This is the second installment of White & Blue Review’s preview for the 2009 Creighton men’s soccer team. Join us every day this week as we take a look at a different part of Bob Warming’s club, leading up to his team’s first regular season game against Loyola University Chicago on Tuesday, September 1.
Creighton's Byron Dacy
Strikers
According to Creighton coach Bob Warming, the striker position was a weaker spot of the 2008 Bluejays squad. If that’s the case, then how good was the rest of the team? The Bluejays bring back five of the team’s six strikers from last season, including a healthy Hermann Trophy Award Watch List honoree Byron Dacy (pictured above) and 2008 first team All-MVC honoree Jeff Thayer.
Warming says the players acknowledged the position could improve, and have been determined to do so during their off-season training.
“Down in Peru, the strikers looked very good, but the center backs that we competed against were not exactly the caliber we will face here at the colligate level,” Warming said. “As for the newcomers to the program, it is a bit early to tell if anyone will emerge in a starting roll, but that is why we play three preseason games.”
Dacy returns for his fifth year in the program. The 2005 MVC Freshman of the Year and two-time second team All-MVC honoree is Creighton’s active leader in all-time goals (17), assists (19), and points (53).
Thayer, also a senior, looks to improve on an impressive junior season that saw him earn first-team All-MVC honors as well as second team All-Midwest recognition. He was tied for first on the 2008 squad with 6 assists and 21 shots on goal, second on the team with 16 points, and third in goals (5).
Fellow senior Thomas Gjoesund joins Dacy and Thayer at the position, where he moved to from a defensive role in 2008. Warming asked the Norway native to switch in order to add a bit more ball control to the position.
Returning sophomore Nick O’Neill and transfer Josh Moran join the aforementioned players at striker. O’Neill, a sophomore from Peoria, Illinois, played in 11 matches as a freshman. Moran joins the program from Hastings College, where he led his team in scoring. He joins high school teammates Kyle Deremer and Bryan Hoie on the Bluejays roster (Millard North High School).
Tomorrow we’ll look at the 2009 Bluejay midfield, with a few perspectives from Coach Warming. Stay tuned!.