DePaul University Athletics
Men's Soccer Begins BIG EAST Play at Wish Field
9/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
DePaul vs. Providence
Friday, Sept. 21 | 4 p.m.
Wish Field | Chicago, Ill.
DePaul vs. #2/2 Connecticut
Sunday, Sept. 23 | 1 p.m.
Wish Field | Chicago, Ill.
Live Audio: WHUS (Connecticut)
Weekly Notes
CHICAGO - The DePaul men’s soccer team, ranked No. 9 in the Great Lakes Region, host the Providence Friars and Connecticut Huskies this weekend to start BIG EAST play. DePaul is 4-0-0 for the best start in program history and stands as the only NCAA Division I team to not allow a goal this season. This weekend’s action concludes a season-opening six-match homestand. Providence starts league play at 3-2-0 while Connecticut stands at 6-0-0. The Huskies are ranked second in both the NSCAA and Soccer America top 25’s.
DePaul Stands Alone: Through the early portion of the 2007 schedule, the DePaul men’s soccer team stands as the only program in the nation that hasn’t allowed a goal this season. The Blue Demons have posted four straight shutouts to start the season over Jacksonville, UW-Green Bay, Xavier and Valparaiso.
Individually, goalkeeper Brian Visser is the only keeper in NCAA Division I with a 0.00 goals against average. He also leads the country in save percentage while the team is one of 12 programs without a defeat this season. The BIG EAST Conference features three undefeated teams with Connecticut, DePaul and USF without a loss in 2007.
Alex Mangan is ranked 29th with 0.75 goals per game and 32nd with 1.75 points per match. Steffen Vroom is 11th with 0.75 assists per game and the team is 45th with 1.75 goals per match.
Noting the Blue Demons: The Blue Demons open the season at 4-0-0 for the first time in program history... DePaul returns 21 players from last season’s team that qualified for the 2006 BIG EAST Championship... the 2006 tournament appearance was the first for DePaul since the 1998 Conference USA Tournament... DePaul looks to continue the program’s improvement in BIG EAST play as the 2005 squad totaled seven points on a 2-8-1 record before last season’s team finished sixth in the Red Division with 12 points on a 4-7-0 record... after playing in 18 of 19 games last season with nine of the 11 starters as freshmen and sophomores, the Blue Demons return 10 starters this year... Alex Mangan has scored eight goals in 19 career matches... Brian Visser tallied his 11th career shutout against Valparaiso on Sept. 14 to set a new career mark... he broke the previous record of 10 held by Terry Paulus (1983-84)... in 39 career matches, he has played in 3,637 of a possible 3,767 minutes in the net... his totals account for just under 97 percent of the minutes played in goal in the last two-plus seasons... Visser’s four straight shutouts to start the 2007 season is also a new single-season record for consecutive shutouts... Julian Chill? needs three assists to move into the program’s all-time top five in career helpers... DePaul is now 23-16-5 in the last five-plus seasons at Wish Field.
Deuces Wild: DePaul opened the season by posting three consecutive wins by a score of 2-0. The Blue Demons blanked Jacksonville, UW-Green Bay and Xavier while scoring twice in each match. Additionally, DePaul also won a pair of exhibition matches over Northern Illinois and Western Michigan by the score of 2-0 in each match.
Vroom, Hopkins and Visser Named to BIG EAST Honor Roll: In the first three weeks of the season, a DePaul player has been named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll. Steffen Vroom was named list following the win over Jacksonville while Patrick Hopkins was selected after wins over UW-Green Bay and Xavier. Brian Visser was named to the honor roll after leading the Blue Demons to a shutout of Valparaiso.
Wish Field Openers a Rarity: DePaul’s season-opening match at home against Jacksonville was just the second time the Blue Demons have started the season on Wish Field since the 2004 campaign. Since 2000, the match was just the second home game to begin a season. The Blue Demons started the 2004 season with a 2-0 win over Loyola-Chicago at Wish Field. A year ago, DePaul opened the season with a 2-1 defeat at Valparaiso.
Blazer Begins Seventh Season: Head coach Craig Blazer is in his seventh season with DePaul. In the last five-plus years under Blazer, the Blue Demons have posted a 23-16-5 record at Wish Field. Last season the Blue Demons went 3-6-0 at Wish Field with wins over No. 11 USF and St. John’s.
Providence Preview: The Friars are 3-2-0 entering this weekend’s action... Providence knocked off Holy Cross on Sept. 15 after a 2-1 defeat to No. 13 Harvard on Sept. 9... Jonathan Medcalf leads the team with seven points on three goals and assist... the Friars were picked to finish fourth in the Blue Division in the BIG EAST preseason poll... head coach Chaka Daley is in eighth season at Providence. The Series: First is the first meeting between the two programs.
Checking on Connecticut: Connecticut is a perfect 6-0-0 this season... they opened BIG EAST play last weekend with a 1-0 overtime victory against Georgetown... Connecticut has blanked each of the last five opponents since a 3-2 victory over Canisius to start the season... O’Brian White leads the team and BIG EAST with 14 points on six goals and two assists... head coach Ray Reid is in his 11th season with Connecticut. The Series: Sunday is the first meeting between the two programs.
Preseason Picks: The Blue Demons were picked to finish eighth in the Red Division by the league’s 16 coaches. DePaul was picked to finish eighth in 2006 before placing sixth and advancing to the BIG EAST Championship. Connecticut was selected to win the Blue Division while St. John’s was picked as the Red Division preseason favorite.
2007 BIG EAST Championship: The semifinals and championship of the 2007 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship will take place in Storrs, Conn., on the campus of the University of Connecticut. The first round and quarterfinal matches will be hosted by the higher-seeded team on Nov. 7 and Nov. 10. The champion receives the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship.