The men’s soccer team defeated 4th ranked Duke on Dec 3, employing their top tier offensive attack to win 3-2 in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament and advance to the College Cup.
The Bluejays advanced to their first College Cup since 2012, after a composed attack fended offDukeand fifth year senior goalkeeper Paul Kruse led the charge with eight saves on g, solidifying a 3-2 victory.
On a rainy day in Durham, North Carolina, the Creighton Bluejays entered the pitch against a top-ranked Duke defense who had only allowed eight goals all season, a spot in the College Cup at stake.
From the opening whistle, the teams were evenly matched,attempting to take advantage early.
In the 17th minute, Creighton struck first. On a strong forward pass from senior midfielder Charles Auguste, junior forward Duncan McGuire sent a shot into the left corner of the net, scoring his 22nd goal of the season and putting the Bluejays up 1-0.
But in the 29th minute, Duke came back with an attack of their own. After their first shot was saved by Kruse, the rebounded shot went into the back of the net, tying the match 1-1.
On the defense, Kruse kept a composed line to defend against a strong Duke attack. In the 31st minute, on a strong shot from the middle of the box, Kruse made a diving save to the left to keep the match tied 1-1.
In the 40th minute, Kruse made a series of spectacular saves, as he dove to the right of the goal to save one shot which was rebounded in the eighteen–yard box by Duke. In a matter of seconds, Kruse was back on his feet to save a secondshot to the top of the goal, deflecting it out of bounds.
In the 43rd minute, an assist from sophomore defender Miguel Ventura gave sophomore midfielder Jackson Castro the opportunity to capitalize. Following Ventura’s pass, Castro redirected the ball into the back of the net, putting Creighton back on top 2-1.
“[With] Miguel Ventura coming in and giving us a bit of a lift on the left side… we were able to get him on the ball,” fourth-year head Coach Johnny Torres said. “There was some pretty good service on [Ventura’s] part. [And] it was just a great initiative by Jackson to be able to track that ball and redirect it towards the goal like he did.”
In the 45th minute, a long-range, unassisted, goal from Auguste at the top of the eighteen-yard box extended the Bluejay lead to 3-1going into the end of the first half.
In the second half, Creighton continued to play strong, relying more on their defensive line in the last 45 minutes.
Kruse continued to play incredibly well, as a series of tough saves in the 59th minute kept Creighton up 3-1.
“With a goalie like Paul, you want to make sure he’s making the saves he supposed to make, but we also understand that in order for us to be successful and go far, you also need a goalkeeper that can make two, maybe sometimes threeof the saves he’s not supposed to make, and I think he did that today,” Torres commented about Kruse’s performance. “He’s a guy that brings so much calm to our back line and leadership for the whole group.”
In the 75th minute, despite a jumping deflection by Kruse to send the ball out of bounds, a quick Duke throw-in and shot into the right corner of the box brought Duke within one goal, Creighton still leading 3-2.
Kruse and the backline kept Duke at bay, and at the end of the 90 minutes, Creighton defeated the 4thranked Blue Devils 3-2.
When asked about their overall performance, Coach Torres expressed his praise for the team.
“Really excited to be moving on to the College Cup,” Torres said.“It was a hard-fought match today. [It was a] tough second half for us, but nonetheless, [I’m] proud of the way we fought, and excited for our boys. They deserve to be going to the College Cup this season.”
Coming off another strong win, Torres commented on who the Bluejays are as a program, and what has gotten them to this moment.
“I know the term that’s been thrown around is ‘giant killers,’ but I’d have to respectfully disagree with that,” Torres said. “We are a storied program, we are, ourselves, a giant program, and regardless of the ranks, we understand that we can play with anybody in the country, and so when we step on the field, we’re not looking at it as an ‘upset’ or a ‘giant killer.’”
The Creighton Bluejays advance to take on 3rd ranked Syracuse on Dec 9.