It isn’t normal for the Creighton men’s soccer team to give up a goal early in a match. That might seem like an overstatement, but it’s true. Before the Bluejays’ most recent matchup with the Seton Hall Pirates on Nov. 1, the last time Creighton conceded a goal in the first 10 minutes of a match was in its third match of the season with Michigan. That was on Aug. 29, meaning that before the Pirates came to Omaha, Creighton had an 11-game streak of a defensive lockdown in the first 10 minutes.  

If that doesn’t underscore Creighton’s early defensive dominance, the numbers tell the rest of the story. The Bluejays haven’t even allowed a first half goal in seven games — the equivalent of seven weeks. The last time they allowed a goal in the first half was against midtown rival Omaha back on Sept. 10. 

So, when the Bluejays gave up a goal in just the 7th minute on Nov. 1 against No. 21 Seton Hall in their second-to-last regular season match, Creighton found itself in an unfamiliar early deficit. However, with an equalizing first half goal, the Bluejays earned a 1-1 draw against the visiting Pirates and moved to 8-3-4 on the season. 

“It has been a while [since we’ve been scored on this early], so that [result] could have gone the other way [and] … it was already a letdown but it could have been magnified if we let it affect us to the point that our game plan changes. I’m proud of the guys for their reaction,” Creighton head coach Johnny Torres said.  

The early goal for the Pirates came after a series of unfortunate events for the Bluejays, as a turnover near midfield set off the successful Pirate sequence. Racing down the left side of the field, Seton Hall’s Mikkel Lejbowicz faced off with the Creighton backline.  

Taking the shot from just inside the 18-yard box, then getting tangled up and falling over Creighton players in that spot, Lejbowicz’s shot was met by the body of freshman defender Brian Edelman. Yet, as the ball ricocheted off Edelman, Lejbowicz got the ball back while on the ground, putting just enough on the rebound shot to send it past redshirt freshman Matthew Hudson and into the bottom left corner of the goal.  

“The ball kind of bounced in their favor, and they got on top of it, and we couldn’t capitalize [on the defensive stop],” redshirt freshman midfielder Brady Bragg said of the goal. 

Torres, though, saw the early goal as more of a defensive letdown. 

“It was kind of a weird goal. I think there was a lull, maybe Seton Hall thought there might have been a foul in the box, and … the guy that scored it … was on the ground. It was a bit of a letdown,” he said. 

But whether it was a lucky bounce and highlight-worthy finish or early breakdown of the defense that accounted for the goal, it didn’t change the fact that the Bluejays faced an early 1-0 deficit in a match with large postseason implications. 

A win would give them another critical edge against an Akron team staying just in sight in the standings, hoping to dethrone the Bluejays. A draw would give the Bluejays another point in a Midwest Division where every point matters. And a loss would be trouble for Creighton’s positioning so close to the postseason.  

So, the Bluejays had no choice but to recover and find a way to get back in the match. 

“I’m proud of the guys for answering the call … staying focused and staying engaged and being able to pull another one back and come out with the result,” Torres said. 

Bragg was the Bluejays ticket to the equalizing score. But before the Bluejay freshman punched in the goal, possessions between the 20th and 30th minutes held potential to yield results.  

The closest chance ahead of Bragg’s goal came off the foot of junior midfielder Miguel Arilla, whose left-footed strike outside the box reverberated off the top cross bar and out of play in the 11th minute.   

Despite other chances and sustained possession, the breakthrough moment didn’t come until the 32nd minute, courtesy of high-quality pitch vision and execution. 

The ball started at the feet of graduate midfielder Luka Nedic, who saw a lucrative opportunity to field a pass to Bragg rushing toward the box. Bragg said it wasn’t the first time Nedic had recognized that exact play developing against Seton Hall’s defense before eventually threading the pass midway through the first half. 

“He [Nedic] saw it earlier and he was like, ‘Make that run’ and then he saw it again and he played it and it was a perfect ball. So it worked well,” Bragg said. 

The entire sequence seemed to play out in slow motion, watching the moment where Nedic saw the same play developing advantageously for the Bluejays against the Pirate defense. Urging Bragg to make the move without saying anything at all, Nedic, from outside the box, hurled a pass into the air in the direction of Bragg as the redshirt freshman collapsed on goal. 

As the crossing pass came nearer to its target, Bragg leapt into the air and headed the ball into the bottom left side of the goal. 

“[I’m] very excited for Brady and [his] being able to capitalize on his first goal of the season. It just shows what a tremendous athlete he is,” Torres said. “I think he must have jumped 35 inches to get to that ball, and I think the goalie and the center back were a little surprised that he was able to get that high.” 

Recording his first goal of the season, Bragg reset the match with the equalizer — sending Creighton into halftime tied at one and poised for a fresh opportunity to execute in the second half. Despite holding more than 60% possession and a 7–5 edge in shots, though, the Bluejays weren’t satisfied with their first half showing. 

“In the first half, Seton Hall did a good job to lull us to sleep. Even though we had the majority of the possession, a lot of the possession was in our half, [and there were] a lot of negative passes,” Torres said.  

The latter 45 minutes saw the same 7-5 shot advantage as the first, but Torres said the Bluejays made progress in second half adjustments, playing to infiltrate Seton Hall’s offensive third and stay on the front foot. 

In the 54th minute, junior defender Matthew Reed took his shot from outside the box, but the strike went just high.  

Then, in the 63rd minute, freshman midfielder Todd Vromant created another near opportunity, executing a crossing pass to junior midfielder Ali Ramadan, whose header flew just high over the net.  

Senior defender Ryusei Shimonishi nearly broke the deadlock in the 65th minute, but his shot deflected off the keeper’s hands before being corralled to flip possession. 

By the end of the 90 minutes, though no shots found their way to the back of the net, Creighton’s production in the second half and mid-game adjustments were still a point of positivity in the match. Despite the 1-1 draw, Creighton held a 14-10 shot advantage and 4-1 edge in corner kicks.  

That, paired with a tying goal after a quick deficit, held large postseason implications. With the result, Creighton maintained the lead in the Midwest Division, a slight one point ahead of Akron. 

Had Creighton earned all three points, the Bluejays would have held a three-point edge over the Zips, who defeated Marquette at home to reach 13 points on the season. Even so, the draw was enough to keep the crown on Creighton’s head for now. 

The Bluejays return to Morrison Stadium for their final regular-season home match tonight at 6 p.m., with a celebration of seniors setting the stage for what’s sure to be a Big East brawl — and one with major implications. The Bluejays face the very team that could steal the number one spot in the Midwest Division right out from under them: Akron.  

But despite the increased pressure, Bragg isn’t fazed. 

“I’m looking forward to getting three points [against Akron] and going and enjoying the Big East Tournament,” Bragg said.