Wednesday, October 20
Des Moines, Iowa
7:00 PM
Creighton University
2
at
1
Drake
No. 10 Bluejays Nip Bulldogs 2-1 in Men's Soccer
10/20/2010 10:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DES MOINES, Iowa - Kris Clark scored a pair of first half goals for the 10th-ranked Creighton men's soccer team Wednesday night at Cownie Soccer Complex, to help the Bluejays knock off the Drake Bulldogs 2-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The win moves the Bluejays to 10-2-0 and to 3-0-0 in MVC action for the first time since 2005. The victory also kept the Jays undefeated in their last 21 regular-season road contests, improving to 14-0-7 in such matches.
The Bulldogs are now 6-6-2 overall and 2-1-1 in Valley action. The loss for Drake snapped an 11-match home unbeaten streak, dating to a 2-1 loss to Missouri State on Oct. 17, 2009.
"We came to one of the more difficult places to play in the country, certainly in the MVC, and came away with a win," said first-year Bluejay coach Jamie Clark after the win. "I felt like we created enough chances tonight that we could have won by five, but instead of putting those chances away, we needed to stand tall and make a last-chance stand."
Drake struck first when Michael Thaden unleashed a 35-yard blast that bounced off the right post and into the net. Thaden's third goal of the season put Drake up 1-0 in the 12th minute.
Creighton scored the equalizer in the 20th minute on a beautiful build up. Ethan Finlay set up the play winning a foot race along the right side with the ball on his feet. Finlay sent a crossing pass which Andrew Ribeiro touched to Jose Gomez. Gomez in turn touched the ball to Clark, who had time and space to settle the ball and score his third goal of the season.
The Bluejays took their first lead of the night in the 36th minute when Clark was again the beneficiary of some fancy passing from his teammates. The second score was set up much the way his first strike was, this time it was Dion Acoff using his speed to turn the corner and beat his defender on the right side. Finlay flipped Acoff's crossing pass to Clark, who blasted his second goal of the night top shelf. The goal was the junior's fourth of the season, giving Clark his first career multiple-goal match and his second game-winner of the season.
Creighton had a chance to add to its lead in the 55th minute when Finlay sent a blast toward the net from just eight yards out, but Drake keeper Jordan Kadlec was up to the task, turning away the shot. Finlay again had a golden scoring chance, but sent one off the cross bar in the 71st minute.
The Bulldogs weren't without their chances in the second half, including knocking a ball off the left post of a wide open net at exactly 63:00. A long punt which pulled Bluejay keeper Brian Holt off his line, was put toward the frame by Nick Foster, but after the ball trickled through a mass of bodies and off the left post, the Jays were able to clear it. Michael Noonan put a fantastic strike on goal in the 85th minute, but Holt made the save for the Jays. Holt again turned away the Bulldogs in the 89th minute, when he stopped a shot by Charles Schwartz.
Holt finished with four saves in the victory, while Kadlec stopped seven Bluejay shots in the loss for DU.
The Jays out-shot the Bulldogs 19-13 in the match, including a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal. CU also owned an 11-5 edge in corner kicks, including 6-1 in the first half. Clark not only scored both CU goals, but all five of his shots in the match were on goal.
"Heading to Central Arkansas next and being 3-0-0 in the league, we've set ourselves up well for a championship opportunity," said Clark.
The Bluejays will continue their four-game road trip when they play at MVC newcomer Central Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. The Bluejays and Bears kickoff at 2 pm in CU's first trip to Conway, Ark., on Saturday.
The Bulldogs are now 6-6-2 overall and 2-1-1 in Valley action. The loss for Drake snapped an 11-match home unbeaten streak, dating to a 2-1 loss to Missouri State on Oct. 17, 2009.
"We came to one of the more difficult places to play in the country, certainly in the MVC, and came away with a win," said first-year Bluejay coach Jamie Clark after the win. "I felt like we created enough chances tonight that we could have won by five, but instead of putting those chances away, we needed to stand tall and make a last-chance stand."
Drake struck first when Michael Thaden unleashed a 35-yard blast that bounced off the right post and into the net. Thaden's third goal of the season put Drake up 1-0 in the 12th minute.
Creighton scored the equalizer in the 20th minute on a beautiful build up. Ethan Finlay set up the play winning a foot race along the right side with the ball on his feet. Finlay sent a crossing pass which Andrew Ribeiro touched to Jose Gomez. Gomez in turn touched the ball to Clark, who had time and space to settle the ball and score his third goal of the season.
The Bluejays took their first lead of the night in the 36th minute when Clark was again the beneficiary of some fancy passing from his teammates. The second score was set up much the way his first strike was, this time it was Dion Acoff using his speed to turn the corner and beat his defender on the right side. Finlay flipped Acoff's crossing pass to Clark, who blasted his second goal of the night top shelf. The goal was the junior's fourth of the season, giving Clark his first career multiple-goal match and his second game-winner of the season.
Creighton had a chance to add to its lead in the 55th minute when Finlay sent a blast toward the net from just eight yards out, but Drake keeper Jordan Kadlec was up to the task, turning away the shot. Finlay again had a golden scoring chance, but sent one off the cross bar in the 71st minute.
The Bulldogs weren't without their chances in the second half, including knocking a ball off the left post of a wide open net at exactly 63:00. A long punt which pulled Bluejay keeper Brian Holt off his line, was put toward the frame by Nick Foster, but after the ball trickled through a mass of bodies and off the left post, the Jays were able to clear it. Michael Noonan put a fantastic strike on goal in the 85th minute, but Holt made the save for the Jays. Holt again turned away the Bulldogs in the 89th minute, when he stopped a shot by Charles Schwartz.
Holt finished with four saves in the victory, while Kadlec stopped seven Bluejay shots in the loss for DU.
The Jays out-shot the Bulldogs 19-13 in the match, including a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal. CU also owned an 11-5 edge in corner kicks, including 6-1 in the first half. Clark not only scored both CU goals, but all five of his shots in the match were on goal.
"Heading to Central Arkansas next and being 3-0-0 in the league, we've set ourselves up well for a championship opportunity," said Clark.
The Bluejays will continue their four-game road trip when they play at MVC newcomer Central Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. The Bluejays and Bears kickoff at 2 pm in CU's first trip to Conway, Ark., on Saturday.
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