WAC Tournament Champions Face Creighton in Program’s First NCAA DI Tournament: Seattle University men’s soccer (10-8-4, 7-0-3 WAC) completed their undefeated conference schedule with a pair of wins in the WAC Tournament, earning the Tournament Championship and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Picked to finish sixth in the league prior to the start of the season, the Redhawks went 7-0-3 in regular season WAC play and earned the Regular Season Title and No. 1 seed in last weekend’s conference tournament. This is the program’s first ever NCAA Division I Tournament and the first Seattle U men’s team to reach a DI Tournament since men’s basketball in March 1969. SU will face Creighton in Omaha on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT with the winner advancing to face Washington on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m. PT in Seattle. To purchase tickets, call the Creighton box office at (402) 280-5287. Links to available live stats and video are on the men’s soccer schedule page at GoSeattleU.com.
SU Makes Near Sweep of WAC Postseason Honors: As voted upon by the WAC’s eight head men’s soccer coaches, Miguel Gonzalez was named WAC Offensive Player of the Year, Kyle Bjornethun was named WAC Freshman of the Year, and head coach Pete Fewing was named WAC Coach of the Year. Seattle U also led all teams with five All-Conference honorees including Jake Feener, Gonzalez, and Ian Hines-Ike on the First Team and Bjornethun and Bobby Segal on the Second Team.
Feels Like the First Time: The Redhawks are one of just two men’s soccer squads to make their NCAA DI tournament debut in 2013 alonside Quinnipiac.
17 Again: Seattle U is one of just 17 schools whose men and women’s soccer teams both advanced to the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Alongside SU is UCLA, Virginia, Marquette, Louisville, Indiana, California, St. John’s, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Penn State, Denver, UMBC, and Stanford.
Two of a Kind: Seattle U is the only school in which their men’s and women’s soccer teams are making their NCAA Division I Tournament debut in 2013. Both squads won the WAC Regular Season and Tournament titles, both going undefeated in conference play (the women went 12-0-0 in WAC regular season play).
NCAA Leader: Senior goalkeeper Jake Feener remains on top of NCAA DI standings in saves (149), moving back into first place in saves per game (6.67), as he has recorded eight or more saves in 11 matches this season.
Family Tree: Ian Hines Ike’s brother, Brendan, is a sophomore defender for Creighton and was listed on TopDrawerSoccer’s 100 Freshmen to Watch in 2012 (No. 17). He also trained with MLS Club Chivas USA Reserves and first team during summer offseason as well as captained Chivas USA U-23 PDL team.
WAC Tournament: After receiving a quarterfinal bye as the No. 1 seed in the tournament. the Redhawks downed host-Air Force, 2-0, in the semifinals on Nov. 15. In the title game on Nov. 17, the Spartans scored first, but Seattle U came from behind on goals by Miguel Gonzalez and Hamza Haddadi to win, 2-1. Jake Feener, Miguel Gonzalez, Ian Hines-Ike, and Kyle Bjornethun were named to the All-Tournament team while Feener received Tournament MVP honors.
Scouting Creighton: The Bluejays are 9-8-2 overall going into this week’s postseason matchup, including 4-4-1 in Big East play after falling to No. 4 seed Providence, 2-1, on Nov. 12 in the Big East Men’s Soccer Quarterfinals. Finishing fifth in Big East Conference standings, Creighton as the No. 17 seed nationally earned the at-large selection. They are 28-17-6 overall in NCAA Tournament play and have advanced to at least the quarterfinals in six of their last 10 appearances. Last season, CU made it to the Final Four where they fell to eventual National Champion Indiana, 1-0. They have now earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 21st time in the past 22 seasons. Timo Pitter leads Creighton with seven goals, 18 points, and 48 shots, also adding four assists and two game-winning goals while Alex Bolowich has started 15 of 19 games in goal, recording 60 saves, a 1.28 GAA, and a .759 save pct.
Hines-Ike Named GoSeattleU.com Student-Athlete of the Week (Nov. 11-17): Ian Hines-Ike assisted both goals in the team’s come-from-behind victory in the WAC Championship game, assisting Miguel Gonzalez’s equalizing goal in the 57th minute and Hamza Haddadi’s game-winning goal in the 71st minute. He led the team with 10 shots, three on goal, over the weekend.