With 10 minutes remaining in the 2026 Dodge Street Derby, #4 Creighton and Nebraska-Omaha were tied 2-2. The Jays scored twice early, UNO scored twice late in the first half, and neither side could find the net for the first 35 minutes of the second on a rainy night at Caniglia Field.
It was a physical match, with 27 combined fouls and 11 yellow cards issued. And then Ayden Kokoszka did this.
INSANE SHOT BY AYDEN KOKOSZKA!
This his his 6th goal this season, giving back the lead to the Jays 3-2. #GoJays pic.twitter.com/K5Lk1SyR6v
— Creighton Men’s Soccer (@creightonmsoc) September 30, 2026
Taking the ball on the left side, he spun and blasted a shot that looked it had been fired out of a howitzer, hooking it toward the upper-right corner of the net where it banged off the crossbar and in.
Brent Weber, who had the call for Midco Sports, had the same reaction as everyone else watching it. “What in the world did you just see? That was SPECTACULAR!”
WOWT’s camera from the press box captured the best view of the shot, with their lens isolated on Kokoszka and showing just how brilliant of a shot it was.
Kokoszka’s coach, no stranger to spectacular goals himself during a decorating playing career, had high praise for this one.
“That was a world class strike. I think that’s one of the best goals I’ve seen this season,” Johnny Torres told the media afterward. “He’s got such a tight control, right? He’s got this uncanny ability to shift and get defenders out of balance.”
“I knew when I came in, I had to change the game, and that’s my thought process: just get a goal for us to go ahead,” Kokoszka added. “I was just looking for time and space on my feet, and I looked up, I saw the goalie, and I shot it.”
Ahead 3-2, a yellow card on UNO’s Mikey Stukenholtz gave Creighton a free kick, and it led to Jordan Igwenma sealing the win with a putback goal. His first shot was blocked by UNO goalkeeper Kamy Ndione, but he gathered it and immediately took a second shot. This one didn’t miss.
Jordan Igwenma slides it in to give the Jays a 4-2 lead!
Electric energy here at Omaha ⚡️#GoJays pic.twitter.com/KaetrehEG8
— Creighton Men’s Soccer (@creightonmsoc) September 30, 2026
Brilliant as Kokoszka’s goal was, the match really shifted in the 65th minute when Torres subbed in Angel Lopez, Ange Gbe and Igwenma all during the same stoppage. They seized control of the match and repeatedly created great shot opportunities for themselves; for an offensive attack as potent at Creighton’s, it was just a matter of time before one of them found the net.
“It’s twofold. We lost our legs a little bit, and they brought in some fresh first line attackers,” Omaha head coach Donovan Dowling told the Omaha World-Herald afterward. “And then, you know, we’ve got to be better in moments. I think we could have solved some of their goals and in a big environment like this, and a big match, it’s little details and moments.”
Early on, it looked like the Jays were headed toward a comfortable win. Lopez gave them a lead in the 21st minute after taking a pass from Igwenma along the right side, and beating his defender to create enough space to get off a clean shot.
Angel Lopez drives in an amazing goal for your Jays.
Bringing it to 0-1.
This is Lopez’s 7th goal of the season, well done! #GoJays pic.twitter.com/da6BiiNzwX
— Creighton Men’s Soccer (@creightonmsoc) September 30, 2026
Five minutes later, Matthew Reed made it 2-0 with his ninth goal of the season. He’s consistently in the right place and takes advantage, and ranks second in the nation in goals scored — nine in 12 matches is an unreal pace.
Matthew Reed brings the Jays to a 2-0 lead!
Reed is the alone in 2nd in the NCAA with 9 goals. #GoJays pic.twitter.com/AtuYOKamWl
— Creighton Men’s Soccer (@creightonmsoc) September 30, 2026
UNO scored twice just five minutes apart to tie it. On the first, Italo Jenkins’ shot was stopped by CU goalkeeper Amari Thompson when they collided with each other. Jenkins went tumbling through the air, Thompson fell to the turf, and as the ball sat in open space with no goalkeeper, Maguire Perkins tapped in an uncontested shot.
RIGHT BACK IN IT‼️‼️‼️‼️
Italo gets the touch, and Maguire converts to put the Mavs within one#ForThe402 pic.twitter.com/7rCzzfYJ7s
— Omaha Men’s Soccer (@OmahaMSOC) September 30, 2026
In the 44th minute, his brother Brett Perkins redirected a corner kick into the net to tie the match at two. It was his team-leading fifth goal of the season, as he’s now scored in each of the last three matches.
BRETT PERKINS OH MY‼️‼️‼️
WE’RE ALL TIED UP AT CANIGLIA⚽️⚽️#ForTh402 pic.twitter.com/zltGnrSVXQ
— Omaha Men’s Soccer (@OmahaMSOC) September 30, 2026
But eventually Creighton wore them down, and after a back-and-forth second half Kokoszka’s remarkable goal gave them the win. It moves the Jays to 10-0-2, their best mark after 12 matches since the 2015 team started 15-0-0. That group spent eight weeks ranked #1 and advanced to the Elite Eight. Before that, you have to go back to 1993 to find a better start to a season — that group started 19-0-0 and entered the NCAA Tournament undefeated before a shocking opening round loss to Air Force.
They’ve scored three or more goals in nine of their 12 matches, and have 39 (!) goals so far this season. Per Rob Anderson, the last time the Jays had at least 37 goals after 12 games was 1995 when Johnny Torres was a sophomore (and scored nine goals himself). Last year’s team had 16 goals after 12 games.