The men’s soccer team fell to second-ranked Creighton on Sunday (Nov. 16) in the Conference Championship in Evansville, Ind. The Bears finish the season with a final record of 7-10-5, 3-1-1 in conference and 1-1-1 in the tournament.

The Bears came out with solid defensive play from the first minute shutting down Creighton’s first attempt in the game.  The Bears countered the Bluejays with a steady dose of offensive pressure.  All-Missouri Valley Freshman honoree Gerard Barbero crossed a pass just out of the reach of Bluejays’ goalkeeper Brian Holt.  But, Kyle Windmueller was unable to convert as he headed the pass just outside of the far post. 

Just minutes later on Creighton’s counterattack Tim Walters crossed a pass to Freshman Ethan Finlay who deflected it in past Bears’ Goalkeeper Alex Riggs.  Finlay misjudged the cross pass nicking it with his thigh. Before a waiting Riggs could save the attempt it deflected off of a Bears’ defender and into the net for the 1-0 lead with 22 minutes left in the first half.  The Bears and Bluejays matched each others every move with both teams unable to score in the remainder of the half.  The Bluejays took the advantage in the first half outshooting the Bears by a 6-4 margin.

The second half was steadily controlled by Creighton’s ball handling ability.  The Bluejays spent the majority of the second half using the entire field trying to keep the ball away from the Bears and taking shots as they were available.  The Bluejays outshot the Bears 10-5 in the second half despite a frenzied Bears pursuit.  Riggs finished the game with three saves compared to his counterpart’s one.

With the loss the Bears finish their season in second place in the Missouri Valley Conference.