Senior Andrew Ribeiro’s goal in the 86th minute Sunday afternoon lifted #12 Creighton University (15-3-2)to a 2-1 victory against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (13-7-0) in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference soccer tournament at Shea Stadium. Ribeiro knocked in a short rebound after Cougars’ junior goalkeeper John Berner stopped Ribeiro’s penalty kick. Berner couldn’t secure the ball and Ribeiro alertly pounced on the rebound for the game-winner. Jared Tejada. The Bluejays clinched the Valley’s automatic berth for the upcoming NCAA tournament. The title is Creighton’s second consecutive tournament crown, fifth in eight years, and 13th in the 22-year history of the event. Final Game Stats.
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-Bob
Upsets were the theme of the opening day of the 2012 Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Soccer Championship as sixth-seeded Central Arkansas and fifth-seeded Drake both advanced against their higher-seeded opponents Wednesday night at Shea Stadium. UCA (8-8-1) rode the first half goal of Daniel Sampedro and goalkeeper Cody Gibson to a 1-0 victory against third-seeded host Bradley (10-6-4). The Bears put together a combination on the right flank that sprang Sampedro into the penalty area, where he was able to beat the Braves goal keeper Brian Billings with a low shot inside the right post. Michael Quinn and Ethan Miller set up the goal, Sampedro’s third of the year, at 36:03. Final game stats.
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-Bob
A bit of history was made Tuesday on the soccer pitch at John MacKenzie Alumni Field, where Bradley University and Western Illinois University played to a 1-1 tie, the first tie in the 24-game history of the series against Bradley’s closest NCAA Division I rival. Junior midfielder Keegan Balle put Bradley (9-5-3) on the board first, scoring his sixth goal of the year on a 25-yard blast in the 17th minute. The Leathernecks (3-8-4) got the equalizer in the 68th minute when Erick Bloom finished off a corner kick sequence from Aaron Appel and Hilary Esangbedo. Bradley finished the game with a 21-15 advantage in shots and the Braves allowed only two shots on goal in the 110 minutes. Junior forward Wojciech Wojcik had three of Bradley’s six shots on goal, but Leathernecks goal keeper Yves Dietrich made five saves to preserve the tie. Click here for final box score.
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-Bob
Peoria Notre Dame jumped to a two goal lead by half time and finished with a 4-1 IHSA Class 2A Chillicothe Regional Soccer Title victory over Dunlap High School Saturday afternoon. Senior Grant Inskeep led the Irish with two goals, and Alex Garcis had three assists who outshot the Eagles 19-4. Sophomore Austin Cross scored Dunlap’s only goal of the game. The Irish will host the Washington Panthers at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Notre Dame Sectional.
-Bob
Bradley freshman forward Jason Lesch and junior forward Wojciech Wojcik provided the first-half fireworks and Bradley Athletics supplied the postgame show as Bradley’s Homecoming crowd was treated to a 2-0 Braves victory Saturday night against Evansville at Shea Stadium. Bradley (8-4-2, 2-1-0 MVC) earned its fourth straight home win and guaranteed itself a winning home record for the fourth consecutive year and 15th time in 16 years. The Braves also improved to 5-1-0 all-time at Shea Stadium against Evansville (7-5-0, 1-1-0 MVC) with their third straight win overall against the Purple Aces. Although Evansville finished with a 21-17 advantage in shots, Bradley junior goalkeeper Brian Billings needed just three saves to record his fourth shutout of the season, while becoming the third keeper in Bradley history to register 30 career victories. Click here to view more photo’s from the game.
-Bob
