Creighton University
UMKC
Women's Soccer Wins Fifth in a Row
9/22/2010 10:12:00 PM | Women's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - Creighton used a solid offensive attack and physical defense to put away the UMKC Kangaroos 3-0 Wednesday night at Morrison Stadium. The win is Creighton's fifth in a row, the first time a Jays women's soccer team has accomplished the feat since the 2002 season. The Jays improve to 7-2-2 as they enter Missouri Valley Conference play this Sunday. Emily Orbell, Andrea Zuniga and Kayla Nsien scored goals for the Jays while Katie Jo Swanson played all 90 minutes in goal, recording two saves.
The Jays got on the scoreboard first when Orbell drove down the center of the field, weaving in and out of defenders, and finished by driving the ball to the left side of the net. It was Orbell's second goal of the season, coming just four minutes into the match.
Zuniga laced the second ball into the net off a dead ball sent in by Claire Zach from 40 yards out. The goal gives Zuniga five on the season, which leads the team. The Jays scored once more in the first half when Nsien scored her second goal of the season in the 38th minute. Brittney Neumann crossed a ball from the baseline that Nsien put a boot on and sent to the back of the net.
The Jays took a season high 18 first half shots, with seven on goal. Eight different Jays took at least a shot in the first half, led by Zuniga with five shots. The defense limited the Kangaroos to two shots in the half, with just one on goal. Creighton also recorded four corner kicks to UMKC's one.
The second half was a continuation of the first, as Creighton controlled the ball on the offensive end and played swarming defense. While the Jays didn't score in the second half, they took 17 shots on goal and only allowed four.
Creighton took a season high 35 shots in the match and 10 different Jays had a shot. Leading the Jays on the day were Orbell and Zuniga with 10 shots each, setting a Morrison Stadium record. The previous record was set by Marcy Gans in the 2007 season. The 10 shots are also the most in a single player by anyone in the Valley this season. UMKC took six shots on the day.
Swanson had two saves on the day, earning her second shutout of the season, while Jami Finnell of UMKC had 11 saves.
"Our efficiency on the weekend was better than tonight," said head coach Bruce Erickson. "We took 35 shots and just three goals - it's not at the level we want. But we did get a lot of players some playing time and all in all we got the W and a shutout. Now we start focusing 100% on conference play."
Creighton travels to Terre Haute, Ind., Sunday for the first Missouri Valley Conference match of the 2010 season. The Jays are 12-0-0 all time over the Sycamores, defeating them 1-0 last season at Morrison Stadium. Kickoff from Memorial Stadium is set for 11:00 a.m.
