After a 1-0 shutout against Evansville last weekend, the third-seeded Bluejays (12-5-2) will face off against the second-seeded Missouri State Bears (9-5-3) in the semifinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
This season, Creighton is hosting the MVC Tournament, and having home field advantage is something the Jays are happy about.
“Playing at home is definitely an advantage,” sophomore keeper Alicia Montgomery said. “Every team loves playing at home. We love the atmosphere that our stadium creates, and we enjoy having our fans watching us play and cheering us on. It really pumps us up.”
The venue isn’t what matters the most to the Jays. It’s the people in the venue that affect them.
“We have our fans here to motivate and cheer us on,” sophomore forward/midfielder Beth Fyles said.
In their only regular season match, the Jays topped Missouri State 3-1 with the help of two penalty kick goals. However, they aren’t letting that victory affect their mind set going into Friday’s match.
“The fact that we beat them in itself gives us confidence but we never want to underestimate our opponents,” Fyles said.
The twist for the Jays is that Creighton has never beat Missouri State twice in the same season. The Jays are going to use that for energy heading into this weekend’s match up.
“It does give us a little bit of momentum,” Montgomery said. “We have something to prove on Friday, and in every game when we had something to prove, we play better.”
The Jays plan to use the pressure and energy of this game to their benefit, but they don’t want to let it change anything about their play.
“When we just play our style of game and knock the ball around, that’s when we’re at our best,” Fyles said.
Last season, the Jays failed to make it past the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament. That loss is still on their minds this season.
“Considering we didn’t make it past the quarterfinals last year, everyone has that extra drive and fire to come out strong this year,” Fyles said. “We’re staying on top of it by maintaining focus and doing the little things like getting enough rest, eating right, etc. That prepares us ahead of time.”
Emotions run deeper during the playoffs, and the Jays won’t settle for anything but the best.
“We have to give 110 percent if we want to win and take it to the next level, so that’s what we’re doing; 110 percent from here on out,” Fyles said.
Heading into Friday’s match, the Jays have their sights set on the end.
“We know what we have to do to be successful, and it is just a matter of getting the job done so that we make it to Sunday’s game,” Montgomery said.
“Missouri State is just another team that stands in the way between us and the MVC Championship game.”
The 2009 women’s soccer MVC Tournament wraps up this weekend. Drake and Illinois State face off Friday at 3:30 p.m. before the Jays take on the Bears at 6 p.m. The winners of Friday’s games will face each other in Sunday’s
tournament Championship at 1 p.m.