Final Stats

OMAHA, Neb. -- Two long-range strikes from a pair of Creighton Bluejays proved to be the difference Saturday night as Creighton knocked off Villanova 2-0 at Morrison Stadium. The loss snapped a three-game Wildcats win streak and drops VU to 5-4-0 overall, 1-1 in BIG EAST action.

Creighton ups its mark to 5-3-0 overall, 1-1 in BIG EAST play.

Noah Franke and Lucas Stauffer did the scoring damage as both sent impressive blasts from beyond the 18-yard box for the only goals of the evening.

"Credit to Creighton," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "They're a great team and they came up with two incredible goals. I thought we were able to create some good possession at times and we weren't able to make a play in the final third."

On a warm evening in downtown Omaha, it was the Bluejays who pressed the action in the early going, recording six of the game's first seven shots. Creighton forged the early advantage when Noah Franke found some open space approximately 28 yards from goal in the middle of the field. Franke took a feed from Kuba Polat, dribbled briefly, and then sent a laser off his right foot that arced over the outstretched arm of Will Steiner to give the Bluejays a 1-0 lead at 17:32.

As the period moved forward, though, Villanova began to build better possession and that led to opportunities in the final third. The Wildcats' quickness led to three Creighton fouls in 90 seconds, each resulting in a free kick. The Bluejays withstood the onslaught and mounted a counter-attack. Steiner came up with a huge save of a point blank bid in the 40th minute.

"There was a four or five minute stretch there later in the first half where we had very good possession in the final third," noted Carlin. "Unfortunately, we couldn't push through to make a play to get us back to level and that forced us to keep chasing the game."

At halftime,, the Bluejays retained the 1-0 lead. Creighton enjoyed an 11-4 edge in first half shots.

A pivotal sequence unfolded early in the second half. The Bluejays Lucas Stauffer picked up a loose ball outside the 18 yard box on the right side. He stepped into a shot that nestled just inside the left post to give the Bluejays a 2-0 lead at 51:59. The goal was unassisted.

"On the first goal, we thought that was an incredible shot," said Carlin. "The second one was even better."

Perhaps the best chance of the night for Villanova came midway through the second half after some nifty ball work by captains Andreas Bartosinski and Zach Zandi. Bartosinski created an opening and sent a pass to Zandi near the top of the box. Zandi quickly flicked it to freshman Yusuf Cueceoglu who had an open lane to the net. But Creighton goalkeeper Michael Kluver was equal to the challenge and made the save on the point blank bid.

Another shot later in the period, off the foot of Bartosinski, was also turned away by Kluver.

"I thought there was some fatigue by the end of the game on our part," Carlin stated. "It's a byproduct of a compact schedule and the fact we weren't able to generate enough quality scoring chances."

The final was 2-0.

The Bluejays ended the evening with a 15-10 advantage in the shots column. Steiner made four saves in goal for Villanova.

"Creighton made the plays in the attacking end and, unfortunately, we weren't able to," stated Carlin. "That's kind of what it came down to."