Saturday, November 4
Queens, NY
5:00 PM
Creighton University
9-7-2
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at
3
St. John's
9-6-3
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Creighton
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St. John's
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Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Men's Soccer Drops BIG EAST First Round Match Against St. John's, 3-1
11/4/2017 7:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Ricky Lopez-Espin tallied his BIG EAST leading 12th goal of the season
QUEENS, N.Y. -- The Creighton men's soccer team fell 3-1 to St. John's on Saturday night at Belson Stadium during the First Round of the BIG EAST Championship Presented by Jeep.Â
The Bluejays dropped to 9-7-2 overall, while the Red Storm improved to 9-6-3 and advanced to the semifinal round where they will play second-seeded Georgetown on Wednesday at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C.
St. John's started Friday's match with a pair of goals during the opening seven minutes of play.Â
Matt Forster opened the scoring with a goal on the first shot of the match during the fourth minute. BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year Harry Cooksley played a ball to Forster who chipped it over Creighton's Michael Kluver.
Cooksley ended the contest with three assists and now has a total of eight this season.Â
During the seventh minute, Alistair Johnston headed in his team-leading fifth goal of the season to give the Red Storm an early 2-0 lead. Forster and Cooksley each recorded assists on the play.Â
Creighton started to turn the field of play, put pressure on the St. John's defense, and earned the first corner kick of the match during the 13th minute.
BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year Ricky Lopez-Espin cut the deficit to one with a goal during the 21st minute. Marios Lomis played a ball across the box to Luke Haakenson who dropped the ball to Lopez-Espin before the senior launched a shot towards the goal and deflected the ball off a St. John's defender and into the back of the net.
The goal marked Lopez-Espin's conference-leading 12th goal of the season and 30th of his career, which ranks eighth in program history.
The Bluejays continued to control possession and took the final six shots of the opening 45 minutes as St. John's did not attempt a shot after its goal during the seventh minute.
Creighton fired two shots during the first 10 minutes of the second half, but neither forced St. John's goalkeeper Andrew Withers to keep the ball out of the net.
The Red Storm's first shot attempt since its seventh minute goal came during the 58th minute as a shot off Forster's foot went wide.
The Bluejays had three shots and three corner kicks during the span of a minute (58:53-59:34) but could not find an equalizer.Â
During the 69th minute, Kluver recorded three saves within 30 seconds to keep the match at 2-1. The fifth-year senior made a diving save to his left, a jumping save and a sliding save to his right before controlling the ball.
St. John's sealed the match during the 73rd minute with Johnston's second goal of the match. Cooksley sent in a free kick from the far sideline towards the far post where Johnston headed the ball past Kluver and gave the Red Storm a 3-1 lead with less than 20 minutes remaining in regulation.
Creighton and St. John's each ended the match with 11 shots, while the Bluejays held a 9-2 edge in corner kicks.
With the loss, Creighton must wait for a possible at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays have made the NCAA Tournament 24 out of the past 25 seasons, including the past four years with an at-large bid. The last time Creighton did not make the NCAA field was during the 2009 season.Â
The 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 13.Â
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The Bluejays dropped to 9-7-2 overall, while the Red Storm improved to 9-6-3 and advanced to the semifinal round where they will play second-seeded Georgetown on Wednesday at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C.
St. John's started Friday's match with a pair of goals during the opening seven minutes of play.Â
Matt Forster opened the scoring with a goal on the first shot of the match during the fourth minute. BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year Harry Cooksley played a ball to Forster who chipped it over Creighton's Michael Kluver.
Cooksley ended the contest with three assists and now has a total of eight this season.Â
During the seventh minute, Alistair Johnston headed in his team-leading fifth goal of the season to give the Red Storm an early 2-0 lead. Forster and Cooksley each recorded assists on the play.Â
Creighton started to turn the field of play, put pressure on the St. John's defense, and earned the first corner kick of the match during the 13th minute.
BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year Ricky Lopez-Espin cut the deficit to one with a goal during the 21st minute. Marios Lomis played a ball across the box to Luke Haakenson who dropped the ball to Lopez-Espin before the senior launched a shot towards the goal and deflected the ball off a St. John's defender and into the back of the net.
The goal marked Lopez-Espin's conference-leading 12th goal of the season and 30th of his career, which ranks eighth in program history.
The Bluejays continued to control possession and took the final six shots of the opening 45 minutes as St. John's did not attempt a shot after its goal during the seventh minute.
Creighton fired two shots during the first 10 minutes of the second half, but neither forced St. John's goalkeeper Andrew Withers to keep the ball out of the net.
The Red Storm's first shot attempt since its seventh minute goal came during the 58th minute as a shot off Forster's foot went wide.
The Bluejays had three shots and three corner kicks during the span of a minute (58:53-59:34) but could not find an equalizer.Â
During the 69th minute, Kluver recorded three saves within 30 seconds to keep the match at 2-1. The fifth-year senior made a diving save to his left, a jumping save and a sliding save to his right before controlling the ball.
St. John's sealed the match during the 73rd minute with Johnston's second goal of the match. Cooksley sent in a free kick from the far sideline towards the far post where Johnston headed the ball past Kluver and gave the Red Storm a 3-1 lead with less than 20 minutes remaining in regulation.
Creighton and St. John's each ended the match with 11 shots, while the Bluejays held a 9-2 edge in corner kicks.
With the loss, Creighton must wait for a possible at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays have made the NCAA Tournament 24 out of the past 25 seasons, including the past four years with an at-large bid. The last time Creighton did not make the NCAA field was during the 2009 season.Â
The 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 13.Â
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Team Stats
CU
SJU
Goals
1
3
Shots
11
11
Shots on Goal
1
6
Saves
3
0
Corners
9
2
Fouls
15
9
Scoring Plays
FORSTER, Matt (3)
Assisted By: COOKSLEY, Harry
Cooksley to a streaking Forster, chipped
3:33
JOHNSTON, Alistair (5)
Assisted By: FORSTER, Matt , COOKSLEY, Harry
Cross from Forster on the left, headed h
6:53
LOPEZ-ESPIN, Ricky (12)
Assisted By: HAAKENSON, Luke , LOMIS, Marios
Quick tap from 15 to 7, went in off defl
20:34
JOHNSTON, Alistair (6)
Assisted By: COOKSLEY, Harry
Cooksley free kick from the logo, finish
72:43
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
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