During media days this fall, Creighton head coach Elmar Bolowich was peppered with questions regard his squad’s third place preseason rank in the Big East. Folks put the Bluejays well behind Georgetown and Marquette. Media outlets wondered if the coaching legend was upset with the lack of respect the Jays seemed to receive. Bolowich responded:
“I’m not concerned with the polls at the beginning of the year, only the polls at the end of the season.”
Bolowich was right again.
Picked third heading into the year, Bolowich’s Bluejays have a chance to win the Big East Conference outright for the first time tonight against Providence, the league’s second-place team.
Big East Soccer Standings
It has been a remarkable season for the Jays when you consider the amount of adversity the team’s gone through.
Entering the season the coaching staff envisioned the spine of the squad to include senior captain Alex Bolowich in net, defensive stalwart Brendan Hines-Ike, midfield boss Fernando Castellanos and sensational freshman Ricky Lopez-Espin. Injuries to Bolowich, Castellanos and Lopez-Espin prematurely ended their season and Hines-Ike left the team abruptly due to university matters.
Factoring in the loss of these three, one would assume even a top half finish in the Big East table as an unmitigated success. Instead, Bolowich has led the Jays on the cusp of their first ever Big East Soccer title.
Key to the team’s success the last few weeks has been sensational sophomore Fabian Herbers.
Creighton sophomore Fabian Herbers (WBR/Mike Spomer) $ CLICK TO BUY $
Click here to see all of our 2014 Creighton men’s soccer photo galleries.
Herbers, who has arguably been the team’s most dangerous offensive weapon since arriving to the Hilltop, upped his play when the team lost Lopez-Espin in the middle of the year.
He’s been a finisher, a creator, and a ball hawk all over the field. His role has transformed from an out-and-out striker to a Wayne Rooney-like position in which he has the freedom to find the ball at any place on the pitch. Herbers leads by example and is clearly the heart and soul of this team along with senior leader Jose Ribas and transfer David Abidor.
Connor Sparrow stands between Providence and the Creighton goal tonight (WBR/Mike Spomer) $ CLICK TO BUY $
Click here to see all of our 2014 Creighton men’s soccer photo galleries.
Standing in the way are tonight’s opponents from Providence. The Friars are one of the more pleasant surprises in the NCAA this season. They boost an excellent attack that includes bruising forwards Mac Steeves and the Norwegian Markus Naglestad. Like the Jays, the Friars want to control the pace of the game by dominating the ball.
This game is crucial to helping the Jays increase their RPI and hopefully secure home-field advantage throughout the NCAA tournament.