Creighton University
Dayton
Men's Soccer Grounds Flyers, 1-0, At Ameritas Classic
9/13/2002 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 13, 2002
OMAHA, Neb. - Matt Thomas' second-half goal provided the Creighton men's soccer team with all the offense it would need in a 1-0 victory over the Dayton Flyers in Friday night action in the Ameritas Classic at Tranquility Park. The junior headed his first goal of the year past the Dayton keeper in the 53rd minute to secure the CU win.
Assisting on the Bluejay goal at 52:32 was senior preseason All-American Mike Tranchilla. The assist is the first point of the season for Tranchilla. With the point, Tranchilla moves up the Creighton career record book into fourth place on the all-time points list with 104. His 104 points pull him even with former teammate and current MLS star, Brian Mullan. The assist also moves the forward into a sixth place tie in that category, dishing out 24 career helpers. The 24 assists tie him with Creighton Hall of Famer, Brian Kamler.
The Bluejays (3-1-1) played outstanding defense all night, stifling the Flyer attack. The Flyers (0-3-1) were limited to just five shots in the contest, and just one shot on goal which was turned away by senior keeper Mike Gabb.
The Jays had several scoring opportunities, out-shooting UD 10-5 in the match, while pressuring the Flyers throughout the game. CU also held a strong advantage in corner kicks, taking 11 on the night, compared to just one UD corner.
Damien Westfield made his third start of the season despite breaking his arm in last Sunday's game at Furman. The former junior-college All-American wore a cast on his right forearm.
In the opening game of the 2002 Ameritas Classic, Oral Roberts (5-0-0) defeated Drake (1-2-0) by a score of 1-0, despite being outshot by the Bulldogs 25-9. Drake dominated play, taking eight corner kicks to ORU's three, while the Golden Eagle's were whistled for 28 fouls, compared to 14 Bulldog fouls. ORU scored in the 44th minute, knocking a shot home off of a corner kick. The Golden Eagle's leading scorer, Sun Potter, was taken to the hospital with an arm injury suffered in the first half.
The tournament continues on Sunday with Drake and Dayton kicking off at noon, followed by the Bluejays and Oral Roberts at 2:30 p.m.
