Men's Soccer Slips To Marquette, 3-1

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men's soccer team fell to Marquette, 3-1, during a Saturday night BIG EAST matchup at Morrison Stadium.

The Bluejays moved to 3-6-1 overall and 0-4-0 in league play, while the Golden Eagles improved to 2-2-1 during conference action and 5-5-1 overall.

Despite the loss, Creighton tied a Morrison Stadium record for corner kicks in a game with 15 (previously on Oct. 27, 2007 against Missouri State). The Bluejays also played a man down for the final 40 minutes of action, but held an 18-17 advantage in shots.

Creighton started as the aggressors with a scoring opportunity during the opening minute. Following an early Marquette booking the Bluejays' Diego Gutierrez sent a free kick towards the middle of the box where freshman Manu Toledano headed the ball on goal, forcing a save from the Golden Eagle goalkeeper.

The Bluejays also attempted four corner kicks during the first 11 minutes of action.

The game flipped during the middle stages of the opening half as Marquette gained a 2-0 edge with goals during the 25th and 29th minutes. Lukas Sunesson converted the first tally, while Beto Soto found the back of the net for the second.

Daniel Espeleta attempted Creighton's first official shot since the opening minute during the 33rd. The Bluejays continued to apply pressure and fired three more shots in the next eight minutes, including one on goal, before Marquette was whistled for a hand ball in the box during the 41st minute, setting up a Creighton penalty kick attempt.

Espeleta took the shot attempt from the spot and found the back of the net to trim the Creighton deficit to one goal with less than five minutes remaining in the opening half -- his first goal of the season.

Both teams attempted eight shots before halftime.

Marquette wasted little time in the second half to extend their lead back to two goals. Sunnesson found the back of the net for the second time on Saturday night just 29 seconds after the start of the second half.

Creighton was whistled for a straight red card during the 50th minute, forcing the Bluejays to play a man down for the final 40 minutes of action.

Despite being outnumbered on the pitch, Creighton fired 10 shots during the second half and created nine corner kick opportunities.

Espeleta led the Bluejays with six shots, including three on goal. Paul Kruse made three saves during his 10th start of the season.

Creighton returns to the pitch next week for a pair of road matches. The Bluejays will play Villanova on Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia before heading to Connecticut to play UConn on Saturday night.

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Team Stats

Daniel Espeleta

Diego Gutierrez

Manu Toledano

Dominic Briggs

Players Mentioned

Daniel Espeleta

Diego Gutierrez

Paul Kruse

Manu Toledano

Players Mentioned

Daniel Espeleta

Diego Gutierrez

Paul Kruse

Manu Toledano