‘Tis the season for scoreboard watching and few conferences have been as exciting in the final leg of the season as the Big East conference. Despite their hold over first place in the Midwest Division, the Bluejays have been followed closely by Butler and Akron, who shared second place at the time the match on Oct. 25.
With Butler’s tournament spot on the line, the match was expected to reflect the urgent atmosphere that has come to define the Midwest Division — and Butler seemed to deliver on that forecast in the opening minutes of the match.
The Jays were repeatedly cornered into their defensive third, a stark contrast to the usual results of their high press style of play. It was Creighton’s strong back line and a series of outstanding saves from redshirt freshman goalie Matthew Hudson in the 17th minute that prevented Butler from capitalizing on their early aggressiveness.
Deflecting a shot off a free kick, Hudson then blocked not one, but two rebound attempts and picked up three of his four saves on the day within the span of 18 seconds.
“We knew we were going to get their best shot … And so I think weathering that storm a little bit, taking those hits, kind of got us going, but the most important part of all that was that we did it together,” Hudson said.
Reflecting the collective, spirited style of play that has come to define the Jays this season, the team fed off this strong defensive showing to turn the momentum of the match and score their first goal of the game in the 22nd minute off of a free kick from graduate midfielder Omar Ramadan. It was his first of the season.
It was not long before junior midfielder Miguel Arilla piled on the score. Arilla connected on an arching midfield pass from Ramadan with a bicycle kick to add to his career-high six goals on the season.
For a team characterized by late-game comebacks (13 of their 17 goals have come in the second half), the early dominance seemed like a deviation from the usual script. Creighton continued to pin Butler to their defensive third for the majority of the half.
In the final five minutes of the first, freshman midfielder Ayden Kokozka sprinted down the length of the pitch into a breakneck three-on-three, capitalizing on an opening in Butler’s back line to score the final Crieghton goal of the game.
His first collegiate goal did not go unappreciated by his teammates, who mobbed him at the corner before completing their familiar celebration huddle. Creighton was playing hungry, and they were being rewarded for it.
“I think keeping that positive energy and high energy, especially for how we play, is crucial. Johnny always says, ‘The first ingredient is our energy.’ If we have that collective spirit and that energy that we bring every game, the soccer will just come along with it,” Hudson said. “So I think that was very important for us in that match. I can’t think of a game where I’ve seen three goals like that scored better.”
However, within a minute of Kokozka’s goal, Butler picked up one of their own. In a match where the full three points were essential to keeping Crieghton’s lead in the division, even the slightest sign of life from Butler was cause for concern.
“Butler did not back down, and I think they understood that their season was on the line, and so they committed full numbers forward,” Torres said.
In the second half, working with a lead, the Bluejays prioritized keeping possession but also attempted to continue their offensive onslaught, matching their first-period numbers with 10 shots. Unlike the first half, none of those shots allowed Creighton to widen their lead over Butler.
Torres said there was more to be desired from Creighton’s second-half approach.
“Even though we did a good job with possession of the ball, we weren’t very efficient in our finishing in our second half, because I thought we could’ve maybe scored a couple more as Butler opened up to try and chase the game,” he said.
Despite some faltering offensively, Creighton held Butler to one goal and improved to 13 points, three ahead of second-place Akron, which also won their match against Xavier on Oct. 25.
Creighton’s ability to hold the game down reflected a maturity the young club has developed throughout the season, refusing to buckle under the pressure presented by the standings race and the looming Big East tournament.
“I’m very proud of our younger guys and how they’ve been able to settle in, and I think part of that has to do with our upperclassmen instilling that belief in our younger guys, so I couldn’t be happier for the group,” Torres said.
The Bluejays will be tested in a final homestand in the next two weeks, looking to close out the season with a spot in the Big East Tournament semi-finals. In a stretch where it’s never been more important to meet the moment, Creighton will face off against Big East second-place holder Seton Hall on Nov. 1.
“The guys are looking forward to the last two matches at Morrison Stadium … We understand that those are huge RPI matches for us, and we’re up to the challenge,” Torres said, “and what better place to do it than the best stadium in the country in front of the best fans.”