Freshman midfielder Charles Auguste scored his second goal of the season in the 9th minute of the match and the Creighton men’s soccer team survived a late push from Villanova to earn a 1-0 win on a drizzly Saturday night at Morrison Stadium.
The Wildcats showed some moxie in playing even in shots despite being a man down for the final 40:03 after midfielder Marcus Brenes was sent off with a red card in the 50th minute. Creighton (6-2-1, 2-0-0 Big East) peppered the final third with scoring chances after going a man up, but Villanova (5-3-1, 0-1-1 Big East) turned the tables and put the Bluejays under significant pressure for much of the second half. Each team finished with 11 shots over the final 45 minutes after combining for just eight in the opening period.
“I thought our ability to manage the game left a lot to be desired, especially with a man up,” Creighton head coach Johnny Torres said. “I think with Villanova, they’re gritty, right? They’re tough, they’re hard-nosed, and they are willing to work. I thought we did a good job of putting pressure on them and getting to the end line. Where we did not do a very good job was squeezing and condensing the field, so any rejected balls by them usually started their attack at the top of the 18.
“We have to be there to snuff that out and continue the attack. That’s where I thought we lacked a little bit tonight.”
The elevated shot totals were definitely a case of quantity over quality for both teams, however. Out of Creighton’s 17 total shots, just four of them were on frame, and only one out of Villanova’s 13 attempts found its way to senior goalkeeper Collin Valdivia.
For most of the first half it appeared that Creighton was on the doorstep to a two or three-goal period. They were consistently playing balls out wide and getting to the end line to stretch Villanova’s back line and creating openings to time runs into the box. That’s how the Jays broke through in the 9th minute when Auguste got into the six-yard box at the far post to settle a cross from junior defender Musa Qongo and blast it straight into the back of the net for the early lead.
“That was a great cross by Musa,” Auguste said. “They just miss-kicked it I guess, and I just tried to hit as hard as I could. I didn’t really think about where to shoot it. I was just hoping it would go in.”
Creighton had devoted a lot of time in training recently to being sharper on those types of plays after feeling like the final pass was letting them down in the attacking third a few weeks ago. Auguste capitalized on the team’s first shot of the night, but freshman center back Luke Mitchell and senior forward Luke Haakenson also had quality chances inside the 18 to pad the lead.
“I thought we were pretty sharp early on in the game,” Torres said. “It’s obviously something that’s been a focus of ours, and I thought the guys were connecting the dots with good tempo, good interchange, and I thought our goal showed that. It was a good finish by Charlie.”
Normally earning three points in the Big East standings is cause for celebration, but it was unfortunately another bittersweet result for the Bluejays as both Auguste and sophomore midfielder Keegan Boyd sustained injuries and left the pitch on crutches after the match.
At this point, it might not be much of a stretch to say that Creighton has more injured players than healthy ones, especially when you consider what senior midfielder Yudai Tashiro is playing through for the rest of the season. It puts the coaching staff in a difficult position as they jump back out of conference one last time for a Tuesday night tilt against Green Bay.
“Obviously we’ll look for some fresh bodies to be able to come in and play a big part,” Torres said. “It’s good because those guys will get some games and some rhythm, then we can look to find another formula for the game after that in conference. The good thing is we have two days to mend a little bit and recover before Tuesday.
“I’ve said it all year that we have to go a game at a time. That was always our intent, and now it’s the way we have to do it with the amount of injuries that we’ve had this season.”
Kickoff between the Bluejays and Phoenix (1-5-2) is set for 6:00 p.m. at Morrison Stadium on Tuesday, October 1. After that, Creighton will finish the regular season with four of their final seven matches away from home.