Men's Soccer: Jays' play frosts Warming

Soft and selfish.

That's how Creighton coach Bob Warming describes his Bluejay soccer team that, based on its own preseason expectations, has underachieved through the first two-thirds of the regular season. Ranked in the top six in all of the preseason polls, Creighton enters tonight's game at Evansville unrated and 5-3-2.

“This team needs a shake-up and it's going to get one,'' Warming said. “I'm going to find out who's competitive, and who is willing to help this team.

“As a coach, I've always been a guy to take the heat. If we lose, it's my fault. But we're at a point where I can only correct the thing I can correct. The rest is up to them. They seem to think they can go out and win because they're Creighton. But they're not playing like a Creighton soccer team.''

The preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley title, Creighton is 3-2-1 in league play following Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Drake. The Bulldogs are a point behind the Bluejays in the standings but have played three fewer games.

Like Creighton, Drake is a veteran team. Unlike the Bluejays, the Bulldogs' older players appear intent on making something special out of this season.

“The guys, especially our seniors, feel like this is our year,'' said Drake goalkeeper Michael Drozd, a redshirt junior who is in his final season of competition. “We have a goal of winning the Missouri Valley.''

Creighton's lofty preseason expectations were based on the return of all but two starters from a team that won 16 games and reached the quarterfinals of last season's NCAA tournament. A strong showing in the spring, which included an exhibition tour of Peru, only fueled the optimism.

Many of this season's problems can be tied to a balky offense that has produced 11 goals in 10 games, with five coming in a blowout win over Eastern Illinois. The Bluejays have been shut out four times, and their inability to score has put added pressure on a defense that has been superb most nights.

One of the two players who didn't return this season was Andrei Gotsmanov, an aggressive attacker from the midfield who led the Bluejays in scoring in 2008. His loss undoubtedly has created some of the offensive problems.

“Andrei certainly had a soccer personality, but we don't have Andrei,'' Warming said. “We talked about that last spring. It shouldn't come as a surprise that we don't have him.''

What the Bluejays have, Warming said, are too many players not willing to hold themselves accountable.

“There are things technically that we haven't done well enough but a lot of it comes down to discipline and execution,'' Warming said. “It's about being where you're supposed to be on a free kick, where you're supposed to be on a throw-in. Right now, we have guys that continually aren't doing the things they need to do.

“And we don't have enough guys out there making sure that everything is done right. It's all about being accountable. This is their team, and right now it has the worst record in Creighton soccer history. That's really disappointing to me and a lot of other people.''

Early in the season, Warming blamed himself for some of the offensive problems, saying specifically that he had not provided the players with new options on free-kick and corner-kick plays. The time has come, he said, for the players to take greater responsibility.

“In our sport, accountability is so important,'' he said. “Players are out there for 90 minutes. There are going to be lapses in concentration, just as there are when you're sitting in class and drift away.

“But you need guys that are willing to snatch others back into place and make sure everything gets done the right way.''

Warming declined to specify what changes might be made in tonight's lineup. He also refused to get into the shortcomings of individuals, and he did say some players are trying to do everything they can to snap the team out of its funk.

He also noted the loss of midfielder Greg Jordan to a season-ending knee injury in the second game has impacted the team.

“One of the reasons Andrei was so successful last season was that he had Greg behind him doing all the dirty work,'' Warming said. “Greg won all the headers, laid his body down to block shots, didn't allow shots. When you have someone like that, it's easier for other players to take on more of an attacking role.

“It was easier for Andrei to think about going forward and attacking when he knew Greg was back there. Now, we don't have those guys but we need to find other ways to get things done.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com