When 3,895 people clad in blue and red packed into Morrison Stadium on a warm Wednesday evening, it was for more than soccer. Rivalries were set aside — at least for a moment — as Creighton and UNO fans came together before kickoff, united by a cause bigger than the game: the fight against cancer at the annual Kicks for a Cure doubleheader match. 

The fans came for the cause, they stayed for the community and what they got on Sept. 10 was a show.

Fueled by power in front of the goal, on-ball brilliance for a crisp finish and a solo masterpiece from near midfield over the course of a 90 minute brawl, the Creighton men’s soccer team outlasted its crosstown rival UNO, 3-2. 

On the pitch from the first whistle, the intensity matched the cause.

“I thought both teams were taking more risks to go forward in the first half tonight,” Creighton Head Coach Johnny Torres said. “And as we should [because] it’s a crosstown rivalry and so we want to make sure it’s exciting for our fans. So, I’m glad both teams came out to play tonight.”

Both attacks traded blows early, but it was Creighton who landed the opening strike. In the Bluejays quickest goal of the season, just ten minutes in, redshirt freshman defender Brian Edelman drove in a freekick sent in by junior midfielder Miguel Arilla, using his size in the crowded box to head the ball past the goalkeeper and get the first goal of his collegiate career.

While the goal set the tone of the match in a way the Bluejays hadn’t executed in previous matches, the score was followed by what Torres referred to as a lull: a dip in offensive efficiency caused by UNO’s ability to stagnate Creighton’s offensive attack and prevent it from stretching across the field.

The fruits of UNO’s hard work slowing down a fiery Creighton offense showed itself in the 31st minute. There, a near replica free kick-header combination earned by the Mavericks evaded redshirt freshman Matthew Hudson’s outstretched hands and settled in the goal, knotting the match at 1-1. 

After a push-and-pull final 15 minutes of the first half, neither team could manage the go-ahead goal, and the score remained level at 1-1.

But if there was one message driving the Bluejays to push harder and break through in the second half, it was the understanding that the match would demand everything they had.

“We know [the game] we’re playing is really, really intense… the teams that we’re playing, they’re not going to give us anything,” fifth-year senior forward Martin Herrera said. “We have to work for the win. We just have to find our motivation between each other and that’s going to make us win.”

So, when the 55th minute arrived — nearly 10 minutes into the second half — it felt like déjà vu: Creighton not only seized — but nearly created out of nothing — another key opportunity and struck once more.

The offensive sequence began with Creighton breaking down the field, as six UNO jerseys swarmed three Bluejay ones. Up the middle of the field came sophomore forward Bautista Rossi, dribbling the ball between his feet, before threading the needle to Herrera, the Concordia-Nebraska transfer, who was step-in-step to his right.

Once Herrera had the ball at his feet, it was three defenders, one goalkeeper — and him. With Mavericks collapsing around him, the window looked slim, but the fifth-year senior weaved through traffic in the heart of the box, froze the keeper with a brief hesitation and slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner. The goal was his first as a Bluejay.

As those in attendance marveled at Herrera’s calm presence in the box amid pressure, he admitted afterward that he was unaware of just how crowded the moment had been.

“Honestly, it was kind of hard in the moment because I was just looking at the ball,” the Ecuador native said. “I didn’t see anybody around, I was just going forward, and at one point I was just thinking, ‘I’m going totally forward and just score it.’”

Or, as Torres put it: “He was in the zone.”

The strike not only stunned the defense but also flipped the scoreboard back in Creighton’s favor, 2-1, setting up a tense final stretch.

Reflecting on the sequence post-match, Torres saw the goal as more than just fancy footwork; to him, it was a clear display of the natural instinct and technical brilliance that Herrera brings to the game.

“The ability to keep the ball tight to his left foot and twinkle toe around three different guys and even the goalkeeper … that was a special goal. I think it was a high display of technical ability and uncunning ability … things I don’t think you can coach.”

As it turned out, Herrera’s moment of brilliance was just the beginning. Less than two minutes later, the crowd at Morrison Stadium was stunned again — this time by the very player who had set Herrera up.

In the 58th minute, Rossi had just regained possession near midfield, and the play seemed destined to develop slowly. But then, out of nowhere came a shot no one saw coming — least of all the goalkeeper.

“I got the ball and I heard someone saying, ‘shoot!’, so I look at the goal, [and] the goalkeeper was far away so I decided to shoot [and] try [to score]… [then when I saw] the keeper touch it, I was like, ‘Please, get in. Get in,’” Rossi said. 

It happened in slow motion. When the UNO goalkeeper realized what had developed, he scrambled back in the direction of the goal, reaching skyward in a desperate attempt to tip the ball away. His fingertips made contact, but just barely, and the shot soared into the net. With Rossi’s first goal as a Bluejay, he put Creighton ahead 3-1.

The sophomore forward’s goal, too, came down to instinct and bravery to take the tough shot, Torres said — especially when the staff would have discouraged that type of shot any other time.

“It’s funny because us shooting outside the box is a big no-no. So not only was it instinct, but it was bravery too because if that ball sails into the scoreboard, he knows he’s going to get an earful,” Torres said. “But there’s not much I can say if it goes into the net, right? But it’s great instinct.”

Despite that brilliant strike, the Mavericks weren’t ready to back down, even though they faced a dwindling close and two goal deficit. In the 61st minute, Omaha was able to cut the deficit to 3-2 with an offensive sequence that got behind the Creighton backline, but it wouldn’t make a difference. When 90 minutes flashed on the scoreboard, the Bluejays had managed their second consecutive win defeating rival UNO, 3-2. 

With back-to-back wins under their belt, the Bluejays aim to keep their home streak alive against Oral Roberts tomorrow at 7 p.m. Yet, rather than fostering complacency, these results are fueling motivation in the locker room to keep pushing forward.

“Two wins in a row is good. It’s not just the wins on the day of the game, it’s the way we train and we push each other every single day…,” Rossi said. “It’s just the start.”