The outcome of Friday night's game between Drake and Creighton will have limited impact in the Missouri Valley Conference soccer standings.

It could, however, play a huge psychological factor in next week's conference tournament, which will be played on the same Cownie Soccer Complex field in Des Moines where Friday night's 7 o'clock game will be contested.

“If we can get a result,'' Creighton defender Chris Schuler said, “it could set us up with a lot of momentum heading into conference.''

Drake (11-6-1, 6-3-0) enters tonight's match in second place in the Valley with 18 points and no chance of catching first-place Missouri State. Creighton (7-3-4, 4-2-3) is in third place with 15 points.

A Bluejay win would move Creighton into a second-place tie with the Bulldogs and set up a Friday semifinal between the teams. The Bluejays also could lock up a semifinal match with Drake with a tie tonight, while a Creighton loss combined with an Evansville victory over Bradley would drop the Bluejays to the No. 4 seed and leave them facing Missouri State in the semifinals.

Creighton has lost just one time in its past nine matches, but the defeat came against Drake in Omaha on Oct. 14. Since then, the Bulldogs are 3-3, while the Bluejays are 2-0-2. One of Creighton's wins was an Oct. 31 victory over UCLA, which is No. 2 in the most recent NCAA RPI rankings.

Drake stands 26th in the RPI, while Creighton is 53rd.

“This is a big one for us,'' Creighton midfielder Josh Moran said. “Drake got the best of us at home. We want to go and get a win to help our RPI but more to help our confidence.''

This year's conference tournament creates a new scenario for the teams as it will mark the third time that teams will face one another. The Valley went to a double round-robin scheduling format for the first time this season.

“I don't know psychologically how this is going to play out because we've never had to play a team three times in the same year,'' Creighton coach Bob Warming said. “I do know this: Our players are really motivated right now. They gained some energy from the UCLA game, especially with how well we played in the second half of that match.

“We have to keep them focused because it's important to us to get these next three games. I don't want to be waiting around on Monday (Nov. 16) to see if we made it or not.''

The winner of the Valley tournament claims the league's automatic berth in the 48-team NCAA field. Creighton is trying to extend its string of consecutive NCAA appearances to 18.

Win out, and the Bluejays will have no fears on selection day. A loss in any of the next two or three matches could put Creighton's streak in jeopardy.

“We haven't had as much success as we would have hoped,'' Schuler said. “Beating UCLA does show that we can, and we did play with a great team.

“This is the time when everything counts, and it really does matter. The way it's shaping up, I think we can peak at the right time. We're playing our best soccer right now.''

Ÿ NOTES: The Bluejays are 2-0-3 in road matches this season, while Drake is 5-2 at home. ... Drake's win in the Oct. 14 match was just its second over the Bluejays. Creighton holds a 20-2-6 edge in the series. ... The Bluejays have allowed just seven goals this season and rank fifth in the NCAA in goals-against average (0.47) and 10th in shutout percentage (.571). Creighton brings a streak of three straight shutouts into tonight's match.

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com