Severe hamstring pull... Coach said he's out "a week to 10 days"... Maryland would be exactly 10 days... I'm just saying...
Very uneven performance tonight, really missed Gomez. CU won 1-0 over St. Mary's but St. Mary's had several great chances saved by Holt. MOTM tonight without a doubt.
OK, 1-0 over St. Mary's in front of 3,215 fans! Now 8-0-0 overall... Only team in the nation to not give up a goal & one of only two teams without a loss or a tie... Brian Holt breaks his own record (set as a freshman) for shutout streak, taking it to 739:47 so far this season... Go JAYS!!!
Very impressive start, odd to see them only #6 in the Tournament 48 Rankings, but all the cards will be on the table for Friday's game against Maryland. With another match against a Top 5 team the following week (Indiana), it's going to be quite the test for the Blue Jays!
Yep, they have Irvine on October 15th too... if Creighton gets through that far unscathed, it'll be super hard not to consider them #1, IMO. UConn still has Louisville and Providence to deal with, but has a pretty weak remaining schedule otherwise.
Interesting that since posting their first loss, there hasn't been much commentary around here. From what I heard, after CU went down 1-0 in the 14th, it was a lot of long-ball into the front, hoping (me speculating here) to catch a lucky bounce and/or error seeing to setup an equalizer. My question then is (I saw this as I attended the DePaul game) is the strategy when either down a goal, or facing a late tie score to play this kind of soccer? The skill of of these players is not a question. Why does it seem that when faced with this type of situation, albeit only twice this season so far, CU opts for this type of game? Psychological viewpoints aside, they're gonna be down again sometime this season. When are we going to see this CU side move the ball and not resort to deep long-balls for 45 minutes or more? Comments
That is a great question. Perhaps it's the "desperate measures for desperate times" scenario. I am certainly not a soccer expert but if you have gotten to the place where you only have a single loss then something has been working...why change?
My guess (based on seeing a few home matches) is the change is linked to Gomez. Earlier in the season, Creighton tended to play long-ball more when Gomez was out of the game. The Jays play much more comfortably through the middle when he is there to receive the ball, because he creates so well (and inspires that style of play around him) and/or because he draws defensive attention (usually two defenders), which opens space for wide play and for long balls behind the defense. The whole team looks more comfortable and confident playing quick, short passes all over the field, even when Gomez doesn't touch the ball--but that diminishes when Gomez subs out. Gomez has not played since coming out of the Kentucky match with a hamstring problem. Against St. Mary's, a physical team, Creighton did not utilize the middle of the field as much as in previous matches I'd seen. If you had told me before the Maryland match that Gomez was not healthy enough to play, I would have predicted that CU would rely more on long ball. Not saying that having Gomez on the pitch would have changed the outcome of the Creighton v. Maryland match, but I do think it would have changed the style/quality of play. I also am not excusing Creighton's reliance on the long ball--I think it is a mistake.
Maryland was daring CU to play thru the middle without Gomez. They shut down the flanks (Polak and Miller - both got beat by the Terps wings) and made Creighton create in the middle of the park. Problem was CU deployrs 2 D-mids behind a line of 3 mids and then Finlay. With Gomez out neither of the 2 D-mids could create enough in the offensive third and the other midfielders could not break down a tough Maryland defense. Jays looked much better the the second half, not sure if that was due to CU getting their feet under them or Maryland playing a little more conservative. Gomez demands the ball and links the game from the D-mids to Finlay up top. Without him we play somewhat basic. Gomez should be back for Indiana, my only worry is that a physical team like that will take the game to him early. Gomez got an early red from the ref last year when Indiana met Creighton in Omaha. They got in his mind and he lost his cool. Lets hope for the Jays sake that doesnt happen again.
Creighton 2-1 over Wisconsin... Goals by Dion Acoff (#1) and Greg Jordan (#3) Creighton 1-0 over #10 Indiana Goal by Dion Acoff (#2) Next up Missouri State on Wednesday night... 4th road game in a row...
I really like Acoff. Can't teach wheels like that and he has good skill, too. Not great skill, but with that pace, good skill will get you plenty of interest at the next level. (Reminds me of the Red Bulls Dane Richards, and he's been a starter in MLS for five seasons.) Creighton has three players I think will get Generation Adidas interest in Polak, Acoff and Gomez. Each brings something unique and something that MLS teams value. Polak's arguably the best LB in college soccer. 'Nuff said. Gomez is a skilled, creative playmaker. And Acoff has the pace. No idea if MLS will make them the offers that will get them to give up their senior (junior in Polak's case) years or if they want to leave school early, but I think they're ready and each offer something that will make them coveted by MLS.
It could be a real big turn over year for Creighton with a loss of 5-6 players to MLS , like Akron last year, now to be there for a chance to win it.
Gomez used sparingly today coming off the injury, he will be back. Jays offense was knocking on the door for 3-4 today. Great to see Acoff and Findlay terrorize the defense and watch these two speedsters turn more on down the stretch . Another defensive shutout too!
I think Polak is a lock to get offered a GA contract but there is word around some circles he's leaning on coming back (I am hoping but he can play at a higher level right now so I wouldnt blame him for leaving). I believe Gomez will leave. He has a Mexican passport, so there might be opprotunities abroad. He trialed with Anderlecht out of high school. Acoff has been much better this season. He does lack some one-on-one skills but if he pushes it by a defender he can always outrun them in college, especially the Valley. I can see him getting looks, like Finlay got last year with GA, but I think he is the safest bet to stay of those 3. Great win yesterday, doesnt get much easier. We have UC-Irvine at home on Saturday then Bradley away, they will be huge test.
MSU always plays the Jays tough, but this year they have far less talent than ever. Bad Bad BAD loss. Sounds like MSU made 24 subs in the final 50 minutes! 6 in the final 2 minutes. Anti-soccer at its finest.
from the box score looks like 2 in the final 3 minutes, but it was 6 in the last 5 minutes of the first half and over 15 in the 2nd half! Or maybe the statistician just fainted under all those subs and missed the last few, lol.
The clock stops on every sub in the last five minutes for the losing team so nothing really gained in the last five. Looks to me like the shots were about even.
I've pasted the full list below. They had several guys sub in for under five minutes and then come out again. Really, it's a shame that anyone would want to play this way. [33:21] MSU substitution: Besong,Brandon for Melugin,Heath. [40:30] MSU substitution: Clark,Jarred for Maher,Parker. [40:30] MSU substitution: Martin,Eric for Besong,Brandon. [40:30] MSU substitution: Williams,Dan for Barbero,Gerard. [42:18] MSU substitution: Hoegg,Emmerich for Hoffman,Jordan. [44:50] MSU substitution: Gain,Jared for Hoegg,Emmerich. [44:50] MSU substitution: Moses,Ryan for Williams,Dan. [51:55] MSU substitution: Besong,Brandon for Moses,Ryan. [53:55] MSU substitution: Hoffman,Jordan for Clark,Jarred. [55:50] MSU substitution: Williams,Dan for Frid,Danny. [59:05] MSU substitution: Melugin,Heath for Besong,Brandon. [61:48] MSU substitution: Hoegg,Emmerich for Maher,Parker. [65:06] MSU substitution: Gain,Jared for Barbero,Gerard. [68:58] MSU substitution: Martin,Eric for Gain,Jared. [72:39] MSU substitution: Barbero,Gerard for Hoegg,Emmerich. [73:55] MSU substitution: Cardenas,Pedro for Melugin,Heath. [74:52] MSU substitution: Moses,Ryan for Cardenas,Pedro. [79:18] MSU substitution: Maher,Parker for Martin,Eric. [79:18] MSU substitution: Besong,Brandon for Moses,Ryan. [79:58] MSU substitution: Clark,Jarred for Hoffman,Jordan. [81:10] MSU substitution: Melugin,Heath for Besong,Brandon. [82:53] MSU substitution: Hoffman,Jordan for Clark,Jarred. [87:34] MSU substitution: Gain,Jared for Barbero,Gerard. [87:49] MSU substitution: Frid,Danny for Vania,Thomas.
Really? I don't think I've seen that. Sure didn't happen in the last Cal Poly game where they were losing to Northridge. Is that an NCAA or conference rule?
Missouri State seems to always do these substitutions. Against Central Arkansas (their first conference game) they subbed in Ryan Moses, a SLU transfer, for 30 seconds before taking him off again. They later did the exact same thing to him. He was subbed in twice to play a total of just over a minute.
Honestly, if I was a college coach and early in the season I saw a player do something wrong that was a coachable moment, I'd sub him out, teach a bit and put him back in. It's getting a little late in the tear for that and this seems to be more strategic, whether it's time wasting, or kids in really bad shape or whatever other stupid reason. But early in the year, with unlimited subs, why not coach right when the errors occur. As much as we would like it to be a development league and following FIFA rules, the unlimited subs are there for a reason and the coach is a "coach", not a manager.