DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Take On the Billikens
10/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
CHICAGO - The DePaul men's soccer team travels to St. Louis, Mo. for a Wednesday night match with the Billikens. The Blue Demons, winners of five of their last six matches, enter the game at 7-6-2 overall and 3-3-0 in Conference USA play. Saint Louis stands at 9-3-2 and 4-2-1 in league action.
Rojo Named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week
DePaul sophomore Luke Rojo was named the Conference USA Offensive Co-Player of the Week after leading the Blue Demons to a pair of wins over Loyola-Chicago and TCU last week. Rojo tallied a pair of game-winners against the Ramblers and Horned Frogs. In the double-overtime win over Loyola, it was Rojo's score at 106:21 that capped the comeback for the Blue Demons. He also assisted Tim Blake's match-tying goal with under three minutes left in regulation. On Saturday, against the Horned Frogs, the sophomore scored the match's first goal at 26:07 and then assisted Ed Kiefer's insurance goal just two minutes later. For the week, Rojo tallied a pair of game-winning goals and two assists. For the season, the sophomore leads DePaul with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Five of his seven scores this season have been game-winners. He shares the league's weekly honor with Marquette's Matt Darby.
Looking at the Blue Demons
Seven 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 seven goals while Edwin Arreola has four scores... Tim Blake, Jonathan Foley, Adam Hermsen and Anthony Minniti have scored twice... five of Rojo's seven goals are game-winners... Blake, Bob Kruse and Rojo are tied for the club lead with three assists while Foley and Hermsen have a pair... the Blue Demons have been outscored, 26-21, through 15 matches... DePaul is 2-0-2 in overtime matches, 5-2-0 in one-goal games and 5-0-0 in home matches... they are 1-6-1 on the road... 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 Saint Louis
The Billikens enter Wednesday's match at 9-3-2 overall and 4-2-1 in C-USA play... since putting together a nine-match win streak from 9/13-10/12, they have lost at South Florida and tied TCU... nine Billikens have scored, led by C-USA scoring leader Jason Cole with 27 points on 12 goals and three assists... head coach Dan Donigan is in his second season as head coach at Saint Louis and holds a 27-5-2 record... the series: Wednesday will be the 12th all-time meeting between the two programs with Saint Louis leading, 11-0-0... last season, the Billikens knocked off the Blue Demons, 3-0, in Chicago.
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.
In the NIKE Portland Classic, DePaul lost to host Portland, 6-0, before coming back and tying Washington, 1-1. Against UW-Milwaukee, the Blue Demons were on the short end of a 3-1 decision. Two weeks ago, DePaul held a 2-0 lead at UAB, before allowing three goals in the final 12 minutes.
Make a Wish
DePaul's five home victories this season is the most since the club won a school-record six during the 1994 season. Overall, the 1994 club was 12-5-1. In 1986, the Blue Demons posted a home record of 5-5-0. The 2002 five-match home winning streak is the longest in program history. The previous record was a four-match string that ended the 1994 season with two wins and started the 1995 campaign with a pair of home victories.
Streaking
DePaul's modest three-game win streak earlier this season was the longest since winning three straight in 1999. A win over the Billikens could give the Blue Demons their second three-game winning streak of the 2002 season. The last time a DePaul team won four consecutive matches was a stretch during the 1995 season. The program's best winning streak occurred in 1994 when DePaul won five consecutive matches.
Last Time Out - DePaul 2, TCU 0
The men's soccer team ran their Wish Field record to 5-0 with a 2-0 win over TCU on Saturday afternoon. Luke Rojo and Ed Kiefer scored within two minutes of each other in the first half and the DePaul defense held the Horned Frogs shotless in the second half. With the win, the Blue Demons improve to 7-6-2 overall and 3-3-0 in Conference USA play.
Rojo scored his seventh goal of the season at 26:07 when he took a pass from Edwin Arreola and shot it to the lower left corner past Frog keeper Michael Lahoud. The Blue Demons had numerous opportunities as they outshot TCU, 16-5, in the match.
Kiefer followed up Rojo with his first goal of the season at 27:39. Off a corner kick from Rojo, a Tim Blake shot was blocked by Lahoud, but Kiefer was there to send the rebound to the back of the net. DePaul's best scoring opportunity in the second half came just a minute into the second stanza as a header by Adam Hermsen went off the crossbar.
Blue Demon keeper Michael Timlin was credited with his third shutout of the year and made just a single save. The DePaul defense locked down the Horned Frogs in the second half and didn't allow a shot.
Up Next
The next home match will be Sunday, Nov. 3 when DePaul takes on South Florida. Kickoff at Wish Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. The final home match of the regular season will be Nov. 6 when Marquette visits Chicago. DePaul travels to Louisville for the regular season finale on Nov. 9. Hermann Stadium will be the site of the 2002 Conference USA Tournament, Nov. 14-17.