OMAHA, Neb. - In a contest that lived up to the rich tradition of games built between two former Missouri Valley Conference rivals, it was a goal in the 86th minute (85:49) that lifted Creighton to a 4-3 victory past Drake in women's soccer action on Sunday (Sept. 7).
“For every alumni that's come through our program, they understand how tight the Creighton games typically are, physically a battle, competitive and intense, and overall exciting,” Drake head coach Lindsey Horner commented. “Today's game did not disappoint the tradition of our rivalry. That 90 minutes showed glimpses of our ability to create and finish chances, compete physically, and adapt our style in the run of play and this experience can make us better as long as we continue to raise the bar for each other.”
“As a team, we were much improved from Friday night. We are clearly capable of scoring goals, but to put up five goals over the weekend, yet not win a game, stings. We knew how to respond today to the demands of the game, which kept us in the game for our second and third goals.”
Senior Generve Charles (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) got the Bulldogs onto the scoreboard first registering her team-leading third goal of the season at the 8:50 mark. Earning the assist on the tally was senior Ashlie Stokes (Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux City North).
The Bluejays evened the contest at one on the strength of an Angela Benson goal in the 21st minute (20:10) before assuming a 2-1 lead when Anastasia McCleary found the back of the net in the 39th minute (38:32).
Drake trailed at the intermission, 2-1, and was outshot in the initial stanza, 11-6.
Sophomore Rebecca Rodgers (Peotone, Ill./Peotone) squared the game at two for the Bulldogs at the 55:12 mark registering her second goal of the season off a strong pass from junior Rhian Pritchard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North).
An unassisted tally off the foot of Ylenia Sachau in the 72nd minute (71:53) pushed Creighton back ahead, 3-2.
The Bulldogs continued to push the offensive envelope in the second half as they outshot the Bluejays over the final 45 minutes, 12-5, and 18-16 for the game.
One of those shots, a header from Rodgers, tied the game at three at the 83:10 mark. Freshman Kasey Hurt (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny) collected the assist on the score.
The lead was short-lived as Creighton netted what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 86th minute (85:49) when Addison Nokels delivered her second goal of the year off an assist from Benson.
Rodgers recorded a game-high six shots for the Bulldogs, while Charles and Pritchard contributed four- and three-shot efforts. Alyssa Jara and Sachau led the Bluejays with three shots apiece.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kylynn Moyer (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) made five saves for Drake, while Danielle Rice pulled in seven saves for Creighton.
“We obviously have to address keeping the ball out of our net, which is coming from a series of errors or poor decisions that lead to conceding a goal,” said Horner. “With six games under our belt now, we are good enough to eliminate these decisions and recover from a mistake to clean the game up for each other.”
The Bulldogs return to action on Friday (Sept. 12) with a 7:00 p.m. tilt at SIU Edwardsville.
