The Creighton Bluejays men’s soccer team has won five straight matches heading into Saturday’s Socctoberfest showdown with the Bradley Braves. At 2-0-1 in Valley play, the Jays sit atop the league standings with the Braves (3-1-0). BU comes to town this weekend for a 7 p.m. match at Morrison Stadium Saturday night. We caught up with head coach Elmar Bolowich to break down the team’s recent results and the match ahead.
WBR: You have been able to put together a nice little win streak the past few games. Can you talk a bit about your latest win, the 3-0 shutout over UMKC?
EB: Well, I think we got a bit lucky in the shutout of that team, as we had a bit of a defensive lapse after our third goal and they had one hit off the crossbar. I thought we played well and were able to get up on them 2-0 rather quickly. This is our third game that we have been able to put up three goals, so the production is coming around.
WBR: It is sometimes difficult to tell if the team is improving when you get into Valley play, as the competition on a weekly basis isn’t always at the top 25 level. In your eyes, has the team progressed as you would like at this stage in the season?
EB: We are progressing, but a bit slower than I would like to see. The area that I see the most improvement is that the guys are trying to understand their role and most of the positions have been established. We have been able to build a nice rotation, where we can bring in four or five guys and not see a big drop in production. I would like to see more control of the game. There were times last year when we would totally control a match, and that is where I want this team to be.
WBR: It seems like every year Bradley is able to give us a good game no matter the discrepancy in talent. Can you talk a bit about what the fans can expect tomorrow night?
EB: Bradley is an intelligent team that his well coached. They have a number of players on their team that could play on any Division I team in the nation. They are sitting in first place in the Valley right now, and they have a lot to play for. With a win over us, they basically guarantee a bye in the first round of the conference tournament and it would also help them with an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. It should be a competitive match and a good night of soccer.
WBR: Your son, Alex, suffered an injury against Princeton. Do you have a time frame for his return?
EB: Looks like he will be out about three weeks. He fractured his elbow on the play prior to the penalty kick late in the game. He didn’t know it was fractured and played through and saved the PK and continued through overtime.
WBR: Besides Alex, any other injuries we should be aware of?
EB: Everyone else is good. Nice to have Vincent [Keller] back, as he gives us some help on the back line if we should need it. Eric Miller is back from his trip to Spain. He had a great experience and received some good feedback from his coach on his play. He said he would most likely be invited to be on the roster for the World Cup qualifiers in the summer.