Creighton University
Northern Iowa
Freshman Orbell Leads Women's Soccer to Victory on Senior Day
10/28/2007 3:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. -- Freshman midfielder Emily Orbell scored a goal in each half, including the game winner in the 50th minute to lead the Creighton women's soccer team to a 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Northern Iowa in the Bluejays' regular season finale. Orbell became the first CU player to record a multi-goal game this season, netting her fifth and sixth tallies of the campaign. Creighton concludes the regular season at 9-7-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the MVC to finish third in the final conference standings. Northern Iowa drops to 5-9-2 and 1-4-1, good for a sixth-place MVC finish.
Creighton came out of the gates and dominated possession on its offensive end. Senior Heather Duncan had the Jays' first real scoring threat in the 16th minute when she fired a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced away. However, less than two minutes later at the 16:57 mark, Orbell struck with the first of her two goals. The goal was created by nifty dribbling between two UNI defenders. Once in the clear, Orbell blasted a shot from 20 yards that found the top left portion of the net.
The Bluejays held a 14-0 edge in shots with less than a minute remaining in the first half, but UNI's Amy Seubert was able to capitalize on the Panthers' first shot attempt with 43 seconds left. After a CU foul, the Panthers executed a set play off of a free kick as Laura Wagner found Seubert along the right side of the box. Seubert beat CU goalkeeper Kristen Casey to the top left corner from 14 yards to even the score at 1-1 heading into halftime.
The second half was again dominated by Creighton offensively and it didn't take long for the Jays to regain the lead. At the 49:01 mark, Orbell set up for a free kick from 30 yards out following a Panther foul. The freshman sent a shot through the UNI wall to the far post and into the bottom left portion of the net for her second goal of the match.
Creighton missed on a handful of opportunities to extend its lead, but the Panthers never seriously threatened again and the Jays were able to hold on for the 2-1 win. UNI goalkeeper Heidi O'Mara kept the Panthers within reach with 10 saves in the match, including three stops on great chances by Creighton.
Statistics in the match were lopsided in favor of Creighton, as the Jays outshot UNI, 30-5, and outcornered the Panthers, 11-1. Junior Marcy Gans led the CU offense with seven shots, including four on goal, and had two golden opportunities denied by O'Mara. Seniors Katy Peetz, Toch Ihemelu, and Heather Duncan combined for 12 shots.
“Emily (Orbell) had a great performance today,” said head coach Bruce Erickson. “The two goals were a result of great individual effort.”
“Overall, I was happy with our effort but we made it more difficult than it needed to be,” said Erickson.
With Drake and Missouri State both losing in other matches on Sunday, the Bluejays vault to third in the final MVC standings. The Jays will face Northern Iowa again next Sunday in the quarterfinals of the State Farm MVC Tournament at Morrison Stadium at 1 p.m.
