Herbers and Pitter came up big in the victory over Providence on Thursday night (Spomer/WBR) CLICK TO BUY
With their backs against the wall and the match tied at one goal apiece, the fifth-ranked Creighton Bluejays got big plays from their veteran German attackers, senior midfielder Timo Pitter and junior forward Fabian Herbers to help the team advance to the Big East Tournament title match.
In the 67th minute, Pitter drew a foul in the box along the right flank, and Herbers buried the penalty kick into the middle of the net to give the Bluejays a 2-1 lead that they never relinquished. It was a hard-fought result against the Providence Friars (8-7-3) on Thursday night at Morrison Stadium in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.
“Right now we’re in the knockout stage, it’s not about the beautiful game anymore,” Herbers said. “It’s just about getting results and getting the W, and that’s what we did today.”
That task was made more challenging with 15:34 remaining in the first half when senior co-captain and center back Vincent Keller suffered a high ankle sprain while chasing down Providence forward Mac Steeves in the box, and had to be helped off the field by members of the training staff. Without one of their senior leaders on the pitch, the Bluejays got a strong response from freshman midfielder Joel Rydstrand to get a lead heading into halftime.
Herbers played a ball through the Friars’ back line to create a scoring chance. Junior midfielder Myles Englis tracked down the ball, but miss-hit it on his first touch as he tried to chip the keeper. A Providence defender cleared the ball off the back line and out to the left flank where Rydstrand closed in and put the rebound into the side of the net to give the Bluejays a 1-0 lead.
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See photos from WBR photographers Adam Streur and Mike Spomer of the victory.
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Joel Rystrand got things going for the Bluejays (Spomer/WBR) CLICK TO BUY
Rydstrand, who missed time during the week with a back injury, brought a lot of energy to the pitch from the opening kick off and rewarded himself with a goal the Bluejays desperately needed before the end of the first half.
“He brought a lot of energy on that left side, and rewarded himself by making that run in when Myles [Englis] actually miss-hit it,” Creighton head coach Elmar Bolowich said of the newcomer from Almunge, Sweden. “It went to him and he finished it off nicely. Today he showed up, and he played from the very first minute. You know for a freshman from a foreign country to understand the college system, to play 19 games at a certain level that’s a lot to ask. He had his downs, but today he was back up.”
The good news was that Creighton went into the locker room with a 1-0 lead. The bad news was the came out of the locker room with their senior leader in a boot and on crutches, and 45 minutes remaining to protect a one-goal lead against a desperate Providence team that was trying to play their way into the NCAA Tournament.
It took fewer than ten minutes for the Friars to find the equalizer in the second half. A foul in the box by Creighton sophomore Noah Franke gave Providence a penalty kick, and junior midfielder Julian Gressel made the most of it by beating Bluejays senior goalkeeper Connor Sparrow to the left side of the net, tying the match 1-1 with 35:48 remaining in regulation.
Just over 12 minutes later Pitter drew the foul and Herbers buried the go-ahead goal on the penalty kick to put Creighton back in front, 2-1. With true freshman Peter Prescott taking over for Keller, the Bluejays protected their goalkeeper and the one-goal lead, limiting Providence to five shots in the final 33:41 of the match.
It was a gut-check win for the Bluejays, who have been fortunate as far as injuries to key players are concerned throughout the season. With a key one at one of the worst possible times, they rose to the challenge with Keller sidelined.
“He’s our captain. He’s our leader. He’s the most vocal on the team, he tries to keep us together all the time, and he’s a good soccer player,” Herbers said of his senior center back. “We struggled a little bit out of the build up, but we have good depth in our team, and Peter did a great job when he came in. He’s not as vocal, but he did his job. He stood his man, and he was very important for us in this game.”
With the win, the Bluejays get a rematch on Sunday afternoon with a Georgetown team that beat them 2-1 to clinch the Big East regular season crown back on November 5 in Washington, D.C. On Sunday, at 12:00 p.m. central time, they’ll get a second chance, this time with the Big East Tournament title on the line. And they’ll most likely have to do it without Vincent Keller, who’s ankle injury is feared to be season-ending with so little time remaining.
That means Prescott may be called upon to replace Keller again and mark Georgetown star Brandon Allen for anywhere from 90 to possibly 110 minutes on the field. If he handles the challenge well, it won’t come as a surprise to the teammates around him.
“He’s strong, he’s tall, and he’s physical,” Herbers said of the freshman from Vancouver, Washington. “He wins his headers, he wins his tackles, and he’s very fast. He’s a good fit. He got to play today around 70 minutes, so it was good to keep up his confidence. I’m sure he will do a good job at Georgetown as well.”
As for the rest of the team, they’re eager for another crack at the third-ranked Hoyas after falling short the first time around.
“We struggled a little bit last week. We couldn’t really find our rhythm,” Herbers said. “Georgetown outplayed us a little bit in the first half. In the second half we did a little bit better, we got the tie, but unfortunately we lost it at the end of the game. Now we have another opportunity to do better, and I’m sure we won’t lose twice in a row.”
The Big East Tournament title match between the Bluejays (17-2-0) and Hoyas (14-2-2) will be televised on Fox Sports 2 at 12:00 p.m. (CST).
Listen to postgame audio with head coach Elmar Bolowich and Fabian Herbers