DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Take On UIC
9/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
Weekly Release
CHICAGO - The Blue Demons look to get back on the winning side of the ledger with three games away from Wish Field. DePaul takes the short trip to UIC for a Wednesday afternoon match before traveling to the Dayton Flyer Classic. The team takes on Evansville and Wright State this weekend in Dayton, Ohio. DePaul has dropped three straight matches after starting the season 1-0-1.
Looking at the Blue Demons: Dating back to last season, the Blue Demons have posted nine wins with nine shutouts... the Blue Demons have played three overtime matches in their five games this season... a year ago, they played just one overtime match and in 2002 there were four games with extra soccer... offensively, the Blue Demons are led by senior Patrick Vyncke with four points on two goals... John Partyka and Alec Kulinczenko have also found the back of the this season... DePaul has totaled just four goals in five games, but have allowed only six scores by the opposition... on the four goals, there have been five assists, let by Julian Chill with two... the team has posted 12 wins in their last 18 matches at Wish Field... head coach Craig Blazer is in his fourth season in Lincoln Park.
Ranked in the Region: In the first NSCAA/adidas Midwest Region poll of the season, the Blue Demons found themselves at No. 10. After a pair of losses at the Best Western Lakeside Classic, the club dropped out of the region’s top 10. Over the last two seasons, the Blue Demons have been in-and-out of the region’s top 10 and were ranked as high as No. 8.
Last Week: DePaul dropped three matches in a home game and two at the Best Western Lakeside Classic. The Blue Demons gave No. 17 USF everything they wanted in a 1-0 overtime loss on Wednesday at Wish Field. In the first overtime period, USF’s Rodrigo Hidalgo slipped behind the DePaul defense on a free kick and beat keeper Brian Allen at 93:23. The golden goal came on USF’s ninth shot of the game while the Blue Demons managed just one shot.
Over the weekend, the club lost to UC Irvine and host Northwestern at the Best Western Lakeside Classic. On Friday, two second half goals by the Anteaters was too much for the Blue Demons. After a scoreless first half, UC Irvine scored in the 51st and 56th minutes while outshooting DePaul, 10-7. Sunday’s match saw the Blue Demons go to overtime for the third time in four games, but come up short, 2-1, to Northwestern. John Partyka tied the match at 1-1 in the 79th minute forcing the match to overtime. DePaul had two opportunities in the first extra period as Julian Chill hit the crossbar and a Patrick Vyncke header was cleared off the line. Northwestern took advantage off a free kick early in the second overtime and Will Nicholas scored the game-winner in the 102nd minute. Partyka and John Kornfeld were named to the All-Tournament team.
Scouting the Flames: UIC enters the match at 0-5-0... last weekend, they dropped matches to UNC-Wilmington (4-1) and Jacksonville (2-1) at the Seahawk Soccer Classic... Wednesday is the first home match of the season... Tonci Skroce leads the club with six points on three goals... head coach Sasha Begovic is in his 15th season as head coach. The series: The series stands at 9-9-2... a year ago, the Blue Demons posted a 1-0 victory at Wish Field.
Previewing the Dayton Flyer Classic: Evansville: The Purple Aces enter the week at 1-2-1... they opened the season with a win over Wisconsin and tied UW-Milwaukee... in their last two matches they have lost to No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 1 Indiana... head coach Dave Golan is in his second season as head coach. The series: A year ago, Evansville topped DePaul, 1-0, in the North Shore Classic at Northwestern... it is the only meeting between the two programs. Wright State: WSU begins the week at 2-2-0... the play host Dayton on Friday in the Dayton Flyer Classic... the Raiders have posted wins over Xavier and Bowling Green while losing to Akron and Northern Illinois... Ricky Strong leads the team with 10 points on five goals... head coach Mike Tracy is in his fourth year as head coach. The series: Wright State leads the all-time series 2-0... Sunday is the first meeting since a 3-0 loss for DePaul at Wish Field on Oct. 2, 1988.
Conference Breakdown: In their 11 non-conference matches, the Blue Demons will face teams from six different conferences. Listed below is a look at DePaul’s record against each of those Division I conferences in 2004:
Big Ten: 0-1-0 (Northwestern, Wisconsin)
Big West: 0-1-0 (UC Irvine)
Conference USA: 0-1-0 (Charlotte, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, Saint Louis, UAB, USF)
Horizon League: 1-0-0 (Loyola-Chicago, UIC, UW-Green Bay, Wright State)
Mid-American: 0-0-0 (Northern Illinois)
Mid-Continent: 0-0-1 (Valparaiso)
Missouri Valley: 0-0-0 (Drake, Evansville)
Overall Record: 1-3-1
DePaul’s record when…
playing at home: 1-1-1
playing on the road: 0-1-0
playing on a neutral field: 0-1-0
playing during the day: 1-3-1
playing at night: 0-0-0
the match goes to overtime: 0-2-1
the match is decided by one goal: 0-2-0
the match is decided by two goals: 1-1-0
the match is decided by three goals: 0-0-0
the match is decided by four+ goals: 0-0-0
DePaul takes more shots: 1-0-0
opponent takes more shots: 0-2-1
DePaul takes a penalty kick: 0-0-0
opponent takes a penalty kick: 0-1-0
