The 16th ranked Creighton Bluejay’s traveled to Peoria, Illinois over the weekend to battle Southern Methodist University and Dartmouth College in neutral site matches.
The Jay’s entered the weekend with an undefeated record and had yet to allow a goal to any opponent.
In the first game of the two-game road trip, the Jay’s lost a heartbreaker to 18th ranked SMU in double overtime, 3-2, on a pair of penalty kicks. The Jay’s received goals from Andrew Ribiero in the 39th minute and Ethan Finlay in the 41st minute.
The Jays had momentum in their favor for much of the match, but were unable to sustain it in the final minutes.
“We had momentum on our side for much of the game,” junior goalkeeper Brian Holt said. “We have to finish out games, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight.”
SMU scored their first goal in the 69th minute, and then tied the match on a penalty kick in the 76th minute. The Jay’s were defeated in the second overtime when SMU capitalized on a penalty kick.
“It was a tough loss for our team, but all we can do is move forward and learn from it,” sophomore midfielder Greg Jordan said. “We have to put it behind us and just focus on our game Sunday against Dartmouth.”
The Jay’s were able to come away with a 3-2 win over Dartmouth in their second game of The Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic.
Greg Jordan, junior forward Ethan Finlay and sophomore midfielder Jose Gomez all contributed goals in the win. Finlay’s goal was a team-best, fourth goal on the year. Jose Gomez is still the leader in assists with six, but it was his game-winning goal that improved the Jay’s record to 5-1-0.
The game was tied for much of the second half, but Dartmouth’s Donnie Surdoval was ejected in the 71st minutes with a red card, forcing his team to play with one less player. This gave the Jay’s an advantage for the rest of the match, allowing Gomez to score the game-winning goal.
The Jay’s were able to earn a victory in the dramatic match, which they failed to do in the SMU match.
“We still have a long way to go,” Finlay said. “I was happy that we were able to complete the game although it was close, instead of letting up like we did against SMU.”
The Jay’s return to Omaha on Friday in a contest against the Badgers of Wisconsin.