This Saturday evening, Creighton welcomes an Evansville team who entered the season with lofty expectations. 2011 hasn’t gone the way they’d hoped over at UE: they’ve won one of their last ten games and are sitting dead-last in the Valley. The Purple Aces rely on junior Jesse Sharp, who has four goals and seven assists so far. Freshman forward Ryan Stallings, whose online photograph looks like it came right after freshman hazing, leads the team with five goals on the season.
The Aces are mathematically eliminated from the Valley tournament, but will be keen to play the role of David and spoil Creighton’s MVC title hopes. This weekend’s game is the last of the season for Evansville, and thus their seniors will have one chance to go out on a high note. UE was ranked in the top-25 when this year’s seniors were freshmen, so the Aces are led by a core of seniors who know (knew?) how to win under pressure.
Meanwhile, Creighton has been writing the book on winning under pressure this year, having regained a #2 national ranking and jumping to #1 in the NCAA RPI this week. It is imperative that the Bluejays not look past this game, to the Valley tournament coming next weekend. Creighton will honor seven seniors for Senior Day: Brian Holt, Brian Hoie, Andrew Duran, Jace Peters, Greg Jordan, Ethan Finlay, and Kris Clark. If Creighton wins against Evansville, it will be their first time going undefeated at home since 1998, and will be guaranteed at least a share of the MVC crown.
The White and Blue ought not have any problem putting the Aces away, if they remain focused and disciplined in this last game of the regular season.
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With Senior Day approaching, I’d like to use this space to thank this year’s seniors. I, too, am a senior at Creighton, and I’ve greatly enjoyed watching my classmates play (and win) these four years. The Creighton community owes these players our gratitude, not just for their