DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Faces One of the Nation's Best
10/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
Oct. 12, 2010
CHICAGO - DePaul's quest to qualify for its fifth consecutive BIG EAST Championship tournament runs into a huge road block on Wednesday.
USF goalkeeper Jeff Attinella was an NSCAA All-American last year as a junior and already has eight shutouts this season.
The 6-foot, 2-inch Attinella comes into Wish Field at Cacciatore Stadium with a string of four-straight shutouts and 400 scoreless minutes.
"They are ranked No. 22 in the country and are one of the top BIG EAST programs year-in and year-out," said DePaul coach Craig Blazer about his upcoming opponent. "USF has an outstanding goalkeeper and is loaded with a tremendous amount of athleticism and skill.
"But we've played well against them at Wish Field, and we know we can play with anybody. It's time to turn our good performances into great performances.
"Keeping the zero against Syracuse last Sunday was outstanding."
Blazer, a former standout goalie at Xavier, would enjoy a lockdown, defensive battle against the Bulls.
The Blue Demons coach made a change against Syracuse, going with John Michael Kulnig at goalie in place of Joe Ferrari. Kulnig's first start resulted in a scoreless tie in double overtime.
"Our defense starts with J-M and continues with the guys directly in front of him---Matt Leinauer, Andre Gutierrez, Austin Toth, Charlie Mancuso, Scott Freundlich and John Jandl," Blazer said. "The guys in the back line have been doing their job.
"The addition of Mancuso back there makes it a more physical defensive lineup."
DePaul (3-6-3, 0-2-1 in the BIG EAST) enters Wednesday's match in the sixth and final playoff spot of the Red Division, one point behind fifth-place Syracuse.
"Everyone on our team except the new guys has been to the BIG EAST playoffs every year," Blazer said. "The reason student-athletes come to DePaul athletically is to play in the BIG EAST, one of the premier conferences in the country.
"What you see in a playoff race is just how difficult it is. All the teams are under pressure. If we do a good enough job with our possession and defense, the other team might make mistakes."
But USF (6-2-3, 1-1-1) has the ultimate eraser in Attinella, who has given up seven goals in 11 matches and sports a 0.60 goals-against average. He ranks fourth in the nation in shutout percentage.
"The expectation level at DePaul is that we play in the BIG EAST tournament," Blazer said. "Now, we're concentrating on finding a way to do that.
"We do have it pointed in the right direction, but our guys know they are running out of time. They sense the urgency."
Some of that urgency may have manifested itself against Syracuse in picking up the Blue Demons' first BIG EAST point.
"I was talking to our guys, and they told me the way Syracuse looked at us---they didn't appear to respect us." Blazer said. "But early in the game after some good play and solid possession by us, the looks on the faces of the Syracuse players changed."
The Blue Demons are back at Wish Field for a 1 p.m. BIG EAST match on Saturday against Providence (5-4-1, 0-3-0), which is led by Matt Marcin and Wilder Arboleda with three goals each.
"We've done a good job at home (3-2-1)," Blazer said. "Hopefully that will translate into our first BIG EAST win."
