WBR catches up with Creighton men’s soccer head coach Elmar Bolowich ahead of a home match against SIU-Edwardsville Saturday and a non-conference, nationally televised game road tilt at Princeton Tuesday (6:00 p.m. CT, ESPNU).
WBR: Can you tell us about what your team learned last week in matches against Drake (a scoreless tie) and Loyola-Chicago (a 1-0 win)?
EB: It is hard to judge [our team]. When you play a team like Loyola-Chicago, it is not the measuring stick that you want to use to ready yourself for the rest of the season. I mean that with no disrespect. I thought that we came out in the second half a bit stiff, but we were able to get back to our game a bit more in the second half. We probably could have added a few more goals in the second half, but we were playing smoother. [Jose] Ribas was a great addition those games and he will continue to be a player we turn to. Bruno [Castro] is doing much better in practice and keeps improving.
WBR: I know you were impressed with SIU-Edwardsville when they were here playing against Akron. What do you think we can expect out of this game?
EB: Last year was my first experience playing SIUE, and they gave us a tough game on the road. They are a good group. They don’t have that one standout player, but they are a good team all around. They are a confident bunch that will want to come out and give us a game. It should be a fun one to watch. Also, this will be the last match for Eric Miller, as he will be heading to Spain to play for the national team. He will rejoin us in four games.
WBR: Are you familiar with Princeton?
EB: Not really. The last time I played them was about 20 years ago with North Carolina. I don’t know too much about them.
WBR: You have had some ups and downs as the season has gone on. How is the attitude of your team right now?
EB: The attitude is still OK. I predicted that we would have some ups and downs this season. We have a very young team that has a very tough schedule. There were going to be times we needed to grow and that will continue.
WBR: How is the health of the team?
EB: Pretty good. Vincent [Keller] has practiced more and could be ready to go on Saturday. It will depend on how the game is going, but it may be better to have him rest another weekend and get closer to 100%.