DePaul University Athletics
Men's Soccer Hosts TCU
10/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
CHICAGO - Putting their perfect 4-0 record at Wish Field on the line, the men's soccer teams hosts Conference USA foe TCU on Saturday afternoon at Wish Field. Kickoff between the Demons and Frogs is set for 2 p.m. DePaul stands at 6-6-2 overall and 2-3-0 in C-USA play while TCU is 3-11-1 and 2-4-1.
Looking at the Blue Demons
Six wins is the most since the 1999 squad won seven times... only eight times in DePaul's 21 seasons have the Blue Demons won at least seven matches... offensively, six players have found the net... Luke Rojo leads the squad with six goals while Edwin Arreola has four scores... Tim Blake, Jonathan Foley, Adam Hermsen and Anthony Minniti have scored twice... four of Rojo's six goals have been game-winners... Bob Kruse leads the club with three assists while Blake, Foley, Hermsen and Rojo have a pair... the Blue Demons have been outscored, 26-19, through 14 matches... DePaul is 2-0-1 in overtime matches, 5-2-0 in one-goal games and 4-0-0 in home matches... Rojo and Foley were named to the All-Tournament team at the Coca-Cola Panther Invitational... Rojo earned Conference USA All-Freshman team honors last season... Foley and Kruse are team captains in 2002... after opening the season with nine straight road matches, the Blue Demons play seven of the final 10 regular-season matches at Wish Field... head coach Craig Blazer is in his first season without the "interim" tag.
Scouting the Horned Frogs
TCU enters Saturday's match at 3-11-1 and 2-4-1 in C-USA play... the Horned Frogs have won just once in the last six matches, posting a 1-4-1 record over that span... they tied No. 17 Saint Louis, 3-3, on Wed... nine Frogs have scored, led by Andrew Proteous with three goals... Dave Rubinson is in his 21st season as head coach with the Horned Frogs... TCU is located in Ft. Worth, Texas... the series: Saturday will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs with TCU leading, 2-1... DePaus won at TCU, 3-1, last season... this is the first meeting in Chicago.
Make a Wish
DePaul four home victories this season is the most since the club won four times during the 1996 season. All-time, the program's top home record is a 6-3-1 mark in 1994.
Streaking
DePaul's modest three-game win streak was the longest since winning three straight in 1999. The last time the Blue Demons won four consecutive matches was a streak during the 1995 season. The program's best winning streak occurred in 1994 when DePaul won five consecutive matches.
Last Time Out - DePaul 2, Loyola-Chicago 1 (2OT)
Luke Rojo's "golden goal" in the 106th minute was the game-winner as DePaul won in double overtime, 2-1, over the visiting Loyola Ramblers on Wednesday afternoon. Down 1-0 late in the match, Tim Blake tied the game at 87:37 to send it into overtime.
After a scoreless first half, the Ramblers were able to score in the 66th minute. Joe Nierzwicki found a wide-open C.J. Bachman who shot it into the upper left corner to give Loyola the 1-0 advantage.
DePaul had opportunities throughout the match, but turned up the heat late in the day as Blake hit the right post with just over four minutes left in the game. Prior to Blake's tying score, Jonathan Foley just missed an opportunity that was knocked out by a Rambler defender.
DePaul then regrouped and Jeff Klitzke served the ball into the box. Rojo gathered it, tapped it over to Blake who knocked it in from eight yards out on the left side. In the remaining few seconds of regulation, neither team was able to score.
The first overtime period was as same as the end of regulation as the two teams traded possession, but neither team could find the net. In the second and final overtime, DePaul once again turned up the pressure and capitalized when Anthony Minniti found Rojo streaking down the center. Rojo took the pass and fired it past Loyola keeper Greg Stellatos at 106:21.
Nothing But the Best
A quick look at the 2002 schedule reveals five opponents (No. 7 Washington, No. 10 UAB, No. 11 Saint Louis, No. 15 Portland, No. 17 UW-Milwaukee) that were ranked in the preseason top 25 by Soccer America. Of those five, the Blue Demons opened their season at three of those ranked squads.
Up Next
Next Wed., the Blue Demons will travel to Saint Louis to take on the Billikens. Gametime is set for 7 p.m. at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The next home match will be Nov. 3 against the South Florida Bulls.