Tribe lose close match at No. 2 Creighton

Tribe Sophomore Patrick O'Brien

OMAHA, Neb. - The William and Mary men's soccer team dropped a hard-fought, 2-1, decision on Sunday afternoon at No. 2 Creighton.  W&M struck first when Patrick O'Brien scored his first goal of the season in the 23rd minute.  The Tribe maintained the lead for the next 32 minutes until the Blue Jays tied the affair 10 minutes into the second-half.  Later on in the period, Creighton connected on the game-winner in the 74th minute. The Tribe falls to 2-3-1 on the season, while the Blue Jays improve to 5-1-1.

I'm really proud of the team," stated head coach Chris Norris. "Although we didn't get the result today, we played very well against a good Creighton team. We competed well from the start, were not intimidated by the atmosphere and showed more versatility in our attacking play. This was another game against a top opponent and if we continue to learn from these difficult games and stay positive, we can be a good team."

O'Brien put the College ahead, 1-0, after netting his second career goal off a corner kick from junior Chris Perez in the 23rd minute.  The assist was Perez's first of the season and second of his career.  For the remainder of the half, W&M kept No. 2 Creighton scoreless as sophomore keeper Bennett Jones registered one save in the opening 45-minutes of action.

In the second-half, Creighton managed to tie the affair at 1-1 in the 55th minute, after freshman Timo Pitter bounced home his first score of the season from seven yards away.  Over the next 14 minutes, the Tribe responded, taking five shots with three coming on frame.  During that stretch, Perez fired two shots on goal, while sophomore Marcus Luster tallied one shot on frame.  However, Creighton's freshman goalie Jeff Gal turned away every Tribe advance.  In the 74th minute, Creighton broke the, 1-1, tie after Eric DeJulio netted the game-winner after heading in a CU corner kick.

For the match, the College took 12 shots with seven coming on frame, while Creighton tallied 18 shots, which included four on goal.  At the conclusion of the invitational, Perez and Luster were named to the all-tournament team.  For the weekend, Perez netted a score in the, 4-1, victory over Drake and an assist in Sunday's finale versus Creighton, while Luster capped an impressive tournament connecting on a score in the Tribe's three-goal triumph against Drake.  

The College returns to action on Wednesday, Sept. 19, as it welcomes Elon to Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.  The match against the Phoenix is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff.