Creighton University
4-0-0
UC Irvine
1-2-0
No. 3 Men's Soccer Blanks No. 13 UC Irvine, 4-0
9/6/2015 6:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. -- The third-ranked Creighton men's soccer team made its claim on the top spot in the national rankings with a decisive 4-0 win over No. 13 UC Irvine on Sunday night in Omaha.
Creighton (4-0-0) has its eyes set on returning to a No. 1 spot in the national rankings after No. 1 UCLA lost on Friday to No. 6 Maryland and second-ranked Virginia tied an unranked Tulsa club the same evening. Meanwhile UC Irvine heads home after back-to-back losses this weekend to fall to 1-2-0.
"This is a nice win, but the only ranking that actually matters to me is the RPI rating," said head coach Elmar Bolowich. "That matters in terms of seeding and in NCAA playoff contention, which is why it matters to me."
Fabian Herbers put Creighton ahead in the fourth minute as Fernando Castellanos passed the ball to Myles Englis. Englis controlled the ball and centered it to an open Fabian Herbers. Herbers planted it into the back of the net for his third goal of the season and the 16th score of his All-American career.
Just over six minutes later Englis made it 2-0 in favor of the hosts. Castellanos drove a ball from midfield to Englis, who outraced two defenders to the ball and flicked it over the head of UCI keeper Michael Breslin. Breslin had raced out of the box before Englis beat him to the ball.
"It is key that our opponents cannot hone in on just one player,"added Bolowich. "If you hone in on [Herbers], you get stung by [Pitter, Lopez-Espin or Englis].
The Bluejays tacked on an insurance goal with 84 seconds remaining in the first half on a penalty kick score by Herbers. It was his second score of the game, and his second career multi-goal game as a Bluejay.
Creighton owned a 9-2 lead in shots in the first half.
The Bluejays quickly extended the margin to 4-0 with a goal from Timo Pitter in the 52nd minute. Herbers streaked down the right sideline and slowed to turn back and find Pitter in the middle of the field for the seniors second goal of 2015 and his 25th career score.
Both teams changed goalkeepers in the 75th minute, as Michael Kluver saw his first career action in reserve of Connor Sparrow, who made three saves.
With his five points on the night, Herbers moved into the BIG EAST lead with 11 points on the fall. The 2014 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year owns at least one point in all four regular-season games this season. Herbers was also credited with the game-winning goal, his second of the season and the eighth of his career. He has scored the first goal of the game 11 times in 43 career contests.
The game was halted for an hour with 18:46 remaining in the first half due to severe weather and lightning in the Omaha area before resuming at 8:35 pm local time.
Creighton returns to action on Sunday at 1 pm with a 1 pm Central match at No. 22 Michigan State.
NOTES: Creighton has now won 18 straight games vs. teams from California, and are unbeaten in its last 23 games (20-0-3) vs. teams from the Golden State ... Creighton improved to 10-0-2 all-time against top-13 teams at Morrison Stadium and has never trailed in those 1144:46 minutes of play ... Creighton improved to 29-5-2 all-time at Morrison Stadium vs. top-25 teams.
Team Stats
HERBERS, Fabian (3)
Assisted By: ENGLIS, Myles , CASTELLANOS,Fernando
Pass from left to right, goal by Herbers
3:39
ENGLIS, Myles (3)
Assisted By: CASTELLANOS,Fernando
Popped ball over GK near top of box, bre
9:35
HERBERS, Fabian (4)
CU HERBERS, Fabian PENALTY KICK GOAL, goal number 4 for season.
43:36
PITTER, Timo (2)
Assisted By: HERBERS, Fabian
Herbers centers pass to 10-yard mark, Pi
51:59
