Despite being down a woman following an early red card, the women’s soccer team remained undefeated to start their season, acquiring a 0-0 draw against Iowa State on Sunday.
The team now sits at a win and three draws to begin their year following a 5-save performance by senior goalkeeper Keelan Terrell.
The Bluejays took the first shot of the match as sophomore defender Hannah Luke attempted to score off of a free kick. Head coach Ross Paule commended the team’s start.
“I really liked how we started them,” Paule said.“We kept pressure on them, we moved the ball better, got some opportunities.”
Following a collision with the keeper, graduate forward Juelle Love picked up a yellow card in the 24thminute. Moments later, they collided again, handing Love her second yellow and a red card along with it, forcing the Jays to play down a player for the rest of the match.
Despite being down a player, the Jays managed to keep the pressure on the Cyclones, with a potentially game-winning tap in from senior defender not managing to find the net in the 80th minute.
The Cyclones were never able to take advantage of the personnel advantage, failing to score on any of their eightsecond-half shots, including a diving save by Terrell, jumping on the ball following a near spill.
“I wasn’t that worried in the moment,” Terrell said. “I made the initial save and was like ‘Oh my god, the ball’s still here!’ and dove on it.”
Paule emphasized time and again Terrell’s importance to the team.
“She’s gonna make that game-winning save, I expect it of her,” Paule said. “That’s good confidence to have.
The result comes following a 2-1 victory over Kansas City earlier that week, the Jays’ first of the year, in which sophomore forward Alyssa Judkins scored a late goal off the bench to win the match.
The game-winner came off a free kick from junior defender Maddie Radke, on which Judkins rebounded her own header and knocked in her first goal of the season.
“I saw [Radke] cross it in, I just cut into the box, and it was right on my head,” Judkins said. “It came right off my chest and I kinda just ran through it.”
Prior to their home opener, the Jays delivered a pair of draws against Gonzaga and Montana in the Rumble in the Rockies tournament.
Creighton returns all 11 starters from last year’s team, which went 7-10-2 following a strong start, going 1-10-1 and finishing in 9th place in the Big East. The team is projected to finish 7th in the league. Paule emphasized the importance of his team playing with energy for the full 90 minutes and outworking the opposition as a key to their success this season.
“More courage to play with confidence with ball, we want to be quicker in our decisions, we want to be more aggressive,” Paule said. “Just be more on the front foot. We have to have more energy, we have to be more dynamic.”