Creighton University
SMU
No. 18 SMU Uses Pair of PKs to Top No. 16 Bluejays, 3-2, in Double OT
9/17/2010 8:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer
PEORIA, Ill. - The 18th-ranked SMU Mustangs scored only once in the run of play Friday night, but they capitalized on a pair of penalty kicks to overcome a 2-0 first-half deficit and knock off 16th-ranked Creighton 3-2 in double overtime in the first match of The Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic hosted by Bradley University. The win improved the Mustangs to 6-0-0 on the season, while handing the Bluejays (4-1-0) their first loss of the year.
Creighton, which out-shot SMU 8-3 in the first half, got on board first in the 39th minute, when sophomore Andrew Ribeiro scored his first collegiate goal. The substitute received an assist from another sub, as Dion Acoff's flip pass put Ribeiro in perfect position to blast home the go-ahead goal.
Just moments later, the Bluejays went ahead 2-0 when Jose Gomez again assisted a goal from a corner kick in the 41st minute. Gomez sent a low ball into the box, where Kyle Deremer calmly tapped it across the goal mouth to a wide open Ethan Finlay. Finlay knocked in his team-leading third goal of the season just 96 seconds after CU's first goal and the Bluejays carried that momentum into the lockerroom. The assist for Gomez was his team-leading sixth, giving him at least one point in each of his first five matches as a Bluejay.
"I thought for the
first 70 minutes we were brilliant," said head coach Jamie Clark after suffering his first loss at Creighton's leader. "Unfortunately it's a 90 minute
game and after we gave up that first goal I thought we looked nervous
and rather than embracing the moment, we played a little more defensive
than I would have liked us too."
Things started to unravel for the previously unbeaten and unscored upon Bluejays late in regulation. The Mustangs scored a soft goal when Juan Castillo found himself behind the CU defense on the receiving end of a punt from his keeper, Craig Hill. Castillo scored his team-best fifth goal of the season in the 69th minute to become the first Bluejay opponent to score this season
The Mustangs tied the match in the 76th minute, when the Bluejays were called for a foul in the penalty area. Arthur Ivo stepped up and beat Bluejay keeper Brian Holt for the equalizer.
The match went into overtime, where the Mustangs out-shot the Jays 4-2 in the first 10-minute extra frame.
Nearly three minutes into the second overtime, SMU again was awarded a penalty kick after a foul was whistled in the box. Ivo was again called upon to take the kick, putting his shot in the upper right 90 for the game-winner.
The Bluejays, who had a streak of just over 428 minutes of scoreless soccer to start the season snapped Friday night, had to play a majority of the match without starting back Andrew Duran. The senior leader and Illinois native left the match late in the first half with an injury.
Creighton will look to rebound from its first setback of the season when it plays against Dartmouth on Sunday at noon.
