After an amazing inguinal season at Creighton, Elmar Bolowich and his staff return to try and make their way back to the College Cup. There will be a number of challenges during the season, including a very aggressive schedule and the loss of 14 players from last year’s squad. We sat down with Bolowich to discuss the challenges and expectations for the season ahead.
WBR: You are coming off a great first year, during which you led Creighton to the College Cup. What sort of expectations do you have for this season?
EB: Well, the expectations are not any lower because we lost players, it will just be tougher this year. The schedule is also much harder this season, and that is how we want it. We want to challenge ourselves and measure ourselves against the best.
WBR: As you just mention, Creighton lost a good number of players from last year’s squad. Of the new faces to the team, who do you see standing out?
EB: We have two new players form Germany this year, #4 Vincent Keller and #18 Timo Pitter. I see these two making a good impact. Also, Jose Ribas, who we saw last season, has developed into a starting player who will contribute nicely. We saw him come off the bench quite a bit last year, and he has really improved, he will be starting on Saturday.
WBR: One of the big questions leading into the season was how you would replace a talent like Brian Holt in goal. Has there been a decision made on who will get the nod tomorrow?
EB: There has been no decision made. That will be a game time decision. Both players have shown a lot of positives, and they are two different keepers. I think this year, a lot will depend on the opponent and what style we think will best counter our opponent.
WBR: We saw a few players go down in the exhibition matches, including Jose Gomez against Maryland. Any update on the health of the team?
EB: Choco will play on Friday. Everyone is good.
WBR: What are some of the things you took away from the two exhibition games?
EB: We saw some really good things and we saw some not so good things. In the UNO game specifically, the first half was a mess. Once we put in our starters in the second half, things really started to clean up. Right now we have a lot of new kids who are trying to grasp the system and my style. We want to be aggressive, like last year, and that is taking some longer to catch on to.
WBR: You are in a unique situation where you came in for your first season last year and needed to have a group grow accustom to your style and your tactics. Has this season shown similarities in the challenges you faced with 14 players gone from last years roster and so many new faces?
EB: Yes, and actually this year is harder. Last year I had a number of spring games with that team and a lot more time to get the philosophy into place. This year, these guys showed up in August and we have had very little time to get that philosophy in place. Because of the little time allowed, I have had to be more patient, which is not my strong suit, and realize that the small strides are good.
WBR: Does the fact that a number of new faces are your own recruits and transfers help at all? The fact that you have seen them play and studied them?
EB: Yes and no. I have seen these guys play, sure, and I know their style, but it was in a totally different environment. It is really all up to the player and how they make the transition. I know they are talented players; it is how they will fit with our system.
WBR: You mention earlier that you know the schedule will be tough this season and that is how you want it. You obviously want to win every game, but how do you see the schedule and the growing pains playing out in the early parts of your schedule?
EB: Well, as you mentioned, we want to win every game and we train for that. Will we only allow 5 goals this year? Probably not. But we will go out and play each game to win. There may be times when we get our teeth kicked in, but if we learn from each game and build on each game, that is all I can ask. When we made the schedule for this season, I certainly did not anticipate losing 14 players.
WBR: A lot of casual fans out there are not very familiar with the way that the RPI works in soccer and are more familiar with the basketball RPI. Could you talk a bit about what you need to do in order to survive this early part of the season. Primarily because of the MVC and the lack of top RPI opponents in the league?
EB: Well, as I mentioned before, we obviously want to win every game and that is how we train. With that said, as long as we make a good showing come out of our non-conference above .500, I think we will be able to survive with a decent RPI. League play is always tough though, as they are teams that know you and are not intimidated by you.
WBR: Tell us a bit about Northern Illinois and what we can expect out of them tonight.
EB: They have 8 returning starters and they are coming off a season where they got hot late and won their conference tournament. They will be carrying a lot of momentum into this year and will be experienced and ready to play. They have been here before and will not be intimidated or overwhelmed by our stadium or the rankings by our name. It should be a very entertaining match.
