Weekly snapshot:
- Beat Florida International 6-2
- Tied Drake 1-1
- Record 1-0-1
Freshmen show out in Bluejay debut
Jordan Igwenma (20’) and Carter Tavares (25’) both slotted one home in the first 25 minutes of their collegiate debuts, and the Jays rolled to a 6-2 win over Florida International.
ANOTHER ONE!
This time Carter Tavares banks it in for his first career goal!
2-0 Bluejays @ the 20th minute#GoJays pic.twitter.com/8GAvFUzvbo
— Creighton Men’s Soccer (@creightonmsoc) August 20, 2026
Igwenma, a standout at Creighton Prep, has battled back from an injury during his senior season at Prep to be one of the new Jays that Johnny Torres is most excited about. He added a second goal in the 83rd minute, and after the match said it was a dream come true.
“I feel like a lot of Omaha kids dream about this and it was super cool to show them that it’s definitely possible with hard work,” Igwenma told the media afterward. “I’m super glad Johnny put that trust in me and boosted my morale…this was awesome.”
Absolutely marvelous !
Jordan Igwenma scores again to extend the lead!
4-1 Bluejays, 83rd minute#GoJays pic.twitter.com/kwyfpHjhqG
— Creighton Men’s Soccer (@creightonmsoc) August 21, 2026
“For Jordan to continue his string of goals now as a Bluejay at Morrison Stadium is tremendous,” Torres said. “And for him to be able to come in and have the quality that he had and the composure to be able to take those two holes and take them well, right? I’m just so proud of Jordan for coming back from a tough injury, but I’m really excited about what comes next.”
In total, five different players scored — Igwenma (20’, 83’), Tavares (25’), Ayden Kokoszka (29’), Angel Lopez (68’), and Allan Juarez (88’).
Kokoszka’s goal came on a free kick that he angled past FIU goalkeeper Nigel Van Haveran from 20 yards out.
It’s a goal party!
Ayden Kokoszka drills it in off the free kick to up the lead!
3-0 Bluejays, 28th minute#GoJays pic.twitter.com/Z3WpdrDxLJ
— Creighton Men’s Soccer (@creightonmsoc) August 20, 2026
“Anytime you can get off the mark with a win is that much sweeter,” Torres said. “But like I told the guys after the match today, that’s only the first match. It’s only the first page of this season. We take the good from tonight. We take the bad from tonight. There was definitely some bad that we can learn from, that we can put to use. And now we turn the page and get ready for Drake.”
Highlights:
Postgame Interviews:
Jays rally for draw against Drake
In match two, Creighton made some changes to their starting XI. Aaron Deppe along with Ayden Kokoszka and Allan Juarez — who combined for 2 goals and an assist in Thursday’s 6-2 win over FIU — joined the starting group.
CU held possession for well over half of the time in the first half, but could only manage two shots on goal. Drake took a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute (38:20) when Evan Carlson finished passes from Barrett Kitts and Malachi Anya to give the Bulldogs the advantage.
But Carter Taveras’ second goal of the season was the equalizer, a beautiful play where Taveras and Angel Lopez attacked the defense in the open pitch before Lopez passed the ball to him in rhythm. In his first two matches, Taveras now has two goals and two assists.
GOAAAAAAAAAAALLLL
Carter Tavares ties it all up!!
CU 1, Drake 1, 55th minute#GoJays pic.twitter.com/HOuDyyT9mU
— Creighton Men’s Soccer (@creightonmsoc) August 23, 2026
“Lopez did a great job to spin his his defender and Carter did a great job to win position against the guy that was marking him and be able to put the ball over the line,” Torres said. “But I credit our guys for being diligent and continuing to work hard. We attempted to make things better in the second half on the offensive side. Credit to Drake and their defensive schematics. They did a good job at frustrating us and putting numbers in and around the center part of the field and not allowing us to be able to penetrate and get behind.”
Neither side could score again, though, and the match ended in a draw. Part of the reason for that? A tough backline that didn’t allow Drake many chances. Andrija Savic, Brian Edelman, Matthew Reed and goalkeeper Matthew Hudson have provided the Jays with a solid defensive anchor.
“We know those four guys at the back are stingy. They don’t give up many chances,” Torres said. “I thought today early on we might have been a little bit too casual and that might have been because we were enjoying a lot of the ball, although we weren’t really going anywhere with it other than perimeter. At times I think we kind of put ourselves to sleep a little bit and I think that’s why we got caught in transition. But really happy with the with the work that those guys are doing at the back.”
WBR’s Matt DeMarinis pointed out this potential silver lining, however. The last time CU scored 6 goals in their opener was 2022 (a season that ended in the College Cup). And the last time they didn’t beat Drake was 2012 (a season which also ended in the College Cup).
“I think we saw two phases of this team with the FIU match and then the Drake match,” Torres said. “It’s good to have two matches under our belt. The positive thing is we were able to get two good results out of those two matches. Maybe not exactly what we wanted today, but nonetheless still a positive result.”
Highlights:
Postgame Interviews:
Looking ahead:
at San Francisco
Thurs., 7:30pm
ESPN+