OMAHA, Neb. --- UC Irvine's second trek to Omaha was not as successful after a 3-1 loss to the No. 4 Creighton Blue Jays at Morrison Stadium Saturday night in front of 3,761 fans.

Creighton (11-2-0) got on the board early from a header by Ethan Finlay off a corner kick to take the 1-0 lead in just the fifth minute.

UCI (12-3-0, 4-1-0) managed just one shot on goal in the first half from Bello Alhassan (Ghana / Arizona Western College) as Creighton took the 1-0 lead into the half.

The action picked back up in the 62nd minute as Finlay made it 2-0 on a sequel of the first goal.

UCI responded quickly to close the gap back to 2-1. Jimmy Turner (Mission Viejo / Mission Viejo HS) was fed a cross from Christopher Santana (Bishop / Bishop Union HS) and knocked it in off a header in the 63rd minute.

Both squads continued to fire on net until the 88th minute as Finlay added his third of the night on a breakaway to put the game out of reach, 3-1.

Andrew Fontein (Las Vegas, Nev. / Sierra Vista HS) saved five shots from the Blue Jays as they put eight of 18 shots on net. He is up to 52 saves this year.

Turner's goal was his second of the season and gives him four points on the year.

Santana's assist was his third to equal his goal total for nine points on the season.

The 'Eaters return to the pitch on Wed. Oct. 19 as they prepare for the UC Davis Aggies at Anteater Stadium in a 7:00 p.m. match. This is part of a pair of home Big West matches as Cal State Fullerton will come in on Saturday.

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