Creighton Bluejays soccer has been synonymous with conference tournament success for what seems like ages.
The Bluejays have won 13 conference tournament championships since 1992. And a week after claiming the program’s first regular season Big East Conference title, Elmar Bolowich’s Bluejays are taking the No. 1 seed to Philadelphia to try and win the program’s first Big East tournament crown.
No. 1 Creighton faces No. 4 Providence today at 5:00 p.m. CT (watch at http://www.foxsports.com/foxsportsgo/ on the FoxSportsGO app) in the tournament’s first semifinal. The second semi pits No. 2 Xavier and No. 3 Georgetown, with the matches taking place at PPL Park in Philadelphia.
Creighton soccer fans hope the Bluejays can claim a 14th league tournament title this weekend (WBR/Mike Spomer) $ CLICK TO BUY $
The Bluejays won the Big East regular season championship last Friday with a convincing 3-0 victory over the Friars. Providence gets another shot at Creighton today after coming from behind against Villanova in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
Sean Kim scored Creighton’s first goal against Providence on Nov. 7, 2014 (WBR/Mike Spomer) $ CLICK TO BUY $
In the championship-clincher on Nov. 7, Creighton’s Sean Kim pounced on an early Friar mistake and took his chance well putting the Jays up within 2 minutes. Creighton held possession, forcing the Providence into chasing the game.
The desperation played right into the Jays’ game plan. While the Friars are physically much more gifted than the Jays and utilize their size and strength well, PC is more of a bruising, lump-it-forward side. Dominick and Fabio Machado are skilled midfielders who pull the offensive strings. They are tricky with the ball and gave the Creighton defense plenty of problems at Morrison Stadium.
The Machado duo will be looking to target forward Mac Steeves and super-sub Markus Naglestad, who led the Friars with three shots at Creighton’s net last week at Fort Morrison. Between Steeves, Naglestad, and the Machados, Providence is more than well equipped to pull off an upset of the Jays.
The Creighton faithful, meanwhile, are hoping to see Bolowich’s side return from Philadelphia with another championship trophy, for a number of reasons.
- Victories this weekend over Providence and either Xavier or Georgetown will likely mean a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament.
- A top-four seed would guarantee the Jays would play the remainder of the season at Morrison Stadium.
- Two wins in Philly would almost assuredly give Creighton a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, which would help rest weary legs of an already depleted bench. Creighton has settled in to a 13-14 man rotation, with freshman Lucas Stauffer, Noah Franke, and Alex Prusa the only players off the bench. A match off would go extremely far regaining strength and fitness for a number of players on the squad.
Should Creighton win Friday, the Jays would be on Fox Sports 2 Sunday afternoon playing for a title on TV.
Jays Sweep Big East Postseason Awards
Creighton’s Fabian Herbers, Timo Pitter, and Elmar Bolowich’s coaching staff recently earned the Big East Offensive Player of the Year, Midfielder of the Year, and Staff of the Year awards, respectively. Herbers’ selection was unanimous.
Jays Jose Ribas joined Herbers and Pitter on the Big East’s First Team, while Lucas Stauffer was a unanimous All-Rookie Team selection.
The Bluejays were not without snubs, though. Creighton net-minder Connor Sparrow was omitted from the honors, despite leading the league in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage.
