Men’s Soccer Big East Conference play continued for the Creighton Bluejays as they hosted the DePaul Blue Demons. Both the 4-3-3 Bluejays and the 3-4-2 Blue Demons were still seeking their first win. In the end, it was DePaul that came out with the 2-0 victory despite only having 4 shots compared to Creighton’s 23.
“The biggest frustration is that we are playing well,” head coach Johnny Torres said. “We’re not getting outplayed but nonetheless we’re coming out empty handed so it’s a gut punch. All we can do is go again next time.”
The game started off fast with DePaul playing an aggressive tempo as they looked to score early. However, Creighton held strong as the first shot for the Bluejays came just a few minutes into the game.
Despite a good start, disaster struck for the Bluejays as a bad pass led to a one on one opportunity for DePaul. Sophomore Noeh Hernandez took advantage as he scored the opening goal of the game to go up 1-0.
“The pass missed the mark,” Torres said. “It wasn’t in the wheelhouse of the player that it was supposed to go to and it turned out to be a through ball for DePaul. Whether there was miscommunication there or just simply a bad pass it was something that ended up being beneficial for DePaul.”
Creighton noticeably took a much more aggressive approach following the goal with scoring opportunities in the 15th and 18th minute but the score stayed 1-0.
After this, the game hit a lull as neither side was able to get off a shot until the 29th minute but an impressive save from DePaul kept the score 1-0. Creighton had several more opportunities in the first half including two shots in the last minute but the score stayed at 1-0. The Bluejays had 8 shots in the first 45 minutes, but DePaul still had the lead 1-0 even with only one shot.
“I think we have to be willing to create another angle for the passer if the first movement doesn’t work,” Torres said. “I think it is a combination of whoever’s on the ball being a bit more savvy in understanding what the other team is trying to do and secondly the [other players] getting better angles for the passer.
Much of the early part of the second half was spent in DePaul’s territory but the Blue Demons continued to keep the Bluejays off the board. Eventually DePaul was able to clear the ball and got their second shot of the game in the 66th minute. However, the Blue Demons were unable to extend their lead as the ball sailed over the goal.
Creighton kept up the aggressive tempo and for a second it looked as if it was going to pay off as a near goal in the 69th minute. The play went to official review but the call was upheld as Creighton was still kept scoreless.
“I thought we did a much better job in the second half at territory dominance and having opportunities on goal,” Torres said. “For that, I’m very proud and excited for our group being able to do that throughout the second half.”
Time was running short in the game and as a result the Bluejays kept forcing the ball downfield looking for an opportunity. This led to an opening on the back end which turned into the second goal of the game for the Blue Demons in the 87th minute by Logan Finnegan.
“We have to minimize these lapses where we’re gifting opportunities to hurt us and that’s exactly what happened in the 87th minute,” Torres said. “So we need to continue to impose territorial dominance but also [scoring] a goal so we can get the opponents to open up a little bit.”
Creighton kept pushing the ball downfield in search of a miracle but were unable to find it as they dropped their second game in Big East play. The Bluejays will look to turn around the slump as they head down the road for a non-conference matchup with the UNO Mavericks this Wednesday, Oct. 9.
“We’ll continue to let them know that we believe in them, that we love them and that we’ll continue to plug away together,” Torres said. “That’s the biggest thing, we’ve lost these matches together, and so the only way that we are going to get out of this rut is by staying together.”