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Jays Split Pair of Matches, Lose two-time Big East freshman of the week Carter Tavaras to Injury

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Weekly snapshot:
Tied Saint Mary’s 3-3
Beat Yale 3-1
Record: 6-0-2

On the surface, a 1-0-1 week wouldn’t be much cause for concern at this point in the season. But the draw came after the Jays suffered a second-half meltdown, blowing a 3-0 lead in less than 11 minutes of clock time. Worse, two-time Big East freshman of the week Carter Tavaras was lost to injury.

That made Sunday’s 3-1 win over Yale even more important as Big East play begins Friday night against Providence.

Creighton Blows 3-0 Lead, Battles to a Draw with Saint Mary’s

[Box score]

Through 68 minutes of Friday’s match with Saint Mary’s, Creighton appeared to be rolling to another blowout win. They scored early and often, beginning in the 6th minute when freshman Carter Tavares sent a pass from sophomore Ayden Kokoszka into the back of the net. It was a costly goal, though, as Tavaras collided with Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Sam Bentley in mid-air on the shot. Both players crashed to the turf, though Taveras definitely took the brunt of the collision.

As bad as it looked in the moment, the diagnosis was even worse: a kidney injury that will sideline him indefinitely.

“Carter has got a pretty severe kidney injury,” Johnny Torres told the media. “We’re not quite sure on what the timeline looks like, but I’m just happy that open surgery wasn’t needed. There was a procedure that was that was dealt with that has got him back on the mend. It was a scary moment.”

In the 18th minute, Matthew Reed added to the lead on a penalty kick. That goal became the first Bluejay since Duncan McGuire to score in five straight matches; McGuire did it in 2022.

Then Angel Lopez made it 3-0 after finishing a pass from Aaron Deppe, whose first pass was redirected before his second attempt set Lopez up perfectly.

Still ahead 3-0 in the 69th minute, Saint Mary’s got on the board when Carl Emil Lauridsen picked up a loose ball and fired a shot into the back of the net. That goal ended a scoreless streak of 213 minutes for Amari Thompson, who’d posted clean sheets against both Tulsa and Gonzaga after holding USF scoreless for the final 33 minutes of the Jays’ win in that match.

Unfortunately, it was a sign of things to come.

Two minutes later, SMC’s Rafael Suarez was taken down on a header attempt and after a video review, the Gaels were awarded a penalty kick and Cameron Kobey took advantage, making it 3-2.

The equalizer came in the 80th minute, as SMC’s Henry Beatty slipped between two Creighton defenders and found Thompson out of position, then knocked in a goal to tie it at 3.

The 3-3 tie was Saint Mary’s first result against a ranked team since 2023, and an immensely frustrating one for the Jays. Not only did they blow a 3-0 lead in the final 21 minutes, but they did so despite having an 18-10 edge on shots, including a 10-5 advantage in the second half. They also lost Tavares for an undetermined amount of time; he has four goals, five assists and 13 points in seven games and has been the Big East Freshman of the Week twice.

Highlights:

Creighton Rebounds for 3-1 Win over Yale

[Box Score]

On Sunday, the Jays put the disappointment of Thursday’s result behind them and scored a convincing 3-1 win over Yale. The Bulldogs did everything they could to make it a low-scoring affair, packing as many as eight defenders inside the goal box during the first half. They couldn’t hold forever, though, and the scoring began in the 42nd minute when Matthew Reed froze the defense with a no-look pass to Andrija Savic, whose shot was blocked by Yale’s goalkeeper but couldn’t be cleared. That gave Ayden Kokoszka a second chance at a Bluejay goal, and he didn’t miss.

“They were very organized. They were diligent and making it difficult for us to find spaces in the attacking third,” Johnny Torres said afterward. “I felt we were in the driver’s seat for the duration of that first half, but they had a lot of firepower up top. They were very committed to their defensive schematics. At times they were in a ‘pack five’. So it made it very difficult for us to enter their box.”

In the 53rd minute, freshman Carter Derksen scored his first goal as a Bluejay, knocking in a shot from the right side of the box.

But the highlight of the day came late in the match, when Matthew Reed scored on a penalty kick — giving him a goal in an unfathomable six consecutive matches. Even more impressive is that it’s only taken him nine shots on goal to get the seven makes he’s had in those six matches. All totaled, he’s one goal ahead of Duncan McGuire’s record-setting pace from 2022.

“It’s an honor to be honest, to be named on a list with Duncan McGuire,” Reed said. “He’s a really special player and he’s a good friend of mine, so I’ll probably give him a text after this.”

Torres added that he was delighted that his team could get a positive result after the week they had.

“This is sweet because it’s been an emotional week,” Torres said. “It was a tough weekend with us relinquishing a three-goal lead to St. Mary’s and having Carter (Tavares) go down with an injury in that match. It was great to see the boys react today and be able to come off with the three points against a very good Yale team.”

Highlights:

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