Creighton University
5-1-1
William & Mary
2-3-1
Jays Battle From Behind to Claim 2-1 Victory Over William & Mary
9/16/2012 6:49:00 PM | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - The No. 2 Creighton men's soccer team rallied for two second half goals to defeat William & Mary, 2-1, at the Creighton Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 16.
The Jays moved to 5-1-1 on the season following the win, while William & Mary dropped to 2-3-1.
The two teams battled each other fairly evenly in the opening twenty minutes, but shortly thereafter William & Mary took advantage of a defensive lapse by the Jays. In the 23rd minute the Jays defense attempted to play the ball back to keeper Jeff Gal, but the Tribe's Chris Perez blazed in and stole the ball. Perez took possession, then found Patrick O'Brien along the left side of the goal. O'Brien sent a crossing shot from left to right past Gal at 22:02, giving William & Mary a 1-0 lead.
Creighton raised their offense pressure over the ensuing five minutes, creating two corners and firing off three shots but were unable to pull even as the match went to the half with the Bluejays trailing 1-0. Creighton held an 8-5 edge in shots in the opening period and had a 2-0 edge in corners.
Looking for a spark, the Jays made a few changes to the starting lineup in the second half. The changes paid important dividends as senior Brent Kallman and freshman Eric DeJulio each factored in the Jays two second half goals.
In the 55th minute Kallman found freshman Timo Pitter along the left side of the goal just beyond eight yards from the goal. Pitter took one step toward the goal to draw Tribe keeper Bennett Jones, then bounced a shot over Jones' head to tie the match at 1-1. It was Pitter's first goal of 2012.
Just under twenty minutes later the Jays felt they deserved a penalty kick on a foul against William & Mary. Instead Creighton used the opportunity to create a corner kick. Senior Jose Ribas inserted the ball to the left side of the goal, where freshman Eric DeJulio headed it in for his first goal of the season.
Staked to a 2-1 lead the Jays defense held the Tribe to just one shot the rest of the way to help the Bluejays claim the win.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 22 as the Jays host Saint Louis at 7 p.m. in Morrison Stadium.
Earlier in the day, No. 14 Old Dominion defeated Drake 4-1 in the third match of the Creighton Invitational. The Monarchs 2-0-0 record at the Creighton invitational gave them the tournament championship.
Creighton Invitational Final Standings
1. Old Dominion (2-0-0)
2. Creighton (1-1-0)
3. William & Mary (1-1-0)
4. Drake (0-2-0)
Creighton Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP: Tim Hopkinson, Old Dominion
Victor Francoz, Old Dominion (Goalkeeper)
Jordan LeBlanc, Old Dominion
Chris Harmon, Old Dominion
Zach Barnes, Creighton
Jose Ribas, Creighton
Andrew Ribeiro, Creighton
Marcus Luster, William & Mary
Chris Perez, William & Mary
Jarred Arde, Drake
Michael Thaden, Drake
Team Stats
O'Brien, Patrick (1)
Assisted By: Perez, Chris
Goal crossed from left to right, 15 yard
22:02
Pitter, Timo (1)
Assisted By: Kallman, Brent
Bounced goal in from seven yards away
54:02
DeJulio, Eric (1)
Assisted By: Castro, Bruno
Corner entry from 7, 22 header.
73:35
