DePaul University Athletics
Men's Soccer Hosts USF
9/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
CHICAGO - The DePaul men's soccer team opens Conference USA play on Wednesday afternoon at Wish Field against No. 17 USF. This will be the third straight home match to start the 2004 campaign as the Blue Demons posted a 2-0 win over Loyola on Sept. 1 and a 1-1 tie against Valparaiso on Sunday. Kickoff at Wish Field is set for 3 p.m. on DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus.
Looking at the Blue Demons: Dating back to last season, the Blue Demons have posted nine wins with nine shutouts... DePaul returns 18 players and welcomes nine newcomers to the 2004 roster... of those 18 returners, six are seniors, six are juniors and there are six sophomores... offensively, the Blue Demons return the top five scorers from a year ago... senior Patrick Vyncke leads the team with two goals in the first two matches… in the last two seasons, the club has combined for the most wins (16) since the 1994 and 95 teams combined for 19 victories... the club has posted 12 wins in their last 17 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 find themselves at No. 10. Creighton and Saint Louis are tied for the top spot in the Midwest. Wednesday's opponent, USF, is ranked ninth in the NSCAA's South Region.
NSCAA/adidas Midwest Region Top 10
1. Creighton (2-0-0)
1. Saint Louis (2-0-0)
3. Tulsa (1-0-1)
4. Drake (2-0-0)
5. SMU (1-1-0)
5. Evansville (1-0-1)
7. Oral Roberts (2-0-1)
8. Southwest Missouri State (1-0-1)
9. Eastern Illinois (2-0-0)
10. DePaul (1-0-1)
Last Time Out: DePaul remained unbeaten in 2004 with a 1-1 tie against Valparaiso on Sunday at Wish Field. Patrick Vyncke gave DePaul a 1-0 advantage with his second goal of the season at 46:47. The Blue Demons held the lead until Valparaiso’s Jeremy Stacy slipped behind the defense and beat keeper Brian Allen in the 87th minute. Niether team was able to score in regulation and two overtime periods with the match finishing in the 1-1 tie.
Scouting the Bulls: USF enters the match at 1-0-0 after knocking off Jacksonville, 3-2, in the season opener on Sept. 1… their match with Stetson scheduled for Saturday was postponed because of Hurricane Frances… head coach George Keifer is in his second season as head coach… a year ago, USF knocked the Blue Demons out of the C-USA Tournament with a 2-1 victory in Tampa.
DePaul’s record when…
playing at home: 1-0-1
playing on the road: 0-0-0
playing on a neutral field: 0-0-0
playing during the day: 1-0-1
playing at night: 0-0-0
the match goes to overtime: 0-0-1
the match is decided by one goal: 0-0-0
the match is decided by two goals: 1-0-0
the match is decided by three goals: 0-0-0
the match is decided by four or more goals: 0-0-0
DePaul takes more shots: 1-0-0
opponent takes more shots: 0-0-1
DePaul takes a penalty kick: 0-0-0
opponent takes a penalty kick: 0-0-0
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: 0-0-0
Big West: 0-0-0
Conference USA: 0-0-0
Horizon League: 1-0-0
Mid-American: 0-0-0
Mid-Continent: 0-0-1
Missouri Valley: 0-0-0
Overall Record: 1-0-1
Preseason Picks: The Blue Demons were picked eighth in the annual Conference USA preseason poll. Defending champion Saint Louis was picked as the preseason favorite while Will John of Saint Louis and UAB’s Leandro de Oliviera were picked as preseason co-Players of the Year.
What’s Ahead: This weekend, DePaul travels to Evanston as one of four teams at the Best Western Lakeside Invitational. The Blue Demons take on UC Irvine on Friday afternoon before playing host Northwestern on Sunday.
