6. ABROAD: Holopainen leaves Creighton for Finnish club

• by Soccer America , Mar 30, 2007

After one season at Creighton, Pietari Holopainen has left to sign a two-year contract with FC Haka in his native Finland.

Holopainen, a second-team all-Missouri Valley selection, led the Bluejays with six assists while playing all over the field last fall.

"Creighton was a wonderful experience for me as a student and as a player," said Holopainen. "I learned a lot both on and off the field.  I was planning on returning to Creighton in the fall to play for the team again and obtain my master's degree, but this is a dream for me to be signed by one of the top teams in my own country."
 
The Bluejays won both the MVC regular-season and tournament titles in 2006 and finished 13-5-3 on the year after appearing in their 15th straight NCAA tournament.

EUROPEAN SIGNINGS (2006 Collegians):
Charlie Davies Boston College to Hammarby (Sweden)
Ryan Guy San Diego to St. Patrick's Athletic (Ireland)
Tally Hall San Diego State to Esbjerg (Denmark)
Pietari Holopainen Creighton to FC Haka (Finland)
Simon Omekanda Penn State to IF Norrkoping (Sweden)
Steve Purdy California to 1860 Munich II (Germany)
Darryl Roberts Liberty to Sparta Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Luis Robles Portland to Kaiserslautern II (Germany)
Kareem Smith South Florida to KI (Faeroe Islands)