Creighton University
14-0-0. 5-0-0
Marquette
5-6-2, 1-3-1
Top-Ranked Men's Soccer Earns 3-1, Road Victory At Marquette
10/17/2015 10:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The No. 1 Creighton men's soccer team remained the lone unbeaten and untied team in NCAA Division I by earning a 3-1, road victory over BIG EAST opponent, Marquette, on Saturday evening.
The Bluejays (14-0-0, 5-0-0 BIG EAST) outshot Marquette, 18-6, in the match and pushed across three goals, improving its league-best scoring output to 32 total goals.
Fabian Herbers, the BIG EAST's leader for goals and points, scored his 11th goal of the year off an assist by fellow Germany native, Timo Pitter, in the sixth minute to give Creighton an early, 1-0 advantage.
Joel Rydstrand extended Creighton's first-half lead over the Golden Eagles (5-6-2, 1-3-1 BIG EAST) to 2-0 when he blasted a booming kick from 18 yards out past the Marquette keeper. The score was Rydstrand's first career goal.
Marquette responded after intermission, with the Golden Eagles' leading goal scorer, Kelmend Islami, notching a 51st-minute to cut Marquette's deficit to 2-1.
However, Creighton continued to apply pressure, outshooting Marquette, 10-4, in the second half.
The Bluejays' determined attack eventually culminated in an 82nd-minute insurance goal by Noah Franke, his second goal of the season. Franke fooled Marquette's keeper with a difficult, angled shot from the right endline.
"[Marquette's goal] was a real momentum changer," Creighton Head Coach Elmar Bolowich said. "I felt like after that, we started controlling the match a little bit more again. We spread them out and had a ton of opportunities to decide the game earlier, but unfortunately we missed out on some of those.
"I am glad we kept our focus, kept playing our game, and looked for more goals and chances," Bolowich said.
BEDN postgame interview with Elmar Bolowich following No. 1 Creighton's 3-1 win at Marquette http://t.co/48fZEZseSB
— Creighton Soccer (@creightonmsoc) October 18, 2015
Creighton, which is off to the program's best start since 1993, will enjoy a brief break before returning to the pitch on Saturday, Oct. 24 to host conference opponent Villanova.
"It's tough when you play those Tuesday-Saturday matches four weeks in a row," Bolowich said. "We're really looking forward to getting a break now with no midweek game and getting a nice rest."
Saturday's match versus Villanova will begin at 7:00 p.m. CST, and take place inside Michael G. Morrison, S.J., Stadium in Omaha.
Team Stats
HERBERS, Fabian (11)
Assisted By: PITTER, Timo
Slotted across goal inside left post
5:22
RYDSTRAND, Joel (1)
Blast from top of the 18
31:38
ISLAMI, Kelmend (6)
Low blast from 15 yards, middle of the b
50:31
FRANKE, Noah (2)
Shot from odd angle at endline, 15 yds o
81:04
