a preseason All-American forward, leads the MVC and ranks fourth in the nation with 10 goals. Jose Gomez has an MVC-leading eight assists, which ranks eighth in the country and teammate Dion Acoff – last season's MVC Freshman of the Year – has seven, putting him second in the league and 18th in the country. Creighton goalkeeper Brian Holt has 25 shutouts in 46 career starts and is one away from the school record.
The Bears (3-10, 0-4) come into the contest with the highest goals against average (1.62) in the league and are next to last in goals per game (0.85) and points (2.54). With three goals apiece, Wynne Mason and Joseph Cervantes are tied for ninth in the league, and Alex Parker's three assists also ties him for ninth in that category.
The game will be the second meeting between the two programs, with Creighton defeating the Bears 6-1 in Omaha in 2006.
It will also be Senior Day at the Stephens Complex as Mason, Parker and goalkeeper Ivan Zarate will make their final appearance in a UCA uniform in Conway. The Bears will look to close it out with their second home victory of the season, having previously defeated Centenary 2-1 on Sept. 7.
The Bears will then close out the regular season on the road at Drake and Evansville.
