Alegría (joy). Belief. Drive. Excitement. Hunger. Identity. Opportunity. Patience. Perseverance. Pride. Progress. Process.
The Creighton men’s soccer team has stayed true and played true to these qualities throughout the 2025 season. Each match was a step forward, each time on the pitch a new opportunity to show the world what a group of 30 guys, made up of 14 true underclassmen, could do.
“It’s been a special group from the onset. Having 11 new faces and watching these guys foster and build relationships and trust between each other has been really nice and refreshing to see,” Creighton head coach Johnny Torres said.
All the way until the final minute of the final game of the regular season on Nov. 7, the Bluejays pushed, unwilling to relinquish what they worked so hard to create over the 2025 campaign.
But as fate would have it, the No. 19 Akron Zips would come to Omaha and leave with a 1-0 victory over the Bluejays on Senior Night. The win meant the Zips took were crowned Midwest Division champs and secured their spot in the Big East Tournament. The Bluejays’ loss meant a good chance the night would mark the end of their season.
However, what unfolded between the top two teams in the Midwest Division was nothing short of a show.
“It was a good college match. There was a lot of action and a lot of good football, a lot of desire and teams that aren’t sitting back. Both teams wanted to defend, both teams wanted to be on the front foot and both teams wanted to go forward, and so that was a fun match for those that came in attendance and watched,” Torres said.
In the first 45 minutes, the score may have remained stubbornly at 0-0, but on the pitch, the match showed anything but a lack of opportunity for success.
Both teams began on the front foot, though Akron made the first move in just the first minute of the match. As redshirt freshman goalkeeper Matthew Hudson attempted a free kick, an Akron player blocked the ball. Hudson didn’t miss a beat, though, quickly recovering and advancing the ball to his teammates up the field.
Despite the first-minute scare, Creighton settled into the match and began controlling most of the possession, developing dangerous sequences.
Within the first 12 minutes, Creighton was awarded three corner kicks, though none found the back of the net.
Looking for the go-ahead against their No. 19 foe, the Bluejays’ closest chance of the half came from an aggressive run by sophomore forward Bautista Rossi. The Argentina native demonstrated his dynamics at the front of the Creighton offense from the first whistle, but in the 14th minute, the sophomore nearly notched the first score.
Breaking down the left side, Rossi closed in on the near post for a one-on-one with Akron goalkeeper Mitch Budler. Budler came out just in time to cut off the angle, keeping the match scoreless.
After about 38 minutes of possession control for Creighton, the Zips turned the tide in the last seven minutes, ripping off five shots in that time and forcing Hudson to get active in the net
Hudson’s first save in that time came in the 43rd minute, as a zinger of a shot from the top of the box hurdled toward goal. With keen awareness, Hudson jumped up and caught the ball, stopping Akron’s attack in its tracks.
The redshirt freshman followed up the clean save with another in the final minute of the half. Similar to the save in the 43rd minute, Hudson grabbed a shot out of the air and controlled possession for the Bluejays.
Hudson’s saves were a critical part of preventing a quick go-ahead goal for Akron in the opening half.
“I think his performance tonight sums up the type of season he’s had. He’s made some tremendous saves … there was no difference tonight,” Torres said. “I’m really proud of where he’s at and how far he’s come, and I think that position for us in the future is in good hands.”
True to Creighton’s game plan, the first 45 minutes of the division title match were anything but stagnant, as the Bluejays generated four corner kicks and fired off four shot attempts.
The only obstacle preventing the first half goal in favor of the home team? An Akron defense that allowed just one shot on goal over the entire match.
However, the Bluejays were undeterred heading into the latter 45 minutes of the match. Fueled by the intensity that had gradually been building throughout the first half, the Bluejays continued to berate the Akron offense. On the other end of the pitch, the Zips did the same, and the battle became a defensive one.
Though the Bluejays only allowed Akron to generate three shots throughout the second half (one third of their allowed shots from the first), the 57th minute saw the Zips’ offense begin to brew. The momentum came to a peak in the 63rd minute.
“I thought we were a bit careless in the middle third in possession. I thought we forced it a bit, and maybe there was a five-or six-minute span where Akron maybe had a little bit of the momentum on possession, but … I thought their goal came at one of our misfortunes,” Torres said. “It wasn’t so much that they broke us down, I don’t think — although they had a couple of shots that were dangerous.”
The scoring run began with a forward pass into the box from Akron’s Jack Sullivan. Senior defender Ryusei Shimonishi intercepted the pass, but as the ball deflected off the defender, it settled in front of Akron’s Thomas O’Rourke. Firing the game-winning goal into the back of the net, the Midwest Division title match saw its first and only score.
In the face of a one-goal deficit, the Bluejays refused to back down, pouring everything into the final 30 minutes of the match. Three separate opportunities came close to meeting their mark, including a shot in the 69th minute from Shimonishi that went wide left and a header from redshirt freshman defender Brian Edelman that hit off the crossbar and stayed out of goal in the 78th minute.
The Bluejays battled to the very end, but the equalizer evaded them.
When the final whistle blew, an air of intense sorrow settled over Morrison Stadium, as players slumped to the turf, and fans stood in stunned silence. Akron may have been cheering after hoisting the Midwest Division trophy, but the silence that enveloped all those in white and blue was just as loud. The implications of a loss were not lost on the 2,564 people who packed into the stadium on a windy night in Omaha.
Earlier results from around the conference had sealed the Bluejays’ fate: while Seton Hall edged out UConn, Georgetown’s draw with Providence eliminated Creighton from the Big East tournament, dropping them from the top of the Midwest Division to out of contention altogether.
Yet even amid the heartbreak, Torres expressed pride in his team’s fight and resilience, against Akron and throughout the season.
“[This season’s success and the opportunity to be Midwest Division champions] is a testament to their resilience and their desire to want to be better. Some people might have thrown in the towel starting the season at 0-2-2, but [with] these guys, there’s no quit in them. They always had the desire to continue to grow and develop, continue to be diligent and plug away at what we were trying to do … ,” Torres said.
That pride and resilience extended to Creighton’s eight-person senior class, whose leadership and consistency defined the team’s effort and embodied the Creighton men’s soccer identity throughout the season. Though Torres is sad to see them go, he said, the relationships he has built with each of the eight seniors will extend far beyond four years in a Bluejay uniform.
They’ve even taught Torres a little something along the way.
“[They’ve taught me] patience, especially early on in the first couple of weeks of the season it was challenging, but I think these seniors were so graceful in their patience and their grace that they showed the guys,” Torres said. “I think that’s something that I’ll take away from it and [will] be a nice lesson for me, to see the grace that these guys utilize to be able to bring those guys along.”
Though their future is murky — with a potential open bid into the NCAA tournament possible but far from guaranteed with their 8-4-4 record and recent loss to the No. 19 Zips — the Creighton Bluejays of 2025 brought alegria, belief, drive, excitement, hunger, identity, opportunity, patience, perseverance, pride, progress and process to the pitch every match. With ranked opponent wins, statement victories and highlight-worthy moments, the Bluejays built a powerful resume that spoke for itself.