It might sound a bit shocking to Creighton soccer fans, but tonight’s home match against Drake might be the Bluejays’ must-win contest prior to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
2009 Men's Soccer Team Pregame Huddle
Sure, the Bluejays are 20-1-6 all-time against the Bulldogs. But with the round robin MVC schedule, Creighton’s lack of top-notch non-conference wins this late into the season compared with other years, and a lackluster opening to conference play on the offensive side of the pitch, great RPI wins have been hard to come by for the Bluejays.
Bob Warming’s Bluejays come in at #35 in the NCAA men’s soccer RPI ratings through October 11 matches. Drake, with an RPI of 20, is the highest rated Missouri Valley Conference team. To improve their own standings, the Bluejays must defeat the only conference team ahead of them in the RPI ratings. They’ll have two chances: tonight at Morrison Stadium and November 7 in Des Moines.
Creighton had a chance to beat Portland (#10 in this week’s RPI ratings) but coughed up a 1-0 lead and lost 2-1. The Jays’ best RPI win to date is a victory at Washington (#42). A win against Cal Poly (#78) could have meant more if Cal Poly weren’t 4-7-1 right now. A tie at home against Loyola Illinois (#104) certainly didn’t help. A win versus Bradley was necessary (#81), but a loss at home and a road tie against Missouri State (#102) left a dent in Creighton’s RPI rating.
It is hard to know exactly how much will RPI play into the selection process for the College Cup tournament. Right now, UC Santa Barbara is in the top 10 of both the NSCAA/adidas and Soccer Times rankings, yet are just #34 in the NCAA official RPI ratings. Quite the disparity. Still, the Bluejays have slipped from the national rankings and are in the 30s of the RPI, two things that don’t happen to this program at the same time very often.
So, the Bulldogs come to Omaha proud owners of a #20 RPI, a #19 ranking in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25 poll, the best overall and conference-only winning percentages among MVC teams, and a three-match winning streak. Those are characteristics usually reserved for Creighton this time most seasons. And while the Bluejays lead the MVC in total points (10) with a 3-1-1 conference record, Creighton has played five conference matches to just two for the Bulldogs.
And sure, Creighton has yet to lose to Drake in Omaha (12-0-2 all-time). But don’t think this year’s Bulldog side is scared to play at Morrison Stadium. Before last week’s win against Evansville in Des Moines, Drake played a seven-match road trip. Meanwhile, the Bluejays must win tonight before hitting the road for their longest road trip of 2009: Creighton travels to Evansville, Bradley, and Eastern Illinois in the next 10 days, a three-game streak that matches CU’s total of road matches played up to this point in the regular season.
What’s my point? Get out to Morrison Stadium tonight and cheer on the men’s soccer team! Due to the round robin scheduling and the events of this season so far, tonight’s as much of a must win scenario Creighton will face at home this season. Would the Bluejays love to beat UCLA (RPI #3) on Halloween afternoon? Sure. Will it mean that much if the Jays don’t pick up conference wins against teams with greater RPI ratings than them? Not so sure.
Yes, it might rain this evening. And yes, it will probably be cold. But Creighton holds one of the best (if not the best) home field advantages in all of college soccer. Up until last weekend’s match against Eastern Illinois (originally scheduled for Saturday but then moved to Sunday), the Bluejays played in front of home crowds of 1,000 or larger for 43 straight matches. As Rob Simms and the folks in the CU Sports Information Office point out, during that same span of matches, the other five current MVC members combined for a total of 25 home matches that surpassed 1,000. Of those 25, Bradley had 20, Evansville had 3, Drake and Missouri State had 1 each, while Eastern Illinois never eclipsed 1,000 at home. In fact, of those 25 dates, CU was the opponent in six matches, including the only 1,000 fan home match for DU and MSU.
Come to Morrison Stadium tonight. Start another attendance streak. And most importantly, cheer the Bluejays on to what amounts to a must win match against Drake.