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Jays
face next challenge
By
Brian Norton
Sports Reporter
This
weekend gives the Creighton women’s soccer team
the opportunity to reach one of its major goals this
season: a Missouri Valley Conference championship and
a place in the NCAA tournament.
The Jays finished the season ranked second in the MVC,
with a 3-1-3 record in the conference and 7-7-4 overall.
They went 1-1-1 against the three teams remaining in
the tournament: Indiana State, Illinois State and Drake.
The Jays’ biggest strength this season has been
defense. The team has kept opponents to only 25 goals
and scored 32 goals on offense. The Jays’ shot
total is more than 100 points higher than their opponents.
“
We’ve been stingy defensively,” said Coach
Bruce Erickson. “We need to work on the attack
in general.”
The Jays have a tough road ahead if they want to contend
for the championship and a bid to the NCAA tourament.
Erickson said the tournament’s sleeper team could
be the Jays and that all four teams feel they have
a chance to win.
Last season the Jays finished with a record of 3-3-1
in the MVC and second place in the MVC tournament.
The Jays and No. 1 Drake received byes during the first
round of the tournament. In the first round, No. 4
Illinois State beat Southwest Missouri State 5-4 in
penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie in regular time and
two overtimes.
Illinois State will face Drake in the semifinals tonight
at 5 p.m. at Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines, Iowa.
The last time Drake and Illinois State met was on Oct.
10, when Drake shut out Illinois State 1-0. Drake has
kept MVC teams to only two goals this season and is
the favorite to win the championship entering the tournament.
“
Illinois State has just as good of a chance to knock
them off as Drake does in winning,” Erickson
said.
In the other first round game, No. 3 Indiana State
defeated No. 6 Northern Iowa 2-1. Indiana State will
face the Jays Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Cownie Soccer
Complex. The Sycamores have a record of 5-3 in the
MVC and 9-9 overall.
The Jays face a tough opponent in the Sycamores. Creighton
won the only match between the two teams at Indiana
State 2-1 on Oct. 8.
“
We have to play hard and aggressive,” said Franny
Hylok, senior forward/midfielder and team captain. “We
can’t take them for granted, even though we beat
them this season.”
The Jays will have to keep an eye on the Sycamores’ freshman
standout Lauren Podolski. Podolski finished second
on the team with 20 points, including seven goals and
six assists.
Erickson said that Podolski is one of the top freshmen
in the MVC, and she played well against Creighton this
season. She has recorded an assist and three shots
against the Jays.
“
The key is to break them early,” Erickson said. “They
play similar to us, better as the game goes on. This
is their first time to the Final Four, and there will
be some nerves.”
The championship game will be hosted by Drake Sunday
at 1 p.m. at Cownie Soccer Complex.
The winning team receives the MVC’s automatic
bid into the NCAA tournament. The game will be broadcast
on Fox Sports Network Midwest, Mediacom of Iowa, Comcast
SportsNet Chicago and Fox College Sports. |
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