Creighton University
Northwestern (Ex.)
Men's Soccer Tops Northwestern In Final Exhibition, 5-0
8/22/2015 10:42:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Omaha, Neb. -- Vincent Keller scored twice, while Fabian Herbers added a goal and two assists as No. 6 Creighton Men's Soccer earned a 5-0 win over Northwestern in the final exhibition of the fall on Saturday, Aug. 22 at Morrison Stadium.
The Bluejays open the regular-season Friday vs. Michigan.
Creighton got on the board in the game's 19th minute. Herbers' corner kick was redirected to the top of the box to Joel Rydstrand, who fired towards the goal. Keller then used his back heel to redirect the ball mid-flight and past keeper Zak Allen, who had dove to his right to stop Rydstrand's initial attempt.
Keller scored his second tally in the 28th minute on a header off a corner kick from Herbers.
Creighton added to its lead in the 30th minute as Herbers sent his free kick from the top of the box around a wall of five Wildcats and past Allen. It was the second goal of the preseason for the returning All-American after he tallied a score on Tuesday at Bradley in a 3-0 win.
Ricky Lopez-Espin notched the fourth tally of the match when he scored in the 64th minute. The score came after CU worked the ball upfield, connecting on several passes before Herbers split a pass between three defenders to Timo Pitter, who one-touched it to Lopez-Espin. Lopez-Espin chased the ball down and needed just one touch to launch a right-footed blast past reserve NU keeper Francisco Tomasino.
Creighton closed the scoring in the 84th minute on a goal by Myles Englis. Lucas Stauffer fed Diego Bacellar at the top of the box, who back-heeled a pass to Englis. Englis got a friendly bounce off the left post to earn his second goal of the exhibition slate.
Connor Sparrow earned his second straight shutout in net, making five saves.
Creighton outshot Northwestern 19-6 in the contest and had a 6-3 lead in corner kicks, as well. The Wildcats tied for second place in the Big Ten last fall and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Creighton kicks off the regular-season on Friday when it hosts Michigan at 7:30 pm. The Wolverines went 1-0-1 in the preseason, defeating Butler (3-0) before tying Loyola Chicago (1-1).
Match Highlights
