WBR posted Joey Tempo’s mid-season review of the Creighton men’s soccer team at just the exact moment Elmar Bolowich’s Bluejays were wrapping up a road loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor Tuesday night. We didn’t ask Bolowich about Joey’s commentary. But, we did get his thoughts on the loss to the Wolverines and what lies ahead for his squad. Oh, and scoring goals. We asked about scoring, or a lack thereof.
WBR: You had a bit of a disappointing loss on Tuesday night at Michigan, how was practice the past few days?
EB: We were just trying to get over the disappointment of the loss and trying to bounce back. We need to score more goals.
WBR: Let’s talk a bit about the Michigan game. What was your immediate reaction after the loss?
EB: Disappointed. We didn’t show well in that game and I thought it was a continuation from the Marquette performance. We need to look deep into our team and figure out what needs to be done to get the ball in the back of the net.
WBR: Has the lack of scoring been a major concern for you? How do you address that? Do you your shift your lineup?
EB: The scoring is not as much of a concern as the effect it has on our defense. When you’re not scoring but you are controlling the game, that is totally different than when you are not scoring and your defense is constantly being pushed and worn down. In the Marquette game and Michigan game, I thought we did a poor job of controlling the game. When you control the game your chances will come.
As far as the lineup goes, I think we have a pretty good idea of where we want to have our guys. If you constantly shift your line up to address the other team, you are going to spend the entire season spinning in circles. The tough part is that we have a really young team and need to deal with young kids and the ups and downs that come with the season.
WBR: I know that you do not watch the rankings, but I also know that you are very knowledgeable in regards to RPI from your experience on NCAA selection committees. You were sitting at #1 for a few weeks but have fallen with the recent losses. Do you think there is time to see Creighton make another climb before the end of the season?
EB: That ship has sailed. I think that our better part of the schedule is now behind us. We were riding our opponents’ strength of schedule for the early part. Now that our remaining schedule is a bit softer in regards to opponents’ SOS, we could see teams from the ACC, for example, pass us as they will be playing top 25-30 teams at the back end of their schedule. I could see us finishing in the 10-15 range, which would be good because it would give us a bye in the opening round of the NCAA.
WBR: Any thoughts on Villanova or Butler?
EB: I don’t know too much about either team. Villanova has a few athletes that are big and physical. I think both teams will try and play more direct and will need to watch for balls over our back line. But, both are conference games, and those are all very important.