Nationally-Ranked Bluejays Blank Purple Aces, 1-0

OMAHA, Neb. - Senior Michael Kraus enjoyed his final regular-season match at Morrison Stadium, scoring the game-winning goal in the 13th minute, as 24th-ranked Creighton defeated Evansville 1-0 Saturday night. The win moves Creighton's unbeaten streak to seven matches and clinches at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, as the Jays are at 10-3-3 overall and 4-0-1 in conference play.

In the fifth minute, senior Jarod Tarver collided with Evansville's (8-7-0, 1-4-0 MVC) starting goalkeeper Alec Dufty, knocking Dufty from the match. Corey Southers took over in net for the Purple Aces at 4:55 and allowed the only goal of the match at 12:01.

Kraus took a feed from Pietari Holopainen after the Aces turned the ball over just outside the box. Kraus angled from the corner of the box and blasted a shot past Southers for his fourth goal of the season, his third game-winner of the year. The helper was Holopainen's team-best fifth on the year.

The Jays dominated the flow of play in the first half, out-shooting the Aces 9-1 through 45 minutes. The Aces attack improved in the second half, as UE unleashed a barrage of shots between the 50th and 52nd minutes. Shots from Ian McAuley and Jason Pele were blocked to start the sequence. Then Reggie Edu had a point blank shot turned away by CU keeper Matt Allen. Allen could not corral the save however, giving Edu a shot at the open net, but the UE freshman sent the shot over the crossbar.

Allen later helped preserve CU's third straight 1-0 shutout, by stopping another wide open shot in the 88th minute. Tom Irvin had a good look at the net, but Allen aggressively charged the shooter and stopped the ball as it left Irvin's foot. The shutout was Allen's seventh of the year and CU's eighth.

The victory keeps CU as the only unbeaten team in conference play and with 13 points, they cannot be overtaken in the standings. The regular-season championship is CU's seventh, extending their own MVC record. The Jays will look for their fifth unbeaten MVC campaign, and their first since 1996, when they play at Bradley next Saturday to conclude the regular-season.

The Bluejays are scheduled to play at UMKC on Tuesday. The non-conference match will kickoff in Kansas City at 3 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Matt Allen