Wednesday, August 31
Kansas City, Mo.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
5
at
0
UMKC
No. 6 Bluejays Blast UMKC 5-0
8/31/2011 10:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - All-American Ethan Finlay scored a pair of first half goals and added an assist in the second half to lead the sixth-ranked Creighton men's soccer team to a 5-0 win at UMKC Wednesday night. Jose Gomez chipped in with two assists and a goal as the Bluejays improved to 2-0-0 by posting their second shutout of the season.
Finlay headed in his first goal of the season in the 21st minute, becoming just the sixth player in the storied history of Creighton soccer to reach 30 career goals. Bruno Castro started the play with a through ball to Tyler Polak in the corner, before Polak served in a perfect ball for the first goal of the night.
Ten minutes later the MAC Hermann Trophy candidate pounded a close-range shot off the hands of UMKC keeper David Sarabia and into the back of the net. The score was a fitting finish for a creative play started by Gomez. Catching the UMKC two-man wall off guard, Gomez chipped a free kick over the Kangaroo wall and into the box where Greg Jordan was open to send a cross in front for Finlay.
Sophomore Liam Kelly then entered as a substitute for Finlay, but kept the scoring going for the Bluejays. Gomez again assisted the goal as his soft pass led Kelly who ripped a shot off the post and into the net to give the Bluejays a 3-0 lead in the 34th minute. The score was the first of Kelly's career.
Creighton owned a 3-0 lead at halftime, outshooting UMKC 9-1 in the first 45 minutes.
"It was a good win on the road, we scored a lot of goals and had multiple players score for us," said head coach Elmar Bolowich following the win. "Our new players contributed nicely and that allowed us to use them more on a hot night. The reserves brought a lot of energy and kept the energy level up for us. We can take a lot of positives from this match and take them into our home opener."
The Bluejays added a pair of second-half goals to conclude their most lopsided victory since a 6-1 win over Central Arkansas on Sept. 27, 2006.
In the 67th minute, Finlay was taken down in the box and the Bluejays were awarded a penalty kick. Gomez stepped forward to convert the kick and CU was up 4-0.
Creighton concluded the scoring in the 76th minute when Castro chipped in a goal over UMKC keeper Kevin Corby, who was pulled off of his line on Finlay's well placed pass to Castro. The goal for Castro was his first as a Bluejay and second career tally.
Brian Holt played the first 71 minutes for the Bluejays in goal, giving way to redshirt freshman Alex Bolowich for the final 19 minutes of the clean sheet. The pair of Bluejay keepers did not face one shot on goal in the shutout. Creighton has now opened the season with back-to-back shutouts in each of the past three seasons.
Finlay's game-winning goal was the 15th of his career, making 15 of his 31 career scores winners. He now ranks alone in sixth place in school history with his 31 goals, while he is tied for fourth with Johnny Torres and Ross Paule with six career mutliple-goal matches. The five-point match was the first of Finlay's career.
Creighton, which opened the season with two true road matches for the first time since the program was restarted in 1990, returns home this weekend. The Bluejays host Drexel in their 2011 home opener on Sunday night at 7 pm.
Finlay headed in his first goal of the season in the 21st minute, becoming just the sixth player in the storied history of Creighton soccer to reach 30 career goals. Bruno Castro started the play with a through ball to Tyler Polak in the corner, before Polak served in a perfect ball for the first goal of the night.
Ten minutes later the MAC Hermann Trophy candidate pounded a close-range shot off the hands of UMKC keeper David Sarabia and into the back of the net. The score was a fitting finish for a creative play started by Gomez. Catching the UMKC two-man wall off guard, Gomez chipped a free kick over the Kangaroo wall and into the box where Greg Jordan was open to send a cross in front for Finlay.
Sophomore Liam Kelly then entered as a substitute for Finlay, but kept the scoring going for the Bluejays. Gomez again assisted the goal as his soft pass led Kelly who ripped a shot off the post and into the net to give the Bluejays a 3-0 lead in the 34th minute. The score was the first of Kelly's career.
Creighton owned a 3-0 lead at halftime, outshooting UMKC 9-1 in the first 45 minutes.
"It was a good win on the road, we scored a lot of goals and had multiple players score for us," said head coach Elmar Bolowich following the win. "Our new players contributed nicely and that allowed us to use them more on a hot night. The reserves brought a lot of energy and kept the energy level up for us. We can take a lot of positives from this match and take them into our home opener."
The Bluejays added a pair of second-half goals to conclude their most lopsided victory since a 6-1 win over Central Arkansas on Sept. 27, 2006.
In the 67th minute, Finlay was taken down in the box and the Bluejays were awarded a penalty kick. Gomez stepped forward to convert the kick and CU was up 4-0.
Creighton concluded the scoring in the 76th minute when Castro chipped in a goal over UMKC keeper Kevin Corby, who was pulled off of his line on Finlay's well placed pass to Castro. The goal for Castro was his first as a Bluejay and second career tally.
Brian Holt played the first 71 minutes for the Bluejays in goal, giving way to redshirt freshman Alex Bolowich for the final 19 minutes of the clean sheet. The pair of Bluejay keepers did not face one shot on goal in the shutout. Creighton has now opened the season with back-to-back shutouts in each of the past three seasons.
Finlay's game-winning goal was the 15th of his career, making 15 of his 31 career scores winners. He now ranks alone in sixth place in school history with his 31 goals, while he is tied for fourth with Johnny Torres and Ross Paule with six career mutliple-goal matches. The five-point match was the first of Finlay's career.
Creighton, which opened the season with two true road matches for the first time since the program was restarted in 1990, returns home this weekend. The Bluejays host Drexel in their 2011 home opener on Sunday night at 7 pm.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's SoccerCreighton Media Availability Men's Soccer - 10/21/25
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Creighton Men's Soccer Highlights at Villanova - 10-17-25
Friday, October 17
2025 Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Ethan Finlay
Thursday, October 16
Creighton Media Availability 10/15/25 - Men's Soccer
Wednesday, October 15
