OMAHA, Neb. – The Drake University men's soccer team traveled to Omaha this afternoon for its first road match of the 2024 season. The Bulldogs opened the contest positively, building a 2-1 halftime lead before faltering in the second period as Creighton held on for the 5-3 win.
Miguel Arilla got the scoring started for the Bluejays in the 10th minute with the help of an Ali Ramadan assist.
The Creighton advantage last until the 28th minute when Drake finally got on the board.
Eskil Gjerde got a toe on a loose ball in the box and squeezed a shot past a Creighton defender and the Bluejay keeper, Blake Gillingham. Just two minutes later, with the score knotted 1-1, the Bulldogs drew a foul in the penalty area which allowed
Damian Segura to step up and strike. Segura's PK score was his second of the season and gave Drake a 2-1 lead which they carried into the break.
Creighton wasted no time getting back into the action in the second half as Gavrilo Civric scored back-to-back goals in the 47th and 49th minute, the first coming via penalty kick. Later, Ramadan added his second of the day after assists from Ismael Reyes and Miguel Ventura before a Ryan Brakke score gave the Bluejays their fifth and final goal.
In the 85th minute, Drake freshman
Chase Wakefield attempted to spark a late comeback effort, netting his first career score following Segura and
Dalton Visconti assists. The final push was simply too late as Creighton held firm over the last five minutes to win, 5-3.
The Bluejays outshot Drake 20-11 overall and 11-6 in shots on goal. Drake's first-year keeper
Tomas Butkovic made six saves to Gillingham's three.
"Playing at Creighton is always a test of all facets of the game," Drake head coach
Pat Flinn said. "[We had some] positives…we score three goals and carried a lead into halftime. [And we had some] negatives…we conceded five and made a few crucial errors that made their opportunities easier than we'd like."
Flinn and the Bulldogs will remain on the road for their next two matches with both taking place in the Windy City of Chicago. Drake will visit Northwestern on Friday, Aug. 30 before taking on DePaul on Monday, Sep. 2.
