Creighton got off to a good start this past week with two road victories, both shutouts. The victory over Denver was a close 1-0 win, but the Jays put things together when they traveled down to UMKC and put a smack down on the Kangaroos with a 5-0 rout. We sat down with Creighton’s Head Coach Elmar Bolowich to discuss the previous week and the week ahead.
White & Blue Review: You guys were able to open the season 2-0 on the road including a very impressive win over UMKC. What have been the positives and negatives in your opinion?
Elmar Bolowich: Honestly, I don’t think it has been all that impressive. We made a lot of mental errors against UMKC, they just did not have the ability to capitalize on it. When we start playing some of the tougher opponents, we will need to be better. Some positives are that the guys are getting better and they are getting more comfortable playing together. The fact that we were able to complete two shut outs and win two on the road was big. Winning on the road is always nice. We still have a lot of work to do, however, and we need to raise the bar. We need to get to the point where we are mentally strong for 90 minutes.
WBR: There has been a lot of discussion about your aggressive style of play and that this years team will be aggressive and offensive minded this year. How has that been received by the players so far?
EB: It is more than just an aggressive or offensive mind set, it is all about possession. If you have possession, you control the game. If the other team does not have the ball, you don’t play defense. The problem is that when you play aggressive and attach as much as we will, we will leave ourselves in vulnerable positions at times. In order to counter that, we need to score early and often.
WBR: You were able to show off your depth a bit against UMKC, how big will that advantage be as you head into the season?
EB: Our depth is great. When I spoke with Jamie Clark as the transition was taking place, the comment he made to me was that when he made one or two subs., you could really see the drop in play. Now, we are able to sub five or six at a time and not really see much of a drop in the level of play and skill. When we start playing some of the tougher opponents, especially on the road, this will be a great advantage.
WBR: As the preseason hype started rolling out, were you surprised the Jose “Choco” Gomez was not getting more attention?
EB: I was. He is a very special player for us, and was one of our top performers during our preseason. He is getting very comfortable in his role and knows that we need him on offense and defense. He is getting confident in his abilities and he is taking more chances, which I encourage. I want him to have the freedom to make plays and not worry about me getting upset.
WBR: You will be coaching in your first regular season game at Morrison on Sunday. Excited?
EB: I am very excited. I have heard so much about the support this community has on game days and that the fans can really get behind their team. I am also glad to be done with buses and planes for a while. The travel the past week was long and the guys are happy to be playing at home as well. It should be really fun on Sunday, and I hope we can get a big crowd.
