DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Northwestern
Blue Demons Score Four on Field Trip Day
9/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
Sept. 28, 2011
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CHICAGO - The way the Blue Demons played on Wednesday, maybe every home game should be Field Trip Day.
Much to the delight of the nearly 500 school children raising the decibel level of Cacciatore Stadium, DePaul blasted Northwestern 4-0 in a nonconference match.
"Scoring four goals is amazing," said Thiago Ganancio, who notched the Blue Demons' third goal in the 60th minute. "It allows you to relax a little at the end and just play your game.
"On my goal, we had good pressure on the left side and Matt Leinauer intercepted the ball. He gave me a poke and I put it away.
"I was happy because I had a chance to redeem myself. In our game against Seton Hall on Saturday, I had a chance with just me and the goalkeeper and I didn't put it away."
Antonio Aguilar opened the scoring in the 19th minute with his fourth goal of the season off a nice cross from Leinauer.
"Leinauer got through the right side and I made a run across the box," Aguilar said. "Matt hit a perfect ball, and luckily I was able to hit it with my right foot.
"Coach (Craig) Blazer, (assistant coach) Hobie Hare and a lot of the guys get on me at practice because it's very rare for me to use my right foot. This is the second time in my career I've scored with my right foot."
Continuing his hot streak, David Selvaggi scored for the third game in a row to provide a DePaul with a 2-0 lead. He beat Northwestern goalkeeper Tyler Miller in the 42nd minute with a shot to the middle of the net after a pass from Ganancio.
This was Selvaggi's team-leading fifth goal of the season and his fourth goal in the last three games.
"David always comes in and scores for us," Aguilar said. "Once we got a couple on the board, it was like, just keep them coming."
David Leverentz came off the bench and closed out the fireworks show with hit shot into the lower left of the net in the 87th minute after making a steal.
"Those goals were created with good defending and good pressure," Blazer said. "We kept the ball in the final third and got our chances.
"Scoring goals is contagious, and in the last two games, we've been finding a way to finish."
Blazer was equally proud about the season's first shutout.
"Good defense comes from doing the little things right," Blazer said. "You mark in the box, execute correct heading and apply pressure. Doing those things gave us confidence.
"Not letting them score the first goal was huge. After that, we didn't allow them to get into the game."
The Blue Demons will take their two-game winning streak into Washington, D.C. when they tangle with No. 17 Georgetown Saturday in a BIG EAST Conference showdown.
"This win gives us a lot of motivation going into the game with No. 17 Georgetown," Aguilar said.
NOTES: This was Sorby`s first shutout of his collegiate career and the first clean sheet for the Blue Demons this season... Sorby made six saves and upped his goalkeeper record to 3-0-0... Leinauer had a pair of assists and Ganancio had one assist... Leinauer's performance was the first time a Blue Demon has recorded two assists in a game this season... Northwestern took 22 shots with seven on goal while the Blue Demons had 10 shots with seven on goal... NU had 12 corner kicks and the Blue Demons had none... Zach Forbes had three shots while Ganancio and Selvaggi each had two shots... Ganancio and Selvaggi each had two shots on goal while Aguilar, Forbes, and Leverentz each had one... DePaul wore red socks for the second game in a row, following up last Saturday's victory over Seton Hall... Selvaggi leads DePaul with five goals and Aguilar is second with four... Aguilar, Ganancio, Leinauer and Anthony Hunter each have two assists... Aguilar is tops with 14 shots on goal and Selvaggi is next with 13... the DePaul women's soccer team sat in the student section cheering on the men's team.
