DePaul University Athletics
Men's Soccer Closes Regular Season
10/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
DePaul vs. #24/21 Cincinnati
Wednesday, Oct. 18 - 3 p.m.
Wish Field - Chicago, Ill.
DePaul at Syracuse
Saturday, Oct. 21 - 7 p.m. EST
SU Soccer Stadium - Syracuse, N.Y.
Weekly Notes
Cincinnati: Demons Live | Syracuse: Live Stats
BIG EAST Standings/Championship Information
CHICAGO - DePaul looks to secure a spot in the 2006 BIG EAST Championship and a possible first-round home field advantage with a pair of league matches to finish the regular-season schedule. The Blue Demons enter the final two contests in a tie with Louisville for fourth in the Red Division standings. DePaul holds the tiebreaker over the Cardinals with a 1-0 win on Oct. 7.
Where Were You on Nov. 3, 1998?: The Blue Demons dropped a 1-0 match at Louisville in the Conference USA Championship play-in game as the No. 9 seed. That match also served as the last conference tournament game for the DePaul soccer program. Potentially, the Blue Demons could be playing next week in their first conference tournament match since that Louisville game.
Taking the Tough Road: The No. 24/21 Bearcats represent the fifth nationally-ranked team for the Blue Demons this season. In a span of six matches from Sept. 10 to Sept. 27, the Blue Demons faced four ranked opponents. No. 16/11 USF was the fourth ranked opponent after DePaul played No. 8/11 Notre Dame, No. 8/14 West Virginia and No. 14/23 Northwestern. In addition to those teams ranked at game time, the Blue Demons played Illinois-Chicago to a 0-0 tie on Aug. 30. The Flames entered the top 25 polls following the match against the Blue Demons and are currently ranked No. 17 in the NSCAA/adidas national poll and No. 13 in this week’s Soccer America top 25.
Rated G: AIong with the tough schedule this season, the Blue Demons are learning under fire as they regularly start nine players that are either freshman or sophomores. The 24-player roster features 17 student-athletes that are either sophomores or freshmen. In 15 of the 16 games this season, nine of the 11 starters have been freshmen or sophomores. Ten of DePaul’s 13 goals have been scored by rookies, including five scores by Alex Mangan. Patrick Hopkins tallied his first collegiate goal at Xavier in the Marriott Kingsgate Xavier Challenge while junior Julian Chill notched goals in back-to-back matches against Rutgers and USF. Erich Reichmann tallied his first collegiate score in the 2-1 loss against Villanova on Sept. 30 followed on Oct. 7 with Jared Johnson’s first goal in a 1-0 win at Louisville. Last week saw freshmen Peter Sterbenz and Nathan Feltz score their first collegiate goals. Sterbenz scored against Western Kentucky while Feltz drilled the game-winner against St. John’s. Of the 146 Blue Demon shots attempted this season, 119 (81.5 percent) have been taken by a freshman or sophomore.
Looking at the Blue Demons: DePaul’s four BIG EAST wins and 12 points surpass the totals set last year in the inaugural BIG EAST campaign... the 2006 season is the 25th in DePaul men’s soccer history... the 2-0 win at Marquette on Sept. 8 ended a 22-match winless streak on the road... in 32 career matches, goalkeeper Brian Visser has totaled seven shutouts... he notched three in a four-game stretch against Illinois-Chicago, Marshall and Marquette... the UIC and Marshall games were double-overtime 0-0 ties... prior to the 0-0 ties at UIC and Marshall, DePaul had just one 0-0 tie since the start of the 2001 season (98 matches)... head coach Craig Blazer is in his sixth season... freshmen have scored 10 of the 13 goals this season... Alex Mangan leads the team with five goals followed by Julian Chill with two goals... Nathan Feltz, Patrick Hopkins, Jared Johnson, John Partyka, Erich Reichmann and Peter Sterbenz have scored one goal each... Mangan has scored two goals in games against Loyola-Chicago and Marquette... Mangan’s two-goal effort against Loyola-Chicago was the first DePaul multi-goal game since Patrick Vyncke’s two scores against Evansville on Sept. 17, 2004 in the Dayton Marriott Flyer Classic (31 matches)... the Blue Demons are 19-14-5 in the last four-plus seasons in matches at Wish Field... the Blue Demons played in five overtime matches (0-3-2) in 2005 and eight games were decided by one goal (3-5)... the 2006 campaign has seen three overtime games (0-1-2) and nine one-goal matches (4-5).
Visser Named Goalkeeper of the Week: Sophomore goalkeeper Brian Visser was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week following the 1-0 shutout of Louisville on Oct. 7. Visser totaled a career-high 11 saves in the match while facing 20 Cardinal shots. The shutout against the Cardinals was the fourth of the season for Visser while his 11 stops mark the most by any goalkeeper in the BIG EAST this season. His previous career best was set earlier this season when he made nine saves at Notre Dame on Sept. 10. Joseph Lapira of Notre Dame and Connecticut’s O’Brian White were named Co-Offensive Players of the Week while Rutgers’ Bart Koffeman was picked as the Defensive Player of the Week. The BIG EAST Rookie of the Week was Hansen Woodruff of Syracuse.
Checking Out Cincinnati: The Bearcats enter Wednesday’s match at 9-4-2 overall and 5-3-1 in BIG EAST play... their 16 points lead the Red Division... since a six-match winning streak, Cincinnati is 1-1-1 in their last three games including a 1-0 loss against Rutgers on Saturday... Omar Cummings leads the team with 19 points on five goals and nine assists while Kenny Anaba has totaled 16 points on six goals and four assists... head coach Hylton Dayes is in his sixth season with the Bearcats. The Series: Cincinnati leads the series, 12-6-3... the Bearcats claimed a 2-1 win in double overtime last season in Cincinnati.
Scouting Syracuse: The Orange stands at 6-7-1 overall and 1-7-1 in BIG EAST action... Syracuse takes on Rutgers in a BIG EAST match on Wednesday night... a 2-1 loss to USF in double overtime on Sunday snapped a two-match winning streak... Hansen Woodruff leads the team with 14 points on six goals and two assists... he is followed by Kyle Hall with five goals and three assists for 13 points... head coach Dean Foti is in his 16th season. The Series: Saturday is the second meeting between the two schools... the Blue Demons posted a 1-0 decision at Wish Field last season.
Marriott Kingsgate Honors: Patrick Hopkins and John Partyka were named to the All-Tournament team following games against Xavier and Marshall in the Marriott Kingsgate Xavier Challenge. Partyka led the DePaul defense in the shutout against Marshall and assisted Hopkins’ goal against Xavier.
Previously: St. John’s (Oct. 14) - Trailing 1-0, the Blue Demons scored twice in a span of just over three minutes for a 2-1 win over the Red Storm. Following a foul in the penalty box, John Partyka converted the penalty kick to tie the match at 78:31. In the 82nd minute, Nathan Feltz tallied the game-winner with a liner over a charging Jason Landers for the 2-1 final. After a scoreless first half, Michael Luk gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with a floater over Brian Visser at 68:44. St. John’s outshot DePaul, 7-5, while Visser finished with four saves. Western Kentucky (Oct. 10) - The Hilltoppers took a 2-0 lead with goals at 66:13 and 86:05. Peter Sterbenz scored his first collegiate goal at 88:52, but the Blue Demons couldn’t score in the final minute for the tie. Western Kentucky outshot DePaul, 14-12, while Brian Visser totaled three saves. Louisville (Oct. 7) - Jared Johnson’s first collegiate goal in the 70th minute was the difference in a 1-0 win over the Cardinals. Brian Visser totaled 11 saves while the Cardinals outshot the Blue Demons, 20-5. Villanova (Sept. 1) - The Blue Demons took a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute on Erich Reichmann’s first collegiate goal. DePaul’s lead held midway into the second half before the Wildcats tied the match at 64:56 on a goal by Farris Fakhoury. DePaul outshot Rutgers, 16-10, but couldn’t find the net in regulation. Villanova found the game-winner at 96:56 off a free kick opportunity finished by Mike Del Guercio for the 2-1 decision. USF (Sept. 27) - The Blue Demons upset No. 16/11 USF, 2-1, behind goals from Julian Chill and Alex Mangan. Nathan Feltz assisted both goals with the first occurring at 28:32 on a cross to Chill in front of the net. Mangan added the second score at 81:26 before the Bulls cut the lead with their lone goal at 89:35. Rutgers (Sept. 24) - Julian Chill scored his first career goal to tie the match midway through the first half. However, the Scarlet Knights added the go-ahead goal just before halftime followed by a second-half insurance goal for a 3-1 decision at Yurcak Field. Rutgers scored goals in the 27th, 42nd and 68th minutes while Chill’s score came at 27:02. Northwestern (Sept. 20) - A goal in the 73rd minute broke a scoreless tie and sent Northwestern to a 1-0 victory over DePaul at Wish Field. The Blue Demons outshot the Wildcats, 10-9, and Erich Reichmann’s bid for the equalizer hit the crossbar with five minute left in regulation. West Virginia (Sept. 17) - West Virginia scored goals in the fourth, 63rd and 89th minutes to take a 3-0 BIG EAST decision at Wish Field. The Mountaineers outshot the Blue Demons, 13-7, while Brian Visser finished the game with four saves. Pittsburgh (Sept. 15) - Keeyan Young scored the match’s only goal at 89:59 to give the visiting Panthers a 1-0 win. The two teams played scoreless soccer until Pittsburgh’s corner kick opportunity with nine seconds left in regulation was converted into a goal. Notre Dame (Sept. 10) - The Irish scored a goal in each half and an own goal late in the match for a 3-0 win in BIG EAST play. Notre Dame outshot the Blue Demons, 26-4, and scored goals in the second minute, 66th minute, and the own goal in the 72nd minute. Brian Visser totaled a career-high nine saves. Marquette (Sept. 8) - DePaul ended a 22-match winless streak on the road with a 2-0 win at Marquette. Freshman Alex Mangan scored two goals in a span of just over three minutes in the first half. His first score came off an assist from Erich Reichmann at 23:02 followed by a goal at 26:12 off an assist from Patrick Hopkins. Brian Visser tallied his third shutout of the season with four saves. Marshall (Sept. 3) - The Blue Demons played to their second scoreless tie in three games. The 20 shots for DePaul was a season high while Brian Visser finished with seven saves. Xavier (Sept. 1) - Freshman Patrick Hopkins tied the match in the 52nd minute with his first collegiate goal, but the host Musketeers knocked in the game-winner 10 minutes later for the 2-1 decision. DePaul attempted six shots while Xavier got off seven attempts. Illinois-Chicago (Aug. 30) - Despite being outshot, 15-0, the Blue Demon defense held UIC scoreless in a 0-0 tie at Flames Field. Brian Visser totaled three saves for the Blue Demons in the first night game in UIC soccer history. Loyola-Chicago (Aug. 27) - Freshman Alex Mangan scored two goals to erase a 1-0 deficit for a 2-1 win over the Ramblers. Following a Rambler goal in the ninth minute, Julian Chill’s serve from the right sideline found a wide-open Mangan with a header at 10:38. Midway through the second half, Mangan headed home another goal off a midfield free kick from John Partyka at 65:02. Valparaiso (Aug. 25) - DePaul opened the 2006 season with a 2-0 loss at Valparaiso. The Blue Demons outshot the Crusaders, 18-9, but couldn’t find the net as the home team scored a goal in each half.
Looking Forward: The regular season finishes with a road match at Syracuse on Oct. 21. The 2006 BIG EAST Championship begins on Oct. 24 at campus sites.
Preseason Picks: In the annual preseason BIG EAST coaches poll and all-conference teams, the Blue Demons were picked to finish eighth in the Red Division. USF edged St. John’s in the Red Division as the favorite while Connecticut narrowly topped Notre Dame as the Blue Division preseason pick.
2006 BIG EAST Championship: The semifinals and championship of the 2006 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship will take place in Piscataway, N.J. on the campus of Rutgers. The first round and quarterfinals matches will be hosted by the higher-seeded team beginning on Oct. 24. The champion receives the league’s automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship. College Sports Television (CSTV) is set to air both semifinal matches with the championship game broadcast live on select BIG EAST regional outlets.