Creighton University
Vanderbilt
Men's Soccer Earns First-Round Bye With 1-0 Win Over Vanderbilt
11/5/2005 2:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. Byron Dacy's goal in the 67th minute guided the 17th-ranked Creighton men's soccer team past Vanderbilt 1-0 Saturday afternoon at Morrison Stadium. The victory gives the Bluejays (10-4-3, 5-2-0 MVC) a first-round bye for next week's State Farm MVC Tournament in Peoria, Ill. CU finished second in the league race with 15 points and earned the No. 2 seed for the upcoming tournament.
Dacy's team-leading seventh goal of the season came off a sparkling individual move. Goalkeeper Matt Allen started the play on CU's end of the field as he distributed the ball to Tony Schmitz. After carrying the ball for a few yards, Schmitz then sent a long through ball to Dacy. The rookie took over from there, streaking toward the net with the ball, faking out a pair of Commodore defenders and then beating Vandy keeper Kenny Schoeni from close range for the only goal of the match.
?I give Vanderbilt a lot of credit for playing tough and making this a difficult game to put away,? said head coach Bob Warming after the Jays' second straight shutout. ?They have really given this league a different look with five players up front and five in the back and they make it difficult on opponents.?
Vanderbilt (9-6-1, 4-2-1 MVC) hung nearly even with the Jays, despite playing a man down for the final 41 minutes of the match. VU's Patrick Ryan was handed his second yellow card of the match in the 49th minute, resulting in a red card and forcing Vandy to play with 10 for the rest of the match.
Allen not only had an assist, but recorded the shutout by making four saves in net, including a point blank shot by Patrick Murray late in the match. Allen had some help from defender Richard Perdomo who stopped a shot in a vacated net early in the second half to record a team save. Allen's assist was the first helper by a Bluejay keeper since current CU goalkeeper coach Kevin Doyle turned in the feat on Sept. 12, 1992 against Marquette.
The match was physical, with a total of 43 fouls being called. Seven yellow cards, including four to the Jays, and a red card were issued.
Bradley captured the regular-season title with a 5-1-1 record (16 points). CU handed the Braves their only loss in MVC play this fall. Bradley will play the winner of the Drake-Missouri State match. The Jays will play the winner of Vanderbilt-Eastern Illinois. The first round matches will be played on Wednesday, Nov. 9. CU's semifinal match will be played next Friday, Nov. 11. All five tournament matches this season will be played at Shea Stadium on Bradley's campus in Peoria, Ill.
