Men's Soccer Plays to Scoreless Draw at EIU

CHARLESTON, Ill. - Creighton unloaded a season-high 28 shots, but could not find the back of the net on any of them as the Bluejays played to a 0-0 tie at Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon. The draw was Creighton's third in Missouri Valley Conference play, the most ties in an MVC season for a Bluejay team. The Jays' record stands at 6-3-4 overall and 4-2-3 in conference play.

Creighton opened play with a shot in the first five minutes, one of Jeff Thayer's team-leading six shots on the afternoon. The Jays would out-shoot the Panthers (5-6-2, 2-4-1 MVC) by an 11-4 count in the opening 45 minutes, putting four of those shots on goal.

CU's attack intensified in the second half, accumulating 16 shots in the second half alone, before managing just one shot in the two overtime periods.

"I felt it was the most and best chances we have created in the last three years, on a field that was a swamp in some places due to all of the rain they've had," said head coach Bob Warming. "It was an incredible match by the Eastern Illinois goalkeeper and we just flat missed four point blank chances inside of six yards. Now it's all about preparing for UCLA this Saturday."

EIU goalkeeper Sean Molony, who had allowed five goals to the Bluejays earlier this month, was up for the CU attack on Saturday, making 11 saves in the shutout for the Panthers.

Bluejay goalkeeper Brian Holt needed to stop four EIU shots on goal to preserve his second straight shutout and seventh of the season.

Four of Thayer's six shots were put on goal, while Andrew Duran and Thomas Gjoesund also managed five shots each in the effort. The Jays owned a 28-15 shots advantage, the most shots they've taken in a match since Oct. 10, 2007 when they also attempted 28 against Bradley.

Creighton returns to Omaha for its final regular-season home match next Saturday, as the Bluejays welcome in the second-ranked team in the country. The Bluejays and No. 2 UCLA Bruins will play an afternoon match on Halloween at Morrison Stadium next Saturday, with a 3 p.m. kickoff slated for the high-profile contest.

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Players Mentioned

Andrew Duran

Thomas Gjoesund

Brian Holt

Jeff Thayer