The two-game road trip to open up the 2013 season didn’t start the way the Creighton women’s soccer team was hoping after they dropped a 3-0 decision to Utah State on Friday night. The Jays gave up three goals before halftime and never could get on the board to steal some momentum and make a comeback. Unfortunately, they don’t have a lot of time to dwell on that loss as they have a Sunday afternoon game against the Boise State Broncos coming up.
The Broncos (0-1), who are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to Idaho State in their season opener, finished second in the Mountain West Conference last season with a 9-9-2 overall record, including a 6-2-2 mark at home. Despite returning seven of their top eight goal scorers from last season’s team the Broncos were picked fifth in the MWC preseason poll. They return the 2012 Mountain West Freshman of the Year in midfielder Brooke Heidemann. The sophomore out of Meridian, Idaho scored the team’s only goal in the loss to Idaho State on Friday. She will be one of the team’s main attackers, and will surely test the work-in-progress back line of Creighton’s.
Although she didn’t get a shot off against Idaho State, junior Shannon Schueren makes for another dangerous attacker that Creighton will have to deal with after she led the team in goals (6) and assists (3) in 2012. She has been one of Boise State’s top offensive players throughout her career.
In goal for the Broncos is redshirt junior Maddy McDevitt. She started 19 of Boise State’s 20 matches last season, posting a 1.25 goals against average and notching five shutouts. She didn’t see much action in the team’s opener as Idaho State managed just three shots on goal in over 96 minutes of game time. The fact that she stopped only one of those three shots on the day might give Creighton some confidence after seeing Aggie keeper Jeannie Woller make save after save on Friday.
For Creighton, even though they had plenty of opportunities to score against Utah State they’ll still need to find a way to produce some goals after struggling mightily in the second half of last season. Senior forward Lauren Cingoranelli along with fellow attackers Alyssa Jara and Kirstyn Corder managed just three shots, two on goal, between the three of them. While center back Kelsey O’Donnell and defensive mid Madelyn Buckner combined for eight. Getting more out of those three attackers will also help keep the pressure of true freshman goalkeeper Danielle Rice. Utah State pressured Creighton newcomer in net often in the early going on Friday. Controlling possession and getting on the board early will be key for a Creighton team that is determined to make last season’s struggles a distant memory.
The 1 p.m. (Central Standard Time) kickoff from the Boas Tennis and Soccer Complex will be the second meeting all-time between the two schools. Cingoranelli assisted on the first of former Bluejay standout Brittney Neumann’s two goals in a 2-0 Creighton win back in 2011 at Morrison Stadium.