DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
West Virginia
Nightmarish Loss for DePaul at West Virginia
9/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
Sept. 24, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Craig Blazer had no idea he was walking into a coach's nightmare.
Just about everything went wrong for DePaul Friday night in a 5-0 loss to West Virginia in the Blue Demons' BIG EAST Conference opener at Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The Mountaineers scored three times in the first half, beginning with Franck Tayou's third goal of the season in the 18th minute. Less than five minutes later, Moeryhan Doue fired in his fifth goal of 2010.
DePaul (3-4-1, 0-1-0 in the BIG EAST) responded with an apparent Alex Mangan goal off a pass from Ray De Leon. But an offside's call nullified the play.
"It was a bad night for us all the way around," Blazer said. "After that call, we're still down two goals and they put us under a tremendous amount of pressure.
"It was a bad night for us with so many players not playing well."
Matt Drake's goal in the 41st minute gave West Virginia (5-2-0, 1-0-0) a 3-0 halftime lead. The Mountaineers scored early and late in the second half.
This was the worst loss for DePaul since Oct. 3, 2009 when the Blue Demons fell to No. 17 Louisville 6-0 at Wish Field.
"We did not respond well to West Virginia's athleticism, and it showed," Blazer said. "They exposed us.
"It was similar to the Creighton game (2-0 road loss) when we gave up early goals because of the atmosphere. Then, we continued to make mistakes and they continued to score."
After the embarrassing defeat to Louisville last year, the Blue Demons responded with an inspiring 2-1 comeback win at Cincinnati.
But that was a senior-laden ballclub. There are 16 freshmen on this year's team.
"It will be interesting to see how the players respond," Blazer said. "Where do we go from here? It's good that we have our next two games at home.
"I believe this team can respond."
The first chance to respond comes Wednesday when DePaul takes on Northern Illinois in a 4 p.m. match at Wish Field at Cacciatore Stadium.
The Blue Demons will be hoping for a large turnout of partisan fans as the DePaul Faculty & Staff Councils put on a festive Tailgate Party beginning at 3 p.m. under the Tailgate Tent at Belden Avenue and Bissell Street.
Admission to the Tailgate Party and soccer game is free for all DePaul faculty and staff members, and each may bring along a guest.
NOTES: DePaul was outshot 19-6 and had two shots on goal compared to seven for the Mountaineers... the Blue Demons were outshot 8-2 in the first half and 11-4 in the second half... Andre Gutierrez led DePaul with three shots and one shot on goal... David Leverentz's only shot was on goal... Mangan and Stephen Korosis had the other shots for DePaul... Mangan leads DePaul with four goals and one assist for nine points... Antonio Aguilar has two goals and one assist for five points... Mangan has taken 24 shots and Aguilar has 10 shots... Mangan has 12 shots on goal and Aguilar six... DePaul's next two games (Northern Illinois on Wednesday and Villanova on Oct. 2) are at Wish Field, where the Blue Demons are 22-7-2 since 2007.
