This is it! The home stretch! Creighton has three games remaining in the regular season, all at home. The first of these is tonight’s match against our regional rival and little brother, the Drake Bulldogs. Drake comes to the Hilltop tonight with a record of 10-5-1, having been upset last week by Central Arkansas, the seventh-worst team in collegiate soccer. The Bulldogs will be eager for the chance to bounce back from that embarrassing loss tonight.
Tonight’s opponents are known to be a fast and physical team, seemingly standard for the MVC. They’re led by Matt Kuhn, who’s scored nine goals this season and is truly the spark of the D+ offense. Omahan and Millard West product Andrew Kallman (no word on relation to Brent, a Bluejay) has not appeared in any games for Drake this season, but hopefully will get to make an appearance in front of a hometown crowd.
Meanwhile, the White and Blue have bounced back to #3 in the national polls, after winning twice last week in Valley play. The Bluejays bolstered their rating with wins at Bradley and SIUE last week, where they allowed a total of four shots on goal. Senior fullback Andrew Duran earned conference and national recognition for his part in Creighton’s recent defensive fortitude. Goalkeeper Brian Holt will become the CU all-time leader in minutes played if he plays a full 90 this evening. Expect Jake Brown to start along the back line tonight, since his ability in the air will be effective against the direct-minded Drake attack.
At this point in the season, we fans are focusing on the possibilities of NCAA tournament seeding. If Creighton wins from here on out — as they should — it seems likely the Jays will earn a top-four seed in the tournament, despite the RPI hit they’ll take from the remainder of their conference slate. That means a guarantee of home-field advantage until the College Cup. That’s right: if the Bluejays win the games they ought to win, Creighton’s at home until the Final Four. Ed Servais said it best at Bluejay Madness: “We don’t lose at home!”
Tonight’s match is at 7:00 pm at Morrison Stadium. The game will be streamed online via GoCreighton’s web video service, and live stats will be provided.
