Creighton University
7-0-0
Northern Illinois
4-2-0
Pitter & Herbers Lead Top-Ranked Men's Soccer Past NIU, 2-0
9/22/2015 10:06:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Omaha, Neb. - Senior Timo Pitter and junior Fabian Herbers each tallied second half goals to lead the No. 1 Creighton men's soccer team to a 2-0 win over Northern Illinois on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The win kept the Bluejays perfect on the season at 7-0-0, while the Huskies dropped to 4-2-0.
Despite facing as many as 10 Huskies on the defensive side of the ball in the first half, the top-ranked Bluejays creating several chances. Creighton closed a scoreless first period with 14 shots, while Northern Illinois managed just one.
"We put the pressure on them right away," said Creighton head coach Elmar Bolowich. "We had two breakaways with Timo [Pitter] and Fabian [Herbers]. Their keeper made two great saves and that kept them in the game. If we score on those opportunities, that deflates any team."
Pitter and Herbers each earned another opportunity in the second half and made them count.
Pitter struck first in the 62nd minute. Sophomore Lucas Stauffer initiated the play by threading a pass through several Northern Illinois defensemen from the right corner. Herbers touched the ball with his left foot just enough to give Pitter a window and the German native drove home the goal from eight yards out.
Herbers' chance came in the 82nd minute of play, via a penalty kick (PK). Herbers created the opportunity by beating the defense along the right side of the box, but was taken down from behind to create the PK. Calmly Herbers strode to the center of the box and eased in his sixth goal of the season to make it 2-0.
The Bluejays dominated the offensive statistics in the match, firing 26 shots, including six by Herbers and five from Pitter.
Northern Illinois, meanwhile, recorded seven shots in the match. Goalkeeper Andrew Glaeser stopped 12 Bluejay shots to set a new Morrison Stadium mark for saves in a single match.
Reflecting on Creighton's start to the 2015 season, Bolowich was pleased with his team thus far.
"We only gave up one goal so far," Bolowich said. "We limited so many good teams to only five or six shots a game. In a 90-minute span, that's pretty impressive in my opinion."
The Bluejays return to the pitch on Saturday, Sept. 26 in the first BIG EAST contest of the season at Seton Hall. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 pm.
Team Stats
PITTER, Timo (3)
Assisted By: STAUFFER, Lucas , HERBERS, Fabian
GOAL by CU PITTER, Timo (FIRST GOAL), Assist by STAUFFER, Lucas and HERBERS, Fabian, goal number 3 for season.
61:04
HERBERS, Fabian (6)
CU HERBERS, Fabian PENALTY KICK GOAL, goal number 6 for season.
81:46
