For the Creighton University women’s soccer team, the move to the Big East Conference was a chance to start fresh. After a 2012 campaign that ended with a less than desirable result in the Jays’ final year in the Missouri Valley Conference, a youthful but experienced core of returning players are determined to bring the soccer program back to prominence.
In the ten-team Big East, the Jays were picked to finish ninth while receiving seventeen votes in the preseason coaching poll. But for head coach Bruce Erickson, this year’s expectations won’t be any different than last year.
“Coming off the year that we had, I think there are some certain basic things that we need to get back to, like being physical and competitive.”
Although the Jays graduated five seniors last year, the core group of returning players is young and experienced. The youth movement is demonstrated by the 18 underclassmen players on the team’s roster. However Coach Erickson is confident that his team will be prepared for the challenging Big East slate of games.
“We are playing against much better competition in the Big East, so we’ve got to be ready.”
The Jays’ 2013 campaign got off to a rough start with a pair of losses on the road to Utah State and Boise State. However the Jays bounced back with a pair of wins over the Labor Day weekend to even their overall record at 2-2.
On Friday August 30 in the season’s home opener, the Jays easily handled the University of North Dakota with a dominating 6-0 win. At the 12:36 mark in the first half, the Jays struck first when sophomore midfielder Kirstyn Corder notched her first goal of the season with a nice kick from the top of the box. Although the Jays only held a 1-0 advantage at the intermission, they were getting better looks at the goal than UND. The Jays had 15 shots on goal in the first half compared to just four for UND.
In the second half, the Jays opened the game open by scoring four goals in a 15 minute time frame. At the 53:00 mark, sophomore Alyssa Jara started the scoring spurt when she punched in a goal with an assist from Alissa Kohmetscher. Goals by Lauren Cingoranelli (54:04), Lauren Sullivan (63:52), and a pair of goals from Paige Jarsombeck (68:19, 89:53) paced the Jays’ offensive attack. The Jays would finish the game with a decisive 37-6 edge in shots on goal and a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks.
On Sunday, a strong second half performance again helped the Jays overcome the hot temperatures to defeat the University of Northern Colorado Bears 4-1; the starting time for the game was pushed back due to the warm temperatures. Similar to the match on Friday, the Jays went into intermission in the lead 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Alyssa Jara (8:58).
Once again the Jays’ offense took over after halftime by scoring three goals. After Jill Richgels (49:33) scored the Jays’ second goal of the game early in the second half, the Bears answered with a goal of their own to cut the lead to 2-1. However the Jays’ defense was too much to overcome, as goals from Kelsey O’Donnell (67:17) and Darby Hugunin (81:55) iced the victory for Creighton.
After a rough road trip to begin the season, the Jays rebounded nicely thanks in large part due to the offensive attack. Freshman Darby Hugunin, who scored her first goal as a Bluejay on Sunday, believes that the team is starting to realize that they can score goals and “make the most out of opportunities.”
Hugunin stated after the game, “We just want to keep it going,” which demonstrates that this team has the right mindset as it prepares for the next game this Sunday against the University of Idaho. There is a lot of work to be done and lots to improve upon, but this team is showing promise of being a force to be reckoned with in Big East Conference play.
The Jays’ Big East Conference opener will be on Thursday, September 26, at 7 P.M. in Morrison Stadium against Marquette University.