Wednesday, November 1
Washington, D.C.
1:00 PM
Creighton University
9-6-2, 3-4-2BE
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at
3
Georgetown
12-3-2, 6-2-1BE
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Creighton
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Georgetown
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Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Men's Soccer Qualifies For BIG EAST Tournament Despite Falling 3-1 At No. 18 Georgetown
11/1/2017 3:15:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Creighton will be the No. 6 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and plays a First Round match on Saturday at St. John's
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Creighton men's soccer team concluded the regular season with a 3-1 loss at No. 18 Georgetown on Wednesday afternoon at Shaw Field. Despite the loss, the Bluejays qualified for the BIG EAST postseason tournament because of DePaul's 3-1 victory over Marquette, as Creighton entered the day one point ahead of Marquette and Providence in the standings, with all three teams fighting for the final two spots in the six-team conference tournament.
Providence clinched the final spot in the BIG EAST tournament with a 0-0 tie against St. John's.Â
Creighton is now 9-6-2 overall and finished the BIG EAST regular-season slate with a 3-4-2 record. The Hoyas improved to 12-3-2 overall and ended the conference schedule at 6-2-1.
The Bluejays will play in a First Round match as the No. 6 seed on Saturday in Queens, New York against third-seeded St. John's at 5 p.m. Central. The winner of Saturday's match between the Bluejays and Red Storm will advance to play second-seeded Georgetown on Nov. 8 at noon.
Creighton gained a 1-0 lead over Georgetown during the 27th minute. Joel Rydstrand crossed in a ball from near the endline to Ricky Lopez-Espin who headed the ball into the back of the net from five yards out for his BIG EAST-leading 11th goal of the season. Rydstrand tallied his team-leading eighth assist on the play, while Lucas Stauffer also recorded his sixth helper of the season by feeding the ball to Rydstrand. Â
Lopez-Espin converted his 29th career goal, and is now tied with John Probst (1980-83), Ray Nikodem (1980-82) and current Bluejay women's soccer coach Ross Paule (1994-96) for eighth place on Creighton's all-time career scoring list.Â
The Hoyas quickly erased the deficit with an equalizer during the 30th minute of action. Declan McCade sent in a shot that Michael Kluver saved, but Jack Beer recovered the rebound and slipped the ball past Kluver on the second effort to tie the match at 1-1 with 16 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Bluejays controlled possession for the majority of the opening 45 minutes, and held a 9-7 advantage in shots at the half.
Georgetown gained momentum during the opening stages of the second half and fired two shots within the first five minutes, including one that hit the bottom of the crossbar.
During the 56th minute, Kluver made his first save of the second half and third of the match on a sliding attempt to keep the match tied.Â
The Hoyas took the lead during the 77th minute with a goal from freshman Derek Dodson. Dodson recovered a rebound right in front of Kluver before finding the back of the net.
Dodson added to his point total with a goal during the 83rd minute. The freshman slotted a ball into the upper portion of the net from the top of the 18-yard box to give Georgetown a two-goal cushion.Â
Luke Haakenson gave Creighton one last gasp to cut into the lead but JT Marcinkowski made his fourth and final save of the afternoon on the play. Haakenson fed Lopez-Espin at the top of the box before Haakenson received a pass about eight yards out before sending in his lone shot of the match.Â
Georgetown ended the match with a 19-11 edge in shots, including 12-2 in the second half.Â
Creighton will play on the road in the First Round of the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship Presented by Jeep on Saturday against St. John's. Kickoff from Belson Stadium in Queens, New York is scheduled for 5 p.m. Central.Â
The Bluejays have never missed a postseason conference tournament in program history. Creighton has finished runner-up in the BIG EAST twice, including last season to Butler, but the Bluejays have not earned a tournament title since joining the league prior to the 2013 season. Creighton's last conference tournament title came during 2012, the Bluejays final year in the Missouri Valley Conference.Â
Creighton must win three games to win the 2017 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship. Despite winning 13 MVC tournament titles, the Bluejays never won three games to clinch the crown.Â
Providence clinched the final spot in the BIG EAST tournament with a 0-0 tie against St. John's.Â
Creighton is now 9-6-2 overall and finished the BIG EAST regular-season slate with a 3-4-2 record. The Hoyas improved to 12-3-2 overall and ended the conference schedule at 6-2-1.
The Bluejays will play in a First Round match as the No. 6 seed on Saturday in Queens, New York against third-seeded St. John's at 5 p.m. Central. The winner of Saturday's match between the Bluejays and Red Storm will advance to play second-seeded Georgetown on Nov. 8 at noon.
Creighton gained a 1-0 lead over Georgetown during the 27th minute. Joel Rydstrand crossed in a ball from near the endline to Ricky Lopez-Espin who headed the ball into the back of the net from five yards out for his BIG EAST-leading 11th goal of the season. Rydstrand tallied his team-leading eighth assist on the play, while Lucas Stauffer also recorded his sixth helper of the season by feeding the ball to Rydstrand. Â
Lopez-Espin converted his 29th career goal, and is now tied with John Probst (1980-83), Ray Nikodem (1980-82) and current Bluejay women's soccer coach Ross Paule (1994-96) for eighth place on Creighton's all-time career scoring list.Â
The Hoyas quickly erased the deficit with an equalizer during the 30th minute of action. Declan McCade sent in a shot that Michael Kluver saved, but Jack Beer recovered the rebound and slipped the ball past Kluver on the second effort to tie the match at 1-1 with 16 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Bluejays controlled possession for the majority of the opening 45 minutes, and held a 9-7 advantage in shots at the half.
Georgetown gained momentum during the opening stages of the second half and fired two shots within the first five minutes, including one that hit the bottom of the crossbar.
During the 56th minute, Kluver made his first save of the second half and third of the match on a sliding attempt to keep the match tied.Â
The Hoyas took the lead during the 77th minute with a goal from freshman Derek Dodson. Dodson recovered a rebound right in front of Kluver before finding the back of the net.
Dodson added to his point total with a goal during the 83rd minute. The freshman slotted a ball into the upper portion of the net from the top of the 18-yard box to give Georgetown a two-goal cushion.Â
Luke Haakenson gave Creighton one last gasp to cut into the lead but JT Marcinkowski made his fourth and final save of the afternoon on the play. Haakenson fed Lopez-Espin at the top of the box before Haakenson received a pass about eight yards out before sending in his lone shot of the match.Â
Georgetown ended the match with a 19-11 edge in shots, including 12-2 in the second half.Â
Creighton will play on the road in the First Round of the BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship Presented by Jeep on Saturday against St. John's. Kickoff from Belson Stadium in Queens, New York is scheduled for 5 p.m. Central.Â
The Bluejays have never missed a postseason conference tournament in program history. Creighton has finished runner-up in the BIG EAST twice, including last season to Butler, but the Bluejays have not earned a tournament title since joining the league prior to the 2013 season. Creighton's last conference tournament title came during 2012, the Bluejays final year in the Missouri Valley Conference.Â
Creighton must win three games to win the 2017 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship. Despite winning 13 MVC tournament titles, the Bluejays never won three games to clinch the crown.Â
Team Stats
CU
GU
Goals
1
3
Shots
11
19
Shots on Goal
5
8
Saves
5
4
Corners
4
4
Fouls
7
10
Scoring Plays
LOPEZ-ESPIN, Ricky
Assisted By: RYDSTRAND, Joel , STAUFFER, Lucas
Cross from the endline, headed in
26:05
BEER, Jack (1)
Assisted By: MCCABE, Declan
Off of rebound at far post
29:06
DODSON, Derek (7)
Assisted By: LEMA, Christopher
Off of long rebound
76:55
DODSON, Derek (8)
Assisted By: MARTINEZ, Edson
1v1 for 6, laid off to 25
82:21
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
D
/ Men's SoccerCreighton Media Availability Men's Soccer Sept. 17
Wednesday, September 17
Creighton MSOC Highlights & Postgame vs Oral Roberts--9-13-25
Sunday, September 14
Creighton MSOC Highlights & Postgame vs Omaha 9-10-25
Thursday, September 11
Creighton Men's Soccer Media Availability September 9
Tuesday, September 09
