Creighton University
Portland
Bluejays Pop Portland for 2-1 Men's Soccer Victory
9/14/2003 3:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - Clearly defined roles helped lead the Creighton men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over the Portland Pilots in the final match of the Ameritas Classic at the Creighton Soccer Field Sunday. The Jays finished in second place at the 13th annual event, and now stand at 2-2-2 on the season.
Head Coach Bob Warming sent his players an eight-page email on Saturday, defining what he believed every one of his players needed to be doing in order to help contribute to more CU victories.
“Our guys responded and we got results,” Warming said after the victory. “We got our players' roles more clear and defined today. That was a big win for us.”
“Our young guys are hungry and energetic and that is what it means to be a Creighton soccer player. Our future looks good,” Warming commented after starting five freshmen on Sunday.
The present looked good too, as the Bluejays rebounded from a Friday night loss to previously winless UNLV. Senior Matt Jewett got the scoring started when he nailed a long-range bomb into the top right of the net in the 47th minute of play. Damien Westfield, coming off an injury, assisted Jewett's first tally of the year.
Just minutes later, the Bluejays used their second corner kick of the day to produce their second goal. Senior David Wagenfuhr sent the corner kick in front, where sophomore Matt Wieland was able to knock a header into the net for his first career goal at 48:57.
Wieland's milestone was set up by a Wagenfuhr milestone. Wags' assist was the 23rd of his career, moving him into a tie for eighth-place on the CU career charts. He's now tied with Brian Adams (1991-94) and Ray Nikodem (1980-82) for eighth place. His next assist will equal current MLS star Brian Kamler's (1990-93) CU career total.
Portland (3-3-0) cut the lead in half in the 75th minute, when Jarrod Weis rocketed a shot from 22 yards out, past a diving Guido Leon.
The Bluejays put 13-of-20 shots on goal Sunday afternoon after just seven of their 22 shots went on net Friday night. CU held a 20-14 advantage in shots.
Jewett, Wagenfuhr and Matt Thomas were named to the Ameritas Classic All-Tournament team for the Jays. UNLV won the event, defeating Southwest Missouri State 3-2 on Sunday, Alex Hernandez was named the tournament MVP, scoring three goals in the two UNLV victories.
Creighton returns to action on Friday when they take on Brown at the Yale Classic in New Haven, Conn. The Jays and Bears kickoff at 4 p.m. (CST).
Ameritas Classic All-Tournament Team
MVP - Alex Hernandez, UNLV
Kristian Paanenen, UNLV
Mark Stock, UNLV
Matt Johnson, UNLV
Matt Jewett, Creighton
Matt Thomas, Creighton
David Wagenfuhr, Creighton
Christopher Sanders, Portland
Josh Simpson, Portland
Ryan Crawford, SMS
Jim Levesque, SMS
Ameritas Classic Standings
First Place - UNLV
2nd - Creighton (Tie-break head-to-head win)
3rd - Portland
4th - SMS
