The Creighton men’s soccer team is back in Omaha, ready to host DePaul Saturday night after traveling to California and picking up a shutout win against UC Santa Barbara. The Bluejays are 3-0-0 to start the 2010 season. No CU squad has started a season with four straight wins since 2000. You might remember that team. They played for the national championship at the College Cup finals.
WBR isn’t putting this year’s version of the Bluejays soccer team in the conversation for a national title just yet. But new head coach Jamie Clark has his team playing well to start the 2010 campaign. Brian Holt and the Bluejays defense have yet to yield a goal. Ethan Finlay and Kris Clark both have 2 goals apiece. And all 21 players have logged minutes so far this season.
We caught up with Coach Clark ahead of Saturday’s contest against the Blue Demons (1-1-1).
Jose Gomez (10) leads CU with 5 points through 3 matches
White and Blue Review: This past week, your team cracked the top 25 for the first time in nearly a year. They would not get much time to celebrate, however, as they headed west to take on a ranked UC Santa Barbara team. Still, your team picked up a big victory.
Jamie Clark: UC Santa Barbara was a good win for us. We will be able to use a win like this come NCAA selection time. I was mostly pleaded with the outcome because after looking at film of the game, we really didn’t play well. There were three or four guys that played above expectations, and the other seven or eight played at an expected level or below. For us to come away with a win against a good opponent when we are not all playing well is a great thing.
WBR: Coming into the season, many thought that with the turnover in coaching the Jays would be a bit down this season. Looking at your own personal expectations, how has the team progressed this season?
JC: We are coming along slowly. It has not been a continual growth, as we have had a few tough practices and game performances, but we are moving ahead. I thing we are now at the point where we can start scouting teams a bit more now and adjusting game schemes. Guys are really starting to accept their roles on the team.
The next five games on our schedule will be big indicators of our progress, as we will be playing teams that participate in competitive leagues and some teams that are tournament regulars. If we play the way we know we can, these next few weeks will be great for our confidence.
WBR: Coming into the season, the offense was a big part of your focus. With the great play of the defense as of late, have you see any leaders emerge?
JC: (Andrew) Duran, Holty (Brian Holt), and (Kyle) Deremer have really been the glue back there. They have all been the kind of teammates that have a team-first mentality and will sacrifice for the good of the team. When they can walk away from a match with a clean sheet, the team really sees their work pay off.
WBR: You will be hosting DePaul this weekend. How do you see this game shaping up, and what will you be looking to take away from it?
JC: They are a good team out of the Big East and it will be an entertaining matchup for the fans. If we can come into this game with the same attitude we had against UCSB, we will be a tough team to beat. As far as what I want out of the game, more growth as a team and a win wouldn’t hurt.