Jays ready for MVC

By Michael Stacey
Assistant Sports Editor

Photo by Matt Anzur     Junior forward Michael Kraus (7) and freshman forward Byron Dacy (17) prepare for a Jays corner kick against the Mercer Bears on Sept. 18 at Morrison Soccer Stadium. The Missouri Valley Conference tournament starts the first round of play on Wednesday in Peoria, Ill., at Bradley. With a win this Saturday, the Jays could secure one of the top spots in the tournament and a first round bye.

In its rollercoaster ride of a season, the men’s soccer team has been through more ups and downs than famed movie critic Roger Ebert’s well-known thumbs.

Now, the Jays hope to provide a Hollywood-worthy ending to their season by overcoming their on-again, off-again ways to put it all together as they close out their regular season Saturday and begin Missouri Valley Conference tournament play.

“ It’s been a rollercoaster,” senior defender and captain Matt Wieland said. “We’ve played some great games and beat some really good teams. But, on the other hand, we’ve lost a few games that we probably shouldn’t have lost.”

The Jays have shown flashes of brilliance, rising to No. 9 in the nation with a 4-0-1 season-opening run and rattling off a four-game midseason winning streak, during which they outscored opponents 16-2.

However, the team has seemed as hapless at times as it has dominant at others.

Following its season-opening surge, the Jays went winless in four consecutive contests. And, just last week, the squad dropped back-to-back games to two opponents — Western Kentucky and Drake — against whom Creighton had never lost in 32 combined games.

The key difference between the Jays’ hot and cold streaks is no mystery, according to Wieland.

“ In the games where we’ve gotten beaten, we’ve come out slow and didn’t play to our potential until the second half,” Wieland said. “It’s hard to beat a team in 45 minutes when they put everybody behind the ball and defend the whole game. If we come out hard and get a quick goal, that’s key.”

The Jays, 9-4-3 (4-2 MVC), ended their latest skid with a 2-0 win at Evansville last weekend and will look to continue their winning ways when they host surprising conference leader Vanderbilt, 9-5-1 (4-1-1 MVC), Saturday at 1 p.m.

Led by senior forward John Krause, the MVC’s second leading scorer, the Commodores have exceeded preseason expectations and sit with Bradley atop the conference standings.

“ We can’t take [Vanderbilt] for granted at all,” Wieland said. “They’re... one of the most underrated teams in collegiate soccer.”

Buoyed by the support of their home fans on senior day Saturday, the Jays will look to secure a first-round bye in the MVC tournament with a win against the Commodores. And, with a win against Vanderbilt and loss by Bradley, the Jays can clinch a share of the MVC regular season title.

Regardless of this weekend’s outcome, the Jays will open MVC tournament play next week, looking to secure their 14th consecutive NCAA tournament bid.

Don’t ask the Jays to handicap the MVC tournament, though. As they are quick to point out, the only thing certain about the tournament is uncertainty.

“ We’re just kinda taking it one game at a time, because that’s all we can do right now,” said junior defender Ryan Junge. “It’s conference, so anything can happen. Anybody can beat anyone on any given day.”

However, don’t mistake the uncertainty Junge expresses as a lack of confidence. The Jays are confident that, playing the caliber of soccer they did during the high points in their rollercoaster ride of a season, they will succeed.

“ If we go out and play the way we can,” Junge said, “the way we played against Missouri State, Memphis and Bradley we’ll be fine.”