DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Host Memphis
10/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
CHICAGO - For the first time this season the DePaul men's soccer team will play at the friendly confines of Wish Field. The Blue Demons stand at 2-5-2 overall and 0-2-0 in Conference USA action after playing their first nine matches of the season on the road. Memphis enters Saturday's game at 6-2-1 overall and 1-2-0 in league play.
Alumni Game set for Saturday
DePaul men's soccer Craig Blazer announced plans for activities surrounding DePaul's home-opener against Memphis on Oct. 5. There will be activities for Alumni and Parents during the day.
The Alumni game is set to start at 10:30 a.m. Alumni interested in playing need to RSVP to Blazer and register on Oct. 5 at 10 a.m. Following the game there will be a lunch for the alumni and parents at noon. All are invited to stay for the DePaul match against Memphis at 2 p.m.
For more information and to RSVP, contact head coach Craig Blazer at (773) 325-7231.
Looking at the Blue Demons
DePaul is winless in their last four matches with three defeats and a tie... DePaul's season-opening nine-match road trip ended last Sunday at Drake... offensively, five players have found the net... Luke Rojo leads the squad with three goals while Edwin Arreola and Adam Hermsen have scored twice... Jonathan Foley and Anthony Minniti have scored once... two of Rojo's three goals have been game-winners... Bob Kruse leads the club with three assists... the Blue Demons have been outscored, 20-10, through nine matches... DePaul is 1-0-1 in overtime matches and 1-1 in one-goal games... 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 remaining 10 regular-season matches at Wish Field... head coach Craig Blazer is in his first season without the "Interim" tag... he was named interim coach a day before the first exhibition game last season after Tom Secco resigned.
Looking at the Tigers
Memphis enters Saturday's match at 6-2-1 overall and 1-2-0 in C-USA action... the Tigers have posted back-to-back victories over Western Kentucky (4-0) and Vanderbilt (3-2)... they opened the season with four consecutive wins before losing two and tying one match... Danile Ronan is tied for the league lead with 18 points on eight goals and two assists... head coach Richie Grant is in his eight season with the Tigers... the series: Memphis leads the all-time series, 11-2-1... the Tigers have won four of the last five meetings.
Last Time Out - Drake 3, DePaul 1
Three goals by the Drake Bulldogs in the first 10 minutes was too much as the men's soccer team lost, 3-1, in Des Moines on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, the Blue Demons dropped to 2-5-2 on the season. The Bulldogs didn't waste any time as Matt Bourne scored the match's first goal at 1:37. Bourne headed in the score off of a rebound by Matt Nickell. Drake struck again just under three minutes later as Nickell scored the game's eventual game-winner at 4:20. The third Bulldog goal was at 8:31 off of a Brian Duax free kick.
Adam Hermsen scored DePaul's lone goal in the 89th minute for his second goal of the season. Goalkeepers Brian Allen and Michael Timlin combined for six saves for the Blue Demons while DePaul was outshot, 15-12.
Nothing But the Best
A quick look at the 2002 schedule shows that the Blue Demons have their work cut out for them. Consider this, five opponents (No. 7 Washington, No. 10 UAB, No. 11 Saint Louis, No. 15 Portland, No. 17 UW-Milwaukee) 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. DePaul plays their first home match on Saturday against Memphis, the first in 10 games.
Up Next
The Blue Demons step out of conference play for a match against IPFW on Oct. 13. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Wish Field. The next C-USA match will be Oct. 16 when the Blue Demons host the Cincinnati Bearcats.