- Ethan Finlay made like Greg Jennings and put the team on his back Saturday night, scoring all three goals in Creighton’s 3-1 win over #7 UC Irvine. The win came immediately after a disappointing 1-0 loss to conference foe Missouri State.
- Finlay now has nine goals on the year, which is good for 19th in the nation. He’s tied with five other players, including Jack Twellman of SIU-Edwardsville, whom the Jays play this weekend.
- Coach Bolowich said in a post-game interview, “the first half was probably the best half I have seen us play this season.” I know it was the best 45 minutes I’d seen out of the Bluejays so far. Though Creighton only scored once, they were able to create a lot of pressure on the UC Irvine defense. Only deft goalkeeping deft the game within reach for the Anteaters through halftime.
- Creighton played a 4-1-4-1, instead of their usual 4-2-3-1. UCI is a good team altogether, but I was not impressed with their back line. Their right center back looked especially shaken, and as a unit they didn’t seem to work together as well as they ought. It looked to me that the Bluejays went at him all night, which caused many scoring chances for the home team.
- The second half got a little messier as Irvine ramped up the intensity and physicality, especially in the midfield. The Jays sorely missed Greg Jordan and Jake Brown, who would have been valuable for winning the 50-50 balls, which UC Irvine largely controlled during the second half. The Castro-Gomez combination is formidable, but Creighton would have benefited from replacing one of the two with a bigger body.
- Speaking of physicality, the UC Irvine coach was quoted thusly in the Omaha World-Herald:
I guess it’s more physical in the Midwest. They were just more physical. The referee let a lot go. It was physical in the box, but you’ve got to deal with it.
- First of all, Creighton was Irvine’s fourth game in the Midwest this season, but I haven’t seen the guy complaining about any of the others. Sounds like sour grapes to me. Nevertheless, I recall UCI being far more aggressive, sometimes even reckless. In a well-refereed game (this was not one) UC Irvine would have gotten away with much less. All this said, I’ll take the Bluejays being a physical side. Blueblood said it best, over on the Bluejay Underground:
I don’t think I have ever heard Creighton being accused of being too physical in any sport ever. Thats right, we bad. Get that [stuff] outta here. Way to kick some [butt] Elmar.
- Jordan was out with a concussion picked up in practice. No word on Brown’s absence from the lineup. Creighton now prepares for two major conference matchups, at Bradley this Wednesday, and at SIUE this Saturday. This week’s results could go a long way in defining who wins the MVC title this season.
What do you think? Did you see something different? Post a comment below!