Creighton, 1-0 winners over visiting Evansville, and Drake, 3-1 victors over Missouri State, protected their home fields, while Bradley won 2-1 at Western Kentucky. The Bluejays clinched at least a share of the regular-season title with the win over UE. Bradley (3-1-1) and Creighton (4-0-1) meet next Saturday in Peoria.
No. 18 Creighton 1, Evansville 0
Senior Michael Kraus enjoyed his final regular-season match at Morrison Stadium, scoring the game-winning goal in the 13th minute, as 24th-ranked Creighton defeated Evansville 1-0 Saturday night. The win moves Creighton’s unbeaten streak to seven matches and clinches at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, as the Jays are at 10-3-3 overall and 4-0-1 in conference play.
In the fifth minute, senior Jarod Tarver collided with Evansville’s (8-7-0, 1-4-0 MVC) starting goalkeeper Alec Dufty, knocking Dufty from the match. Corey Southers took over in net for the Purple Aces at 4:55 and allowed the only goal of the match at 12:01.
Kraus took a feed from Pietari Holopainen after the Aces turned the ball over just outside the box. Kraus angled from the corner of the box and blasted a shot past Southers for his fourth goal of the season, his third game-winner of the year. The helper was Holopainen’s team-best fifth on the year.
The Jays dominated the flow of play in the first half, out-shooting the Aces 9-1 through 45 minutes. The Aces attack improved in the second half, as UE unleashed a barrage of shots between the 50th and 52nd minutes. Shots from Ian McAuley and Jason Pele were blocked to start the sequence. Then Reggie Edu had a point blank shot turned away by CU keeper Matt Allen. Allen could not corral the save however, giving Edu a shot at the open net, but the UE freshman sent the shot over the crossbar.
Allen later helped preserve CU’s third straight 1-0 shutout, by stopping another wide open shot in the 88th minute. Tom Irvin had a good look at the net, but Allen aggressively charged the shooter and stopped the ball as it left Irvin’s foot. The shutout was Allen’s seventh of the year and CU’s eighth.
The victory keeps CU as the only unbeaten team in conference play and with 13 points, they cannot be overtaken in the standings. The regular-season championship is CU’s seventh, extending their own MVC record. The Jays will look for their fifth unbeaten MVC campaign, and their first since 1996, when they play at Bradley next Saturday to conclude the regular-season.
Bradley 2, Western Kentucky 1
Bradley (7-7-3, 3-1-1) will get a chance to defend its 2005 Missouri Valley Conference championship on the last game of the regular season next Saturday night at Shea Stadium after earning a 2-1 Valley road victory Saturday night at Western Kentucky (4-8-3, 0-3-2).
Junior back Stephen Brust sent home a header to finish off a corner kick play in the 26th minute and freshman Chris Cutshaw scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 52nd minute by beating Hilltoppers keeper Pat Rickman on a counter attack. Alex Holmes halved Western Kentucky’s deficit with his second goal of the year in the 70th minute, but Bradley keeper Mike Haynes used five saves to keep the Braves on track for back-to-back league titles.
By posting a 2-0-1 record in its three Valley road games this season, Bradley increased its point total in the league standings to 10, three behind current league-leading Creighton (4-0-1). Missouri State (3-2-1) fell out of the title chase by dropping a 3-1 decision Saturday at Drake. By winning next Saturday at home versus Creighton, Bradley would tie the Bluejays for the regular-season league title and earn the No. 1 seed in the State Farm MVC Tournament, which will be played Nov. 1, 3 and 5 at Shea Stadium. A tie would leave the Braves alone in second place, but would give Bradley a similar bye into the tournament semifinals. A loss, however, would drop the Braves into a tie for second with Missouri State, but would make Bradley the No. 3 seed based on its head-to-head loss against the Bears.
Drake 3, Missouri State 1
Junior Ryan Moylan's (Wauwatosa, Wis.) two goal performance lifted the Drake men's soccer team to a 3-1 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Missouri State at the Cownie Soccer Complex Saturday night. Drake improves to 5-7-4 overall with a 2-1-2-conference mark. Missouri State falls to 8-6-3, holding a 3-2-1 MVC record.
Moylan recorded two goals before the Redbirds could put up much of a fight. His first goal came in the 36th minute (35:52) off a feed from freshman Luke Gorczyca (Overland Park, Kan.). Moylan recorded his second goal early in the second half (54:04) off another feed from Gorczyca and senior Vince Revak (Bloomingdale, Ill.) to put the Bulldogs up, 2-0.
The Bears mounted their only offense of the night in the 66th minute (65:34) when Ryan Anderson scored an unassisted goal from the top of the box. Bulldogs senior Alex Bollinger rounded out the score at 3-1 in the 86th minute (85:42), sending a goal through Redbirds goalie Alex Riggs' legs. Junior Keith Gorczyca recorded an assist on the play.