Over the weekend, the Creighton women’s soccer team completed their final leg of a five-match stretch away from Morrison Stadium to begin the 2018 season. The Bluejays had mixed results on Friday and Sunday, but ended the weekend on a high note by posting a clean sheet in a 1-0 win at South Dakota State to rebound from a disappointing 2-1 loss at Eastern Michigan and improve their overall record to 2-3 on the season.
Friday, August 31: Eastern Michigan 2, Creighton 1.
This was a shock to the system for the Jays as Eastern Michigan scored the first goal of the match in the first five minutes and the last goal in the final minute to steal the result. Sophomore midfielder Chloe Chatzis put the first goal on the board for the Eagles in the 4th minute. Senior Mikayla Cupp and sophomore Marla Cobetto combined on the assist to Chatzis in the box for the early 1-0 lead.
Creighton junior midfielder Taryn Jakubowski produced the equalizer with a penalty kick in the 65th minute as the Jays started to seize back control of the match, but the Eagles had one more surge in them at the end. They peppered CU’s back line with four unanswered shots over the final five minutes before sophomore defender Tessa Osborne made the fifth shot count with game-winner to stun the Jays with 31 seconds left on the clock.
Eastern Michigan finished the match with a significant 25-13 advantage in total shots, but only produced a 6-4 edge in shots on goal. Creighton head coach Ross Paule felt that his team deserved a better result, but a lack of focus and communication cost the Bluejays in the end.
“It was very frustrating because we never should have walked away from that game with a loss,” Paule said. “We should have capitalized a few times to jump ahead of them when it was 1-1. There were ebbs and flows throughout the game. There were moments when we played the way we wanted to play and moved the ball very well. We created some very dangerous chances inside the box. We kind of gave them the game in those two moments, especially at the end. It was just a lack of focus and a serious, serious learning moment for this group. It was something that can’t happen and the group knew it right afterwards, and it bled over into [South Dakota State].”
Sunday, September 1: Creighton 1, South Dakota State 0.
Kaira Houser’s goal for the Jays was the difference int he victory on Sunday (Streur / WBR)
Creighton didn’t repeat their mistakes from Friday as they jumped out to an early lead and hold strong defensively to post a clean sheet in at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings, South Dakota. Both teams produced 13 shots over the course of 90 minutes, but the Jackrabbits only three shots on goal, and none of them were particularly threatening to redshirt freshman goalkeeper Katie Sullivan and her back four.
“They had some corners and some dangerous moments, but overall I thought our full group defensively did a really good job from our forwards doing the extra work, to our midfielders stepping up, and our defensive shape in the back making sure that we weren’t giving away anything easy,” Paule said. “It was a game that we dictated. There was probably 20 to 25 minutes in there where we kind of the lost the grip of the game. We started giving the ball away a little too cheaply. We are a team that thrives on moving the ball and keeping the ball, and I thought overall this was one of the best performances I’ve seen from this group.”
The lone goal came in the 10th minute of action when freshman midfielder Aline Reinkober made an aggressive challenge and deflected a crossing pass into South Dakota State’s box. Senior forward Kaira Houser beat two defenders to the loose ball and slotted a shot inside the far post for the eventual game-winner. Not only was that the first goal of her senior campaign, but her overall performance the rest of the match was what stood out to her head coach.
“For one, she put it away and she was very calm in the way she did it, but what I’m proud of Houser for is her effort off the ball,” Paule said. “It’s been a big difference in the makeup of this team. She’s playing both sides of the ball, she’s winning it back for us early. She not only scored the goal, but she had a huge impact on the full result throughout the 90 minutes.”
It’s worth noting that this match might have taken on a different dynamic without the heady play of Creighton’s budding star in the aforementioned German midfielder. With each passing match Aline Reinkober’s impact is on results is becoming more and more apparent. With her on the pitch this season the Bluejays are even in shots with their opponents, 34-34, in 240 total minutes. In the 210 minutes where she has been on the bench, the Jays are getting outshot 41-18.
“I’m very big on her potential,” Paule said of his rookie midfielder. “She’s just a very composed, skillful player. Great left foot, great vision, very creative. She makes our team really tick. If she continues to get the ball more we’re going to find more chances to score goals. She can score and create. I thought she had a very solid match … she was huge. If she doesn’t do what she did there is no goal on that play. That’s the bottom line.”