Creighton played in the College Cup. They got there with a very impressive 21-2 record and a #2 overall seed in the tournament. And they did it under their third coach in as many years. That should count for something right?
Well, maybe, but there is still a feeling of disappointment and frustration after Creighton was eliminated from the College Cup Friday night by a Charlotte team that has been described as the “Cinderella” of the tournament. But don’t call them that.
“I don’t feel we are a Cinderella, not one bit,” said Charlotte head coach Jeremy Gunn. “If we pulled an upset to get in and were a sub 100 (RPI) team making a run that would make sense, but we have been playing well all year. I actually consider it a big insult.”
That’s all well and good, but the 49ers have been playing with a mentality to play to their opponent during this tournament. And it has worked. Creighton, statistically, dominated the entire game. They played aggressively and they put pressure on the 49ers for the majority of the game.
“We wanted to play against them, but every time we did, they beat us,” commented Coach Gunn. “They really pressured us. We needed to hold back and wait for our opportunities. I felt like we were able to make some plays in the second half.”
In the record books, it will show that Creighton posted yet another shutout, but that was not the intent according to Coach Bolowich.
“We kept them off the board, sure, but we also missed on some opportunities on the other end. It was not necessarily our goal to get a shutout. It was to play a good game, an entertaining game. A game that gives you a chance to advance and put your stamp on, dominate. I think we did a good job for the most part, but in this sport it is hard to do for 90 minutes.”
A dejected Elmar Bolowich, Brian Holt, and Ethan Finlay answer questions after Friday's semifinal loss (Paul Liberty/WBR)
They Jays, and their fans, are mostly happy that they were able to compete at this level and this deep into the season, but as Bolowich points out, when you get here, you really want to finish the job.
“I am happy when looking at this season as a whole. We have done a tremendous job. We have great a great administration, great players, and a great program; we are at a great school and have a great facility. However, when you are at this stage you are obviously that close, and that is your new ultimate goal. When you are here you want to win it all. Two more games and it is yours. We were ready for it. We came here prepared and we did not hide. I felt like we played our hearts out but the shots were just not falling.”
They did play tough, but they fell to a team that played their game. Ethan Finlay and Brian Holt are two of the seniors on this squad that were playing their last game in a Creighton uniform. To lose in a shootout just made it sting a little more.
“Losing in a shootout is tough. We worked so hard defensively, and Holt had a great game,” Bolowich said. “To come down the way it did, that’s soccer, and we knew that coming into it. You look at some of the guys up front and you ask how could we have prevented PK’s. But, hindsight is always 20/20. I am really proud of our guys, proud of our seniors, and proud of our back line. We showed a lot of character tonight. We played 120 minutes and we played our hearts out.”
Creighton was able to absolutely dominate the entire first half, but as Bolowich mentioned, they just could not capitalize on the offensive end. Credit goes to Charlotte, too, as they had a game plan and executed it. It is frustrating to watch when it seems like only one team is playing for the majority of the game and the one that is packing it in comes out on top. The Bluejays needed to capitalize on their chances and they could not. They needed more movement on top, and they did not get that. It was an off night.
Although the effort was there, the end result was not one we as fans were hoping for. We have a great core of players, and a number of them will be returning next year. We have a great coaching staff that wants to continue this program’s success. I know we are all a little down right now, but the future is bright for this program, and I for one am excited to watch.