The No. 5 Creighton Bluejays (6-1-0) defeated the Pioneers (2-5-0) in Omaha, Neb. 2-0 on Saturday night. After last week’s 1-0 loss against St. Louis, the Pioneers were looking to boost their game. The game started out with a Creighton goal in the first 15 minutes of play. A one-two touch in the box by Byron Dacy and Tim Walters put the Bluejays up by one. “Creighton is a solid squad,” said senior midfielder Leon Abravanel. “We were somewhat flat in the first half and were unable to come back from their goal in the first half.” In the second half, the Pioneers shined as the better team on the pitch. “I don’t think that we necessarily deserved to win,” said junior midfielder Collin Audley. “But we were definitely the better team in the second half and I don’t think anybody in the stadium would disagree with that.” A blocked penalty shot by Audley turned into another miss by freshman forward Sam Garza, the ball slightly left of the goal. After receiving a yellow card, Andrei Gotsmanov backlashed and scored a goal on a one-on-one against keeper Joe Willis, putting Creighton up by two. The game ended shortly thereafter. “Our game against Creighton was similar to our game against St. Louis because we defended well, missed our chances, and inevitably were defeated,” said senior defender Colin Jones. The first nine games of the season are all in preparation for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation games that start this week. Although the double loss has put a small setback on the Pioneers’ season, the team is optimistic and looking forward to the conference matchups. “I believe as this team continues to mature entering our conference games, we, as a unit, truly believe we have a group capable of combining our talents with hard work and bringing the University of Denver a MPSF championship,” Jones said. The team knows that both home field advantage and the support of fellow Pioneers will help the players push their season to better results. The next games are critical and the more fans there are, the better the atmosphere for everyone watching and the players themselves, says Abravanel. After the two losses, the team wants to step it up and prove themselves this year. “We are going to find out who wants to change the season, who wants to put the team on their back, which guys are going to become better, and which ones want to prove their worth on this team,” says Audley. The men’s team is home this weekend and will face New Mexico Friday at 4 p.m. as well as the UNLV Rebels on Sunday at 2 p.m. on Pioneer field.