DePaul University
Green Bay
DePaul Gets Shot Down in Soccer Opener
9/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
Sept. 1, 2010
GREEN BAY, Wis. - DePaul never wavered Wednesday night in the face of an adversary whose athleticism translated into a bombardment of shots at the visitor's net.
The Blue Demons even scored first in their season-opener, but eventually relented under tremendous pressure in a 2-1 loss to Green Bay.
An NCAA Championship tournament qualifier last year, Green Bay launched 23 shots with nine headed straight toward DePaul goalkeeper Joe Ferrari.
To his credit, Ferrari made six saves and watched his team make a seventh.
If only he had not collided with defender John Jandl in the 15th minute, allowing Green Bay's AJ Konchar to score on a rebound from 11 yards out.
Until then, the Blue Demons had a 1-0 lead courtesy of Matt Leinauer's free kick from 22 yards away.
"That ball was well-struck early in the game," said DePaul coach Craig Blazer about the season's first goal at the 8-minute, 36-second mark. "We had been working on offensive re-starts.
"On that first Green Bay goal, Ferrari came out to get the ball, ran into Jandl, the ball popped free and they tucked it away. It was unfortunate."
After getting outshot 10-1 with Green Bay firing six shots on goal, the Blue Demons would've gladly settled for a 1-1 deadlock at halftime.
But with 3:05 left in the first half, Mackenzie Lund headed in a classic cross from Scott Raymonds for the eventual winning goal.
"We'll find a way to utilize better game management in the close of a first half," Blazer said. "They did well to counter, and it was a well-executed cross and header."
Green Bay continued the barrage in the second half with 13 shots, but there were only three on goal. DePaul countered with five shots, all headed right towards the Phoenix net.
"We played better in the second half and did a better job of attacking," Blazer said. "That's the attitude we need to have from the start."
The Blue Demons battled into the waning moments as freshman Art Garza got off shots in the 75th minute and the 78th minute, forcing goalkeeper Ryan Wehking to make a pair of saves.
With just 17 seconds to go, freshman Austin Toth forced Wehking to make one final save.
"Green Bay put us under a tremendous amount of pressure all over the field," Blazer said. "We were defending a lot in the first half.
"They put pressure on our backs, and they had difficulty serving. They put pressure on our midfielders, and they had difficulty turning.
"We're disappointed in the result, but we'll make corrections and get ready for a tough opponent in Western Illinois on Friday night."
That match is set for 6:30 p.m. at Illinois-Chicago.
NOTES: Leinauer led DePaul with three shots while Garza had two and Toth one... it was a physical match as 39 fouls were called on both teams---23 for Green Bay and 16 for DePaul... five yellow cards were issued, three to the Phoenix and one each to Alex Mangan and Jandl... Mangan, Jandl, Andre Gutierrez, Leinauer, Willy Lara, Toth and Ray De Leon all played the entire 90 minutes... Antonio Aguilar played 83 minutes while David Leverentz and Mauricio Velasco also started... Blazer started four freshmen while first-year players Garza and Stephen Korosis came off the bench.
