DePaul University Athletics
Hopkins Drives Men's Soccer Past No. 21 Louisville
10/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
CHICAGO A pair of headers from Patrick Hopkins gave the DePaul men’s soccer team a 2-1 BIG EAST Conference victory over No. 21 Louisville on Wednesday at Wish Field. Julian Chill and John Kornfeld assisted Hopkins’ scores as the Blue Demons improve to 9-5-0 overall and 5-4-0 in BIG EAST play.
DePaul jumped to an early lead in the second minute of regulation as Chill served a corner kick into the box and Hopkins connected to put the ball past Cardinal goalkeeper David Simolike at 1:54. The score marked Hopkins second goal of the season, while Chill posted his fourth assist of the year.
Louisville came close to leveling the score several times in the first half. Kenney Walker ripped a hard shot towards the DePaul goal at 20:46 and Joey Watson sent the ball in the direction of the Blue Demon net at 38:52. DePaul goalkeeper Brian Visser foiled both attempts and protected the Blue Demon lead going into halftime.
Less than 10 minutes into the first half, Louisville scored the equalizer as Gerardo Chavez crossed the ball from the right flank. Frank Jonke one-timed Chavez’s serve into the DePaul net at 53:57. Following their score, the Cardinals took four more shots in a 20 minute span, but the ball was off target on every attempt.
In the 84th minute, Kornfeld set up the game-winning goal as he served the ball towards Hopkins from the top of the box. Hopkins connected with his head and drove the ball into the Cardinal goal at 83:02 for his third score of the season.
Over the course of the match, Louisville (9-5-1, 5-3-1 BIG EAST) took nine shots compared to six for DePaul. Visser finished the match with two saves and allowed one goal, while Simolike recorded three saves and surrendered two scores.
The win marks DePaul’s second victory over a ranked BIG EAST opponent this season. The Blue Demons topped No. 2 Connecticut on September 23 by a score of 1-0.
DePaul travels to Queens, New York this weekend for a BIG EAST road match at St. John’s. The Blue Demons challenge the Red Storm on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Belson Stadium.
Match Notes: Chill’s 15th career assist moves him into the program’s all-time top five in helpers... the Blue Demons improve to 7-1-0 at Wish Field this season... the win marks DePaul’s third consecutive victory when facing ranked opponents at Wish Field... the Blue Demons defeated No. 16/11 USF last season by a score of 2-1 and knocked off No. 2/2 Connecticut, 1-0, this season on September 23... DePaul is now 26-17-5 in the last five-plus seasons at Wish Field... Louisville leads the all-time series with DePaul, 9-7-1, but the Blue Demons have taken four victories in the last five meetings.
