Boxscore
OMAHA, Neb. -- Andrei Gotsmanov scored the winning goal with 51 seconds remaining, giving number two ranked Creighton University a 3-2 men's soccer victory over the University of Evansville Saturday night in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams in front of 3,196 fans at Morrison Stadium.
The loss spoiled a two-goal performance from freshman forward Tyler Crawford of Evansville (7-4-1), who replaced MVC scoring leader Mike Luttrull in the Aces' lineup. Luttrull has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury October 3 at Western Illinois. It was the second one-goal loss to a nationally ranked team in the last two weeks for the Aces, who were edged 3-2 in overtime by 16th ranked Indiana on Sept. 30.
"This was really a punch in the stomach," said Evansville Head Coach Mike Jacobs. "For the third time we came back from the brink against a Top 20 team to tie the match late, but the next step for this young team has to be getting a substantial win. Creighton is very good. They are number two in the nation, and for 89 minutes we played them even. We've proven we can play with any team in the nation, but we're not looking for moral victories."
Creighton's Byron Dacy scored the only goal of the first half Saturday on a header at the 31:00 mark, and the Bluejays (9-1-1) took a 2-0 lead in the 57th minute on Gotsmanov's first goal of the match. Crawford made it 2-1 at 73:16 when he took Tom Irvin's pass and sent a 16-yard blast past Creighton goalkeeper Brian Holt. It was the first goal allowed by the Bluejays in seven matches, and just the third goal given up this season. Crawford did it again at 80:52, starting with a long goal kick from goalkeeper Alec Dufty. Irvin then touched it to Crawford, whose shot from 18 yards beat Holt for the tying goal.
Creighton increased the pressure in the final minutes and finally broke through at 89:09 when Gotsmanov scored from 10 yards away for his second tally of the match and his sixth of the season.
Creighton finished with a 19-9 advantage in shots, and put 10 on goal compared to Evansville's two. Dufty made seven saves for the Aces, who return home Wednesday to play Missouri State at 7:00. Missouri State lost a narrow 3-2 decision to 24th ranked Drake on Saturday.
