The Johnny Torres Era is in full swing. After wrapping up the preseason with a 2-1 home win over Illinois-Chicago, the Creighton men’s soccer team can now shift their focus to the Tar Heel State for a daunting opening slate that has them hitting the road to play No. 6 North Carolina on Friday, August 30, and No. 4 Wake Forest on Sunday, September 1 before returning home for Socctoberfest to take on perennial power Akron on Friday, September 6.
The Bluejays have dealt with a slew of injuries all over the field, including one of the season-ending variety to three-year starting center back Julius Fohr. CU will try to overcome that by integrating 11 newcomers in with a club that returns 6 starters from last season, including Big East Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year in sophomore Paul Kruse.
Below is a comprehensive player-by-player breakdown from Mr. Creighton Soccer himself, Johnny Torres, as he gears up for his first season as Division 1 head coach.
Forwards
#9 Ziyad Fares (5’9″ / 170 / Senior / Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Ziyad is a handful when he’s on. He can play up top or out on the wing. I thought he had a good showing against Illinois-Chicago the other day.
#11 Nico Engelking (5’11” / 160 / Junior / Wuerzburg, Germany)
Nico is very dangerous out on the wing. I think he showed a little bit of that against Illinois-Chicago. One of his big attributes is he likes to get in behind the last line of defense and can give a service from the wing. He’s definitely someone we are excited to see come in and help us on the attack.
#15 Luke Haakenson (5’10” / 175 / Senior / Maple Grove, Minnesota)
Luke will be one of our top guns going forward. His energy is infectious. His technical ability is — at times the stuff I see him do in practice and in games is I’m blown away by his feet. He’s got great feet, very soft feet, and he’s a guy who is very dangerous running at center backs. We’re excited to have him as one of our leaders and one of our most dangerous players going forward.
#16 Diego Dutilh (5’6″ / 155 / Freshman / Santiago, Chile)
Diego is a soccer player. He’s a kid that has some instinct going forward and I think he showed it pretty well on that strike in the second half against Illinois-Chicago.
#18 Duncan McGuire (6’0″ / 165 / Freshman / Omaha, Nebraska)
Duncan is a local kid. [Creighton Prep] grad. I’ve known him for over 10 years because he’s been coming to our summer camp. It’s a neat deal for me to be able to see a kid that I’ve known for so long come into the fold. He’s similar to me in that he might bleed blue a little bit. Eventually when he has the ability to come in and make a large impact he’ll be a kid that will be chomping at the bit to get in and make some things happen. I really like the fact that he’s got a nose for goal and a huge competitive spirit. We’re excited to have him.
Midfielders
#5 Yudai Tashiro (5’5″ / 140 / Senior / Tokyo, Japan)
Yudai is a soccer junkie. He’s great, man. He’s technical as all get out. I love the fact that he can go left and right. We really like using him as a center-mid, although he can play as an outside back as well. He’s just a kid who lives and breathes soccer. All he wants to do is play soccer and he shows that every time he steps on the field.
#7 Tor Trosten (5’8″ / 150 / Senior / Tromso, Norway)
Tor is a kid who has great imagination. He has a powerful shot and can bring others into the game in the final third. He’s a little bit banged up right now with some hamstring issues, but looking to get him back within a week or so.
#8 Kuba Polat (5’8″ / 160 / Junior / Ludwigshafen, Germany)
I see Kuba the same way I see Yudai. Those guys are our heart and soul in the midfield. They do the dirty work and they enjoy doing it, defensively and offensively. They are guys that will allow us to go forward as well as give us balance on the defensive side of the ball. Both Yudai and Kuba are big parts to our puzzle.
#10 Pepe Cejudo (5’9″ / 160 / Senior / Mexico City, Mexico)
He’s in the same boat with Tor — a very dangerous player in the final third. He’s someone who can bring others into the game. He like to create going forward. He’s carrying a little bit of an issue with his groin right now, but he’s someone we are looking to get back sooner rather than later that can help us in our attack.
#13 Charles Auguste (5’10” / 165 / Freshman / Montreal, Quebec)
Charles is a kid who can play anywhere in the midfield. Charles has quite a bit of instinct in the midfield. He can play offensive midfielder, defensive midfielder. He’s got great attributes. He’s very technical and very strong. He can cover some ground and can use his left or his right foot. He’s definitely a kid that we are hoping can make an impact this year.
#14 Daniel Espeleta (5’8″ / 170 / Sophomore / San Jose, Costa Rica)
Daniel has come in and done very well for us, even last year as a freshman. He’s a kid with a very good engine and a soccer brain. He’s dangerous in that he can bring others into the game as well as do some things on his own that can help us in the attacking third. He’s a kid we are very excited to be able to have on the field.
#17 Keegan Boyd (5’9″ / 165 / Sophomore / DuPont, Washington)
Keegan is our jewel. He came to Creighton as a student and the guys were telling me about this kid from Washington that was playing pick-up ball with them in the spring. After our guys told me about him Elmar and I decided to bring him out to training, and he caught both our eyes and has been on the roster now since last spring. He’s a kid who has made huge strides and definitely someone that makes us better. He’s played well this preseason. He’s a sold back. He’s got a very good engine. He’s coachable. He also can go left and right. He’s just a kid that exemplifies the things on and off the field that we like to have at Creighton.
#23 Connor Ramlo (6’1″ / 180 / Redshirt Senior / Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
Connor has been banged up a little bit with an ankle injury, but he’s a big part of our puzzle and our success. We’re hoping to get him back by the end of this week. He’s a great leader and a great example both on the field and in the class room. I don’t think his GPA has ever been below a 3.8 the whole time he’s been here. He’s very mature, a great leader, and he’ll be a very important piece of our puzzle in the back line.
Defenders
#2 Younes Boudadi (6’0″ / 170 / Senior / Ypres, Belgium)
He will be one of the best right backs in the country. He’s got a great engine. He’s very technical. He enjoys defending, but he can get to the end line on the offensive side as well.
#3 Luke Mitchell (6’1″ / 180 / Freshman / Denver, Colorado)
He played a lot of minutes this preseason. He’s a kid that I think will help us fill some void when we do have a lot of games in succession and we have to rotate a lot of players. He reminds me a big of Mitch LaGro. He’s a very physical center back that prides himself on cleaning everything up at the back line and can play a little soccer.
#6 Musa Qongo (5’8″ / 165 / Junior / Johannesburg, South Africa)
Musa is a modern outside back. He’s a soccer player. He’s got a great left foot. He’s got a good engine and he likes going forward. We’re trying to bring guys into the program that can attack as outside backs, and Musa definitely has that ability. He’s a very down-to-earth, very humble guy, and he’s a great teammate.
#21 Bryce Gibson (6’5″ / 185 / Redshirt Senior / Lee’s Summit, Missouri)
Bryce is a fifth-year senior and one of our captains. He’s a leader on and off the field. He didn’t play against Illinois-Chicago due to a little bit of an issue with his knee, but we’re looking to get him back sooner rather than later. He’ll be playing as a center back for us.
#22 Cameron Briggs (5’10” / 145 / Redshirt Freshman / Oconomowoc, Wisconsin)
Cameron is a right back. He’s a very explosive, athletic, dynamic kid, who prides himself on playing good defense. I think he’ll be a kid who ends up surprising us and having a very nice collegiate career. He’s very energetic. I think the fans will like watching him. He’ll add to our attack coming out of the back line.
#27 Jake Ronneberg (5’11” / 170 / Redshirt Freshman / Naperville, Illinois)
Chicago kid. Center back as well. He can play a little bit of defensive mid, but we used him primarily at center back this preseason, and I thought he played very well against Illinois-Chicago. I was very proud of the way he played. I think he’s a kid that can be a mainstay for us at Creighton in our back line.
Goalkeepers
#1 Paul Kruse (6’4″ / 190 / Sophomore / Heilbronn, Germany)
Paul has come along nicely. Obviously he had a great freshman season. I think he came in and acclimated quickly, which was important. Now with a year with [Strength and Performance Coach] Scott Bankers under his belt he has become stronger and more explosive. He’s very proud to be able to call himself the number one at this position, although he understands that even though he played last year that doesn’t necessarily mean the position is solely his.
#24 Aron Gislason (6’2″ / 200 / Freshman / Akureyri, Iceland)
Aron is very technical. He comes from some pretty good pedigree of goalkeeping schools. He’s very similar to an Alex Kapp. He’s very strong and explosive, and he tries to man his box in an aggressive style. He’s definitely an added bonus to our back line.
#30 Duncan Werling (6’2″ / 215 / Redshirt Junior / Minneapolis, Minnesota)
He’s done well and acclimated himself. He’s a great teammate. The goalkeeping position is a very difficult position in that if you’re not the guy playing then you’re on the bench, whereas with the other 10 positions those guys have a little bit of an advantage because if you’re good at multiple positions your percentage of being able to play grows exponentially. The goalies don’t have that comfort, but Duncan has done well. He’s put his head down and has worked hard and is diligent. He exemplifies what we are looking for in a goalie every day at practice.
#33 Collin Valdivia (5’11” / 160 / Redshirt Senior / Santa Monica, California)
I’m very happy with where he’s at right now. I thought he showed well in Germany and in this preseason. Not only in the matches, but in our trainings.
#34 Andrew Karcher (6’1″ / 165 / Freshman / Houston, Texas)
He’s a kid who possesses some natural talent at the position. The number one characteristic that I’ve seen from him is that he’s fearless, which I think as a goalkeeper is pivotal. He’s a great teammate, a good kid in the locker room, and an excellent student.