VILLANOVA, Pa. – A tight, physical soccer tussle was decided on a goal off a scrum in front of the Villanova net Saturday, as No. 12 Creighton posted a 1-0 victory over the Wildcats at the Higgins Soccer Complex. The Bluejays improved to 5-1-1 overall, 2-0 BIG EAST while VU dropped its first home contest of the campaign to fall to 5-3-0 overall, 0-2 BIG EAST.
"Creighton is a great team," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "We knew it was going to be a hard game but I thought our guys battled and that we played well. I thought we did a good job of getting to where we needed to.
"Unfortunately, the bottom line is that we've got to score goals to win games."
Creighton has been stingy all season, allowing only two goals entering the action here today. The Wildcats had a few cracks at the net – senior Zach Zandi was inside the box with the ball at one point in the second half and Kian Zapata re-directed a shot that sailed just wide in another sequence – but were unable to notch that all-important tally.
There was only one shot on goal in the first half by both teams. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Carson Williams made the save to keep this one level at zero through 45 minutes.
The only score of the afternoon came midway through the second half and began with little fanfare. The ball was advanced by the Bluejays toward the Wildcats net and, after a scrum of bodies gathered near the left post somehow was knocked over the goal line. The goal was credited to Luke Haakenson with an assist to Akeem Ward at 68:46.
The Wildcats pressed forward the rest of the way and created a handful of chances. Yet the Bluejays were able to withstand the heat and reverse a 1-0 defeat they absorbed at the Higgins Soccer Complex in another taut contest played here in 2016.
"We took edge off of our defensive stuff by creating chances offensively and getting to the spots we needed to," Carlin stated. "We had a few chances that could have went in. But they didn't. Credit to Creighton."
The Bluejays held a 16-7 advantage in shots on the day and a 6-0 edge in corner kicks. Freshman Paul Kruse made three saves for Creighton in what was a physical battle.
The Wildcats will look to bounce back on Wednesday evening when they head to Philadelphia for a meeting with Philly Soccer Six rival Temple at 7 p.m. They then return to West Campus next Saturday to host DePaul in another BIG EAST match at 1 p.m.
