Creighton enters its third season under Elmar Bolowich. And despite two consecutive College Cups, lofty preseason expectations [once again], two opening weekend shutout victories, and a growing collection of first place votes in national polls, Bolowich is not satisfied.
It’s that attitude and leadership that continues Creighton’s transition from great soccer program to an elite one.
Timo Pitter leads Creighton with 2 goals and 5 points (WBR/Mike Spomer) CLICK PHOTO TO BUY
The Bluejays were extremely impressive over the weekend. The Jays battled two seasoned squads in Tulsa and Cal Poly. While those names don’t strike fear into the minds of NCAA athletics followers, rest assured they should in college soccer.
Tulsa deploys two of the more creative players in the entire country. Cristian Mata was a first-team Freshman All-American last season and nearly signed over the summer with a few top Mexican Pro teams. Cal Poly has a number of future pros at its disposal as well. While we are just only a week into the young season it is clear these two victories will prove to be massive resume-builders come season’s end.
That being said, it’s time for us to get a few things straight. Creighton has been good offensively and the defense has yet to let up a goal. Yet, Creighton has been far from sharp.
Maybe it’s unfair for this writer to expect the Jays to be hitting on all cylinders this early. Maybe some of the back-line lapses, miscues in the midfield, and wasted opportunities from the striker force should be forgiven. Can’t we [or, maybe, I] just be happy at 2-0 and top 5 in the polls?
I guess that’s the point. Creighton has now reached a level where beating top 20 teams should not be celebrated; it’s expected. That is the most refreshing aspect of Bolowich. He demands greatness, and on occasion when he received greatness, he expects perfection.
And Creighton has been great this year at times. Junior ‘defender’ Jose Ribas has been superb at both ends of the field. Sophomore Christian Blandon has not only settled into his role as a central midfielder, but he is being to look like former Jays star Andrew Ribeiro each minute he’s on the pitch. Senior Zach Barnes again is doing all the little things that go unappreciated.
Sophomore Brendan Hines-Ike and junior Eric Miller have developed a nice partnership, and while they’re still getting comfortable with each other, they often show flashes of defensive dominance.
Junior goalkeeper Alex Bolowich has been nothing short of amazing. The younger Bolowich was a huge reason Creighton was successful in shutting out Tulsa. Young Bolowich is my clear cut player of the week.
Creighton’s Fabian Herbers has started his collegiate career on the right foot (WBR/Mike Spomer) CLICK PHOTO TO PURCHASE
And then there are ‘Ze Germans.’ Freshman Fabian Herbers by season’s end will be a Top 50 player in the nation. Add him to Miller, Barnes, and Timo Pitter and Creighton might wind up having four Top 50 players in the nation.
Despite all of this, Creighton has been fortunate. They’ve been incredibly wasteful in front of goal, and that not only applies to the strikers but many of the midfielders. The Jays midfield has looked fatigued both mentally and physically. Creighton stars Pitter and Bruno Castro look like they lack fitness at the end of each half. The back line, while seasoned, has given up many more chances than one would assume of a team that has only let in one goal since mid-August. Creighton’s inability to hold the ball in midfield is worrisome, and makes many miss the calming presence of a Choco Gomez already.
Another facet of the game in which Creighton struggles is physicality. If we learned one thing from the Omaha Derby it’s that Nebraska-Omaha’s physical play at times really bothered CU and caused the otherwise level-headed Jays to play outside their comfort zone. It’s clear that while no Jays player will back down from physical play the equation of a difficult non-conference schedule added with the Big East squads, it will likely take a toll on the Jays come November.
For now Bolowich and the Jays will continue to tinker. The most compelling part of this year’s squad is the tremendous depth. While players like Sean Kim, Zarbarle Kollie, Ricardo Pere,z and Benito Amaral have all featured and shown well, Creighton fans have still yet to see much of Myles Englis, Eric DeJulio, Ben Kucera, and Sonny Makh. All four of these players are more than ready to see action.
Only time will tell how this year’s Creighton team will respond to such lofty expectations and the challenges that wait for them in the new Big East. The only thing for sure is that Bolowich will not stand for anything less than perfection.