The No. 7 Creighton men’s soccer team took second place at the Creighton Invitational in Morrison Stadium. Other teams participating in the tournament were Drake University, the College of William & Mary and winners Old Dominion University.
The Jays finished 1-1-0 and had three players make the All-Tournament Team. Senior midfielder Andrew Ribeiro, junior midfielder Zach Barnes and sophomore midfielder Jose Ribas were selected to the team for their tremendous play in
the tournament.
Creighton finished the invitational on a high note, rallying past the William & Mary Tribe 2-1 on Sunday. The Jays moved to 5-1-1 on the season, but dropped from No. 2 in the coaches’ poll to No. 7.
The first half of the game was fairly even until the Tribe broke it wide open in the 23rd minute. A pass back to freshman goalkeeper Jeff Gal was intercepted and the ensuing attack resulted in an easy William & Mary goal.
The Bluejays continued to apply offensive pressure, but they were unable to break through in the first half. Creighton went into halftime down 1-0 despite having an 8-5 shot advantage.
With the team looking stagnant, some fresh faces made key contributions to the game. In the 55th minute, senior defender Brent Kallman found freshman midfielder Timo Pitter inside the 18-yard box. Pitter lofted a shot over the keeper’s head for his first goal of the season.
Creighton struck again in the 74th minute after junior forward Sean Kim was denied an opportunity for a penalty kick. The Jays did win a corner kick, however, and junior midfielder Bruno Castro sent a perfect ball to the back post. Freshman defender Eric DeJulio got his head on the ball and knocked it in for his first goal.
“I’m just really thankful for the opportunity to contribute and help my team,” DeJulio said.
The Bluejays held on to their 2-1 lead until the final whistle sounded.
“It was really important for us to get this victory,” Pitter said. “We’re not going down twice in a row.”
Things did not work out so well for Creighton on Friday, as the Bluejays lost to No. 11 Old Dominion 2-1 in front of a record crowd of 6,848.
Creighton jumped all over the undefeated Monarchs early. Ribas played a terrific through ball to senior midfielder Jose Gomez in the second minute. Gomez blasted a shot past the keeper to give Creighton a 1-0 lead.
Things changed in the 26th minute when Old Dominion tied the match and stole the momentum.
The two teams were knotted at halftime and they remained that way well into the second half.
The tie was broken in the 71st minute when Old Dominion scored after a scramble in front of the net. Both Ribeiro and sophomore keeper Alex Bolowich made saves on the play, but one of the rebounds found its way into the back of the net.
Creighton responded with a flurry of shots in the final 20 minutes, but none of them were able to score.
Creighton will play Saturday at 7 p.m. against Saint Louis University for homecoming in Morrison Stadium.