Thursday, November 12
7:00 PM
Creighton University
2
vs
1
Providence
Lucas Stauffer celebrates with Joel Rydstrand following Rydstrand's 33rd-minute goal on Thursday.
Photo by: David Cao
No. 5 Men's Soccer Earns Hard-Fought, 2-1 Win Over Providence To Advance To BIG EAST Final
11/12/2015 9:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - After an intense battle in the BIG EAST Championship Semifinals, the fifth-ranked Creighton men's soccer team downed Providence 2-1 on Thursday, Nov. 12.Â
With the win, the Bluejays moved to 17-2-0 on the season, while Providence fell to 8-7-3.
The Bluejays' win gives Creighton a rematch with No. 3 Georgetown in the BIG EAST Championship Final on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 12:00 pm (CT).
Unanimous BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection, Joel Rydstrand, gave Creighton a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute, collecting a failed Providence clearance in the box and finishing the play to knotch his third goal of the season.
After a missed shot by junior Myles Englis, Providence defender Mark Jecewiz attempted to clear the ball; however, Jecewiz was unable to get the ball out of play, instead deflecting it to Rydstrand on the left side of the net. Rydstrand then sent a shot, from left to right, into the back right of the net past Providence goalkeeper Ben Seguljic.
"He [Rydstrand] brought good energy on the left side and rewarded himself when Myles [Englis] missed his attempt," Creighton head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "Today, he [Rydstrand] showed up. To learn the college system and to play 19 games at a certain level is a lot to ask of a freshman. He has had his downs, but today he was back up."
The Bluejays carried the 1-0 advantage into intermission, maintaining a 9-6 advantage on shots in the opening half. With Thursday's victory, Creighton improved to 45-0-2 under Bolowich when leading at halftime.
In a hard-fought second half that included a pair of goals, four yellow cards, and 17 total fouls, Creighton and Providence traded penalty kicks, with Creighton coming out on top with a 2-1 victory.
All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Julian Gressel scored the equalizer for the Friars in the 55th minute after Manny Andrade drew a foul in the box on Creighton's Noah Franke. The goal was Gressel's fifth of the season.
Creighton responded, however, in the 67th minute, with two of Creighton's three All-BIG EAST First Team honorees coming up clutch for the Bluejays.
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, Timo Pitter, drew a foul in the box on Providence's Tiago Mendonca, setting up a penalty kick attempt for BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Fabian Herbers. Mendonca was shown a yellow card following the play after reacting adversely to the call.
Herbers fooled Seguljic on the penalty kick attempt, scoring his 15th goal of the season. Four-for-four on penalty kicks this season, Herbers is the first Creighton player to convert four penalty kicks in the same season since Mike Tranchilla did so in 2002.
"There is a lot on the line," Bolowich said following the match. "They went in knowing that if they didn't get a result here, things wouldn't be looking good."
Creighton is now 113-8-8 (.907) at Morrison Stadium when scoring at least one goal.
Since reinstating the men's soccer program in 1990, Creighton has not lost consecutive home matches.
The second-seeded Bluejays will travel to Washington, D.C., to take on top-seeded and No. 3 Georgetown in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship title match on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 12:00 p.m. (CT). Creighton will be seeking the program's 14th conference tournament championship.
Sunday's match will mark Creighton's second match-up of the season with Georgetown. The Hoyas earned a narrow, 2-1 victory over the Bluejays on Nov. 5 in the nation's capital.
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With the win, the Bluejays moved to 17-2-0 on the season, while Providence fell to 8-7-3.
The Bluejays' win gives Creighton a rematch with No. 3 Georgetown in the BIG EAST Championship Final on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 12:00 pm (CT).
Unanimous BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection, Joel Rydstrand, gave Creighton a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute, collecting a failed Providence clearance in the box and finishing the play to knotch his third goal of the season.
After a missed shot by junior Myles Englis, Providence defender Mark Jecewiz attempted to clear the ball; however, Jecewiz was unable to get the ball out of play, instead deflecting it to Rydstrand on the left side of the net. Rydstrand then sent a shot, from left to right, into the back right of the net past Providence goalkeeper Ben Seguljic.
"He [Rydstrand] brought good energy on the left side and rewarded himself when Myles [Englis] missed his attempt," Creighton head coach Elmar Bolowich said. "Today, he [Rydstrand] showed up. To learn the college system and to play 19 games at a certain level is a lot to ask of a freshman. He has had his downs, but today he was back up."
The Bluejays carried the 1-0 advantage into intermission, maintaining a 9-6 advantage on shots in the opening half. With Thursday's victory, Creighton improved to 45-0-2 under Bolowich when leading at halftime.
In a hard-fought second half that included a pair of goals, four yellow cards, and 17 total fouls, Creighton and Providence traded penalty kicks, with Creighton coming out on top with a 2-1 victory.
All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Julian Gressel scored the equalizer for the Friars in the 55th minute after Manny Andrade drew a foul in the box on Creighton's Noah Franke. The goal was Gressel's fifth of the season.
Creighton responded, however, in the 67th minute, with two of Creighton's three All-BIG EAST First Team honorees coming up clutch for the Bluejays.
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, Timo Pitter, drew a foul in the box on Providence's Tiago Mendonca, setting up a penalty kick attempt for BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Fabian Herbers. Mendonca was shown a yellow card following the play after reacting adversely to the call.
Herbers fooled Seguljic on the penalty kick attempt, scoring his 15th goal of the season. Four-for-four on penalty kicks this season, Herbers is the first Creighton player to convert four penalty kicks in the same season since Mike Tranchilla did so in 2002.
"There is a lot on the line," Bolowich said following the match. "They went in knowing that if they didn't get a result here, things wouldn't be looking good."
Creighton is now 113-8-8 (.907) at Morrison Stadium when scoring at least one goal.
Since reinstating the men's soccer program in 1990, Creighton has not lost consecutive home matches.
The second-seeded Bluejays will travel to Washington, D.C., to take on top-seeded and No. 3 Georgetown in the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship title match on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 12:00 p.m. (CT). Creighton will be seeking the program's 14th conference tournament championship.
Sunday's match will mark Creighton's second match-up of the season with Georgetown. The Hoyas earned a narrow, 2-1 victory over the Bluejays on Nov. 5 in the nation's capital.
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