It’s rare that a team in any sport gets through a season without experiencing some clunkers along the way. Two days after a lopsided win over local rival Nebraska-Omaha, the Creighton women’s soccer team plodded their way through a 1-0 loss to South Dakota State on a humid afternoon at Morrison Stadium.
The Bluejays fell to 4-2-0 on the season after the lackluster performance against the Jackrabbits (3-2-0). They looked a step behind the visitors all afternoon, never really finding a rhythm and lacking a sense of urgency until it was too late to flip the switch.
“I think the bottom line is they came in and outworked us,” Creighton head coach Ross Paule said. “It’s inexcusable for players to step on the field, allow somebody to come into your own place, and be outworked. You have two things that you can control and that’s your attitude and your effort. Everything is not going to go right with touches on the ball, but we didn’t have [the right attitude or effort]. There are very few players I can point to that really put in the effort that everybody should put in no matter what.
“It’s frustrating. It’s a wake-up call and once again, I keep on saying, a win or a loss, we have to learn from it. We have a long way to go, even after the wins I would say we have a long way to go, because we just have to get better, all around, and we’re going to train that way. We’re not going to back off in any way. We’re going to train the way we train and get ready for other solid teams like this.”
South Dakota State dictated the majority of the play in the first half. In the first 45 minutes, the Jackrabbits owned a 10-2 advantage in shots and had six corner kicks compared to none for Creighton. All that was missing from their first-half effort was a goal with which to reward themselves. That payoff came almost four minutes after intermission when sophomore midfielder Tori Poole sent a strike from just beyond 30 yards out into the back of the net. The goal ended Creighton freshman goalkeeper Erin Scott’s streak of 400 minutes and 22 seconds without allowing a goal at Morrison Stadium. That mark was the second-longest shutout streak at Morrison Stadium in program history.
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On top of ending Scott’s scoreless streak, Poole’s strike also stood as the lone goal on the afternoon, handing Creighton it’s first loss at home in five matches this season. Perhaps more concerning is the fact that this is Creighton’s third straight sub-par Sunday performance. In their three Friday matches this season the Bluejays are 3-0-0 and have outscored South Dakota, Northern Illinois, and Nebraska-Omaha by a combined score of 9-1. In their three Sunday matches, they are 1-2-0 and have been outscored 3-2 with their two scores coming on a penalty kick and an own goal.
Creighton’s head coach said that despite the emotional Friday night over UNO, there is no reason to be outworked on their home field, especially when having to deal with the same short turnaround as their opponent.
“There was a whole lot of energy Friday night, but to me there is no excuse, because they played Friday night also,” Paule said. “We’re going to be honest with each other, and we’re going to watch film, and we’re going to point out the things that we did poor and the things that we can continue to build on. It’s just disappointing, because the players deserve a lot better. Our girls deserve a lot better to step on the field and everybody have the pride to come out here and put the attitude and effort into it to grind out on a Sunday. That’s what it takes on Sundays. Both teams are tired, no excuse.
“I think it comes down to the mental toughness and just falling asleep at the wrong time. Mentally checking out at the wrong time. There is no good time to check out mentally, but South Dakota State took advantage of their chances, and we had very few chances.”
Junior midfielder and one of the elected team captains, Emily Roll, said Friday night’s big win over the rival Mavericks only amplifies how disappointing the result was on Sunday. Instead of carrying the momentum into Sunday and building on it, the Bluejays took a step backwards.
“With a win like that you want to take it in stride and use it to build upon, so this is a setback today. In my personal opinion in every setback there is a learning lesson in it. Work ethic today was the lesson. We have to come out every game and bring it and give it our all, because we can’t expect anything less from the people that come to our pitch, so we have to defend it. Today, unfortunately, South Dakota State brought it and unfortunately we didn’t rise to the challenge.”
The win was South Dakota State’s first in 11 meetings with Bluejays dating back to 2004. They entered the afternoon with an 0-9-1 record all-time against Creighton.
Next up for the Bluejays are two afternoon matches this upcoming Friday and Sunday at the Montana Cup in Missoula, Montana. Creighton will play the Seattle Redhawks (3-2-0) at 3 p.m. (CST) on Friday, then take on the Montana Grizzlies (3-2-0) at the same time on Sunday.
Listen to the postgame interview with head coach Ross Paule