Men's Soccer Continues Offensive Dominance During 4-1 Victory Over Xavier

OMAHA, Neb. -- Ricky Lopez-Espin scored a pair of goals as the Creighton men's soccer team defeated Xavier 4-1 on Saturday night at Morrison Stadium.

With the victory, the Bluejays improved to 2-2-1 during BIG EAST play (8-4-1 overall) and moved into a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings, while the Musketeers fell to 2-3-0 in league play (7-4-2 overall) and are now tied for sixth with four BIG EAST matches remaining for all 10 teams in the league.

Creighton scored a total of 10 goals during two matches this week after tying a Morrison Stadium record with six on Tuesday night against Drake. This week marked the first time since September of 2006 in which the Bluejays scored 10 goals during a two-match stretch (6-1 W vs. Central Arkansas and 4-0 vs. Western Kentucky).

The Jays also improved its home unbeaten streak to seven matches and are now 6-1-1 at Morrison Stadium this season.

Lopez-Espin tallied his second multi-goal match of the season on Saturday. The senior co-captain scored the first (7') and third (59') Creighton goals during the Bluejays' three-goal victory over Xavier.

Creighton jumped out to a fast start with a goal during the seventh minute. Joel Rydstrand fired a shot from 20 yards out that hit the near post before Lopez-Espin recovered the rebound and blasted the ball past the Musketeer goalkeeper to give the Bluejays an early 1-0 lead.

Xavier tied the match during the 20th minute on one of its lone opportunities. Jacob Goodall sent in a free kick from about 30 yards from the end line into the box where Cameron Taylor pushed the ball into the back of the net to tie the contest at 1-1.

The Musketeers ended the match with only two shots on goal and four shots overall after entering the match with 12.2 shot attempts per match.

About 10 minutes after Xavier scored the equalizer, Julius Fohr scored his first career goal as a Bluejay to give Creighton a 2-1 edge. During the 32nd minute, Lucas Stauffer had his shot blocked by a Xavier defender. Officials ruled that a Musketeer player deflected the ball with his lower arm, setting up a free kick for the Bluejays from just outside the the 18-yard box. Fohr lifted the ball over a Xavier wall of defenders and into the back of the net, as Creighton regained the lead.

The Bluejays ended the first half with a 10-3 advantage in shots and and held a 2-1 lead at the break.

Lopez-Espin scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season following a great individual effort during the 59th minute. The Miami, Florida native stopped the Xavier defense from trying to clear the ball by deflecting a pass, recovered the ball near the top of the 18-yard box and sent a low shot into the back of the net to make it 3-1 in favor of the Bluejays.

Sven Koenig tallied his first goal as a Bluejay during the 89th minute to add extra cushion to the final score. Kuba Polat sent the ball ahead to Noah Franke along the far-side of the 18-yard box before Franke found Koenig at the top of the box. Koenig put his right foot on the ball and scored a late insurance goal to push the final score to 4-1.

Koenig scored 30 goals during two seasons at Division II Hawaii Pacific before joining the Creighton program prior to this season.

Xavier attempted only one shot during the second half as Matt Vasquenza fired a free kick during the 84th minute that traveled well high of the goal.

Creighton concluded the match with a 19-4 edge in shots, including 9-2 in shots on goal. The Bluejays also attempted eight corner kicks, while Xavier finished with zero corners.

Lopez-Espin set career-highs for shots (7) and shots on goal (5), and tied his career mark for goals in a single match by recording a brace for the fourth time during his Bluejay career.

Creighton returns to action next weekend on the road against Providence. The Bluejays and Friars will play on Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. Central in Rhode Island. Three of Creighton's four final regular-season matches are on the road.

Men's Soccer Continues Offensive Dominance During 4-1 Victory Over Xavier

Players Mentioned

Julius Fohr

Noah Franke

Sven Koenig

Ricky Lopez-Espin

Kuba Polat

Joel Rydstrand

Lucas Stauffer