DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Green Bay
Freshmen Stand Out in 3-1 Exhibition Victory Over Green Bay
8/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
CHICAGO - There's a youth movement afoot in Lincoln Park as DePaul's incoming men's soccer freshman class serves notice it's a new beginning for the Blue Demons.
Rookies John Freitag and Jake Scheper led the way in Saturday's 3-1 exhibition victory over Green Bay at Wish Field.
Following up last Monday's 3-2 win over Western Illinois, DePaul will head into the regular season with plenty of momentum from those back-to-back results.
The physical, relentless Freitag opened the scoring on Saturday in the seventh minute.
"My teammates have been great in setting me up to succeed," Freitag said of the pass from Simon Megally. "He anticipated my move, and I was just looking to stay calm and score. It's great to get that first goal out of the way.
"The adjustment to playing college soccer has been a little easier because my teammates have a lot of confidence in me."
Green Bay found the equalizer in the 15th minute on a goal by Emmanuel Ekunseltan from 10 yards out.
But any thought of a Phoenix comeback was neutralized in the 34th minute by a textbook combination play.
Austin Harrell initiated the scoring sequence and played the ball to Freitag. The rookie from Hersey sent a smooth pass to classmate Scheper who deposited his shot into the back of the Green Bay net.
"Harrell found me and Jake was making an awesome run," Freitag said. "My pass was a little bit off, but he had the composure to finish it."
Sophomore Hans Wustling added an insurance goal in the 67th minute on a nice feed from Erik Rodriguez.
DePaul's back line featuring sophomore Caleb Pothast, senior Jalen Harvey and freshmen Anton Sell and Michael Mojarro limited Green Bay to one shot in the first half and kept the Phoenix's dangerous chances to a minimum.
"Our freshman class came in early in mid-July, and we are all determined to help build this program and keep working harder every day," Freitag said. "This is awesome how it is going so well.
"Starting out with these two wins means a lot. The team is gradually coming together and getting closer. I'm glad to be playing with such an awesome group of guys."
Everything starts for real on Friday when the Blue Demons compete in the John Rennie Nike Invitational at Duke. The opening match is against Elon at 4 p.m. On Sunday, DePaul will tackle the host Blue Devils.
NOTES: Last year's starting goalkeeper Mack Robinson saw his first action of the preseason, playing the final 17 minutes in place of Quentin Low… DePaul outshot the visiting team 10-6 and came away with a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal… Green Bay finished with a 5-2 edge in corner kicks… Freitag had a goal and an assist… Scheper had team highs with three shots and two shots on goal… Freitag and Rodriguez each took two shots with one on frame.
