Creighton’s soccer team heads into its season opener hardly clicking on all cylinders.

Which is exactly what new coach Jamie Clark expects at this point.

“Any time you’re trying to incorporate old players with new ideas and new faces, you’re probably going to come up with some mixed results," Clark said. “The positive thing is that we’ve been able to get wins, even though the games don’t count."

They start counting Wednesday night at 7 when the Bluejays travel to Loyola Chicago. The contest will serve as the official debut for Clark, hired in June to replace longtime coach Bob Warming.

Clark inherited 12 players, including six starters, from Warming’s last team that went 7-4-5 and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 seasons.

Creighton tuned up for its opener by notching a pair of 2-1 exhibition victories over Denver University and Hastings College. The Bluejays scored two goals or more in just four of their 16 games last season.

“We’re finding ways to score goals," Clark said. “It hasn’t always been pretty, but we’ve been able to get the result.

“I believe all the pieces are there for us to be a pretty good offensive team.

“We’ve seen patches of having a good, creative attack. We just need to add to those patches. If we can do that, we have the potential to be a fun team to watch."

This is the second straight year Creighton and Loyola have met to open the season. They played to a 0-0 overtime in Omaha last year.

Opening the season on the road, Clark said, is not necessarily a negative.

“It’s nice to get off campus for a day or two and get everyone focused on the game," Clark said. “We’re going into a decent environment and facing something that’s unfamiliar.

“At this point, that could be good for us."

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

« Sports - Bluejays Today

Share