The Creighton women’s soccer team opened conference play with a 2-1 loss to the Illinois State University Redbirds, dropping them to 3-7-2 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
The Saturday night match turned out like Groundhog Day for the Jays, as the team played well for long stretches and controlled possession, but could not take advantage of their opportunities and eventually gave up another deciding goal in the closing minutes of a game.
Creighton put pressure on the Illinois State defense and had some early chances, but could not find the net. The Jays were repeatedly caught offside throughout the game. Creighton had a chance to score when junior forward Kelsey O’Donnell found fellow junior forward Lauren Cingoranelli in front of the net on a cross, but Cingoranelli’s shot was blocked by an ISU defender. Later in the half, freshman forward Alyssa Jara had her shot blocked on a breakaway.
ISU capitalized on their first major chance, as senior midfielder Rachel Bostick headed in a pass from sophomore defender Gabbi McArtor in the 16th minute that sneaked past senior keeper Katie Jo Swanson.
“It went right through my hands. I thought I had it,” Swanson said about the goal.
The Jays immediately responded, as senior forward Brittney Neumann scored her fifth goal of the season on a stunning shot from 30 yards out after blasting past two ISU defenders in the 18th minute.
“That goal felt really good,” Neumann said. “I thought I was offside at first. I didn’t see the girl behind me, and so I was a little shocked. She was backing up, and I saw my opportunity.”
Creighton created more scoring opportunities in the half, including a cross from Cingoranelli to Neumann that an ISU defender blocked, but they could not find the back of the net. Creighton finished the half with a 6-5 advantage in shots and a 5-1 advantage in corners.
In the second half, the story remained the same, as Creighton could not take advantage of any chances. O’Donnell shot a ball from long distance that was saved by ISU senior keeper Mara Kremenovic. Later, Neumann shot a ball from the right side of the field that was deflected, and senior defender Gabriela Guillen narrowly missed a header on a free kick in the 80th minute.
Similar to the Bluejays, the Redbirds had their initial opportunities in the second half, putting the pressure on Swanson and the Creighton defense, but ISU was never able to capitalize early.
Finally, when the game looked like it was sure to go into overtime, ISU sophomore forward and MVC leading scorer Rachel Tejada tallied the game winning goal in the 89th minute. Tejada broke away from the Creighton defense, drawing Swanson forward, and Tejada lofted the ball over Swanson’s head and into the net for the game winner.
Swanson finished with two saves, while Kremenovic finished with six. Creighton finished with a 17-13 edge in shots and an 8-3 lead in corners.
“We played one of our best games of the season. We shouldn’t be ashamed of how we played,” Neumann said. “We need to play with more urgency in the last 10 minutes of games. It’s just unacceptable that we lost.”
Though the team has started slowly, head coach Bruce Erickson is still optimistic about the rest of conference play.
“We can still win the league. We just have to take it one game at a time and work on playing better.”
The Jays play their next game on Friday, at Indiana State University.