Pilots Clip No. 17 Bluejays, 2-1, in Men's Soccer

SEATTLE, Wash. - Thomas Gjoesund's first-half goal did not hold up for the 17th-ranked Creighton men's soccer team Sunday morning at the Husky Fever Classic, as Portland came from behind to score twice in the second half and hand the Bluejays a 2-1 loss. The Pilots move their unbeaten streak to six and improve to 5-1-1 on the year with the victory, dropping the Jays to 2-2-1.

Creighton was on the attack throughout the first half, unloading 12 shots to just two by the Pilots in the opening 45 minutes. Half of Creighton's shots in the first half went on goal, with Austin Guerrero turning away five of the six. The Jays finally converted one of their many scoring chances in the 34th minute, when Gjoesund found the back of the net for the eighth time in his career. The senior volleyed in a crossing pass from Dion Acoff, giving the freshman his first collegiate point on the assist.

The Jays carried their 1-0 lead into halftime. Portland did not wait long before scoring the equalizer in the second half, when Collen Warner scored his second goal of the year in the 48th minute. The match remained even until the 84th minute, when Michael Nielsen managed to get a shot past Bluejay keeper Brian Holt to give the Pilots a 2-1 lead with just under seven minutes left to play in regulation.

"Certainly the most important thing to take away from this weekend is that we are playing a lot better," said head coach Bob Warming after the match. "We played very well against a really good team today and we're starting to improve and play better as a team. Sometimes when you're on a roll you get those lucky bounces and when you're not, the luck just doesn't go your way."

Creighton managed three shots in the final six minutes of play, including two shots on goal in the final 31 seconds, but Guerrero turned away shots from Seth Sinovic and Jeff Thayer to keep the score in UP's favor.

Portland's Guerrero finished with nine saves in the match, as the Bluejays out-shot Portland 22-12 in the loss. Gjoesund, starting for the second straight match, unloaded seven of CU's 22 shots, while freshman Brent Kallman came off the bench to put all three of his shots on goal.

Creighton returns to Missouri Valley Conference play with a pair of home matches this week. The Jays play host to Bradley at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and then welcome Evansville to town on Saturday.

NOTES: The loss snapped a 12-match unbeaten streak (10-0-2) against teams located in the Pacific Time Zone ... The Jays are now 2-2-1 all-time against Portland ... The Pilots are 5-0-1 after starting the season with a loss to nationally-ranked Virginia ... Creighton's previous five losses were all 1-0 defeats, while CU had not lost when scoring a goal since a 3-1 loss to Tulsa on Sept. 22, 2007 ... The Jays have now suffered more regular-season losses than they had in each of the previous two seasons, after losing just once in the regular-season in 2007 and 2008. The Jays lost three regular-season contests in 2006.

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Players Mentioned

Dion Acoff

Dion Acoff

Thomas Gjoesund

Brian Holt

Brent Kallman

Seth Sinovic

Jeff Thayer