DePaul University
Drake University
Late Goal Results in Tough Loss at Drake
9/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
DES MOINES, Iowa - It is of little consolation to have outplayed your opponent on a night like this, and emerging on top in the final statistics seems of little consequence.
It ultimately came down to the final four minutes Saturday night when Drake scored the winning goal in the 86th minute in DePaul's 3-2 loss at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
Just when it seemed like the Blue Demons were going to rally from allowing the game's first goal, the home team came up with the final two scores of the night.
This all began unfolding in the 14th minute when the Bulldogs' Nic Jaimes chipped in a shot over DePaul goalkeeper Mack Robinson's head for a 1-0 lead.
The Blue Demons found the equalizer in the 34th minute when Erik Rodriguez scored his third goal of the season from the top of the box on a ball sent through the Drake defense by Hans Wustling.
"Erik scored a fantastic goal," said DePaul coach Craig Blazer. "It was a counter, and in the transition, Hans was able to thread the ball through their center backs and Erik took one touch and scored."
DePaul (1-6-0) came out strong at the outset of the second half. Wustling was again an impact player, lofting a cross into the goal mouth in the 55th minute where freshman John Freitag headed it into the Bulldog net for his second goal of the season.
"The guys did well executing the game plan and generated a tremendous amount of scoring opportunities," said Blazer as the Blue Demons outshot Drake 17-15 and finished with a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. "We did well to score two goals and the effort was outstanding.
"It was a very good collective team effort, and within that, some individuals had one of their best performances. Hans had two assists and all of our freshmen (Freitag, Jake Scheper, Anton Sell) did very well."
In addition, Simon Megally, Philipp Koenigstein and Kevin Beyer stood out.
It didn't take Drake (5-2-0) long to retaliate. In the 60th minute, Ben LeMay scored on a header to even the match at 2-2.
In the 86th minute, Gabe Edel flicked the game-winner past Robinson on a pass from the left side of the box.
"The team is developing with every game," Blazer said. "Our younger guys are gaining an understanding of what it takes to play at this level."
The Blue Demons return to the pitch next Saturday, hosting Xavier in their BIG EAST Conference opener.
NOTES: Key defender Caleb Pothast missed Saturday night's game with an injury he sustained late in last Thursday's 1-0 loss to Illinois-Chicago... this was DePaul's third loss in a row... of the team's six losses, five have been by a single goal... the Blue Demons outshot Drake 17-15 and had a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal... DePaul finished with an 8-6 edge in corner kicks... Wustling had a game-high two assists... Scheper and Rodriguez each took a team-high four shots... Scheper had a game-high two shots on goal and Rodriguez had one... Koenigstein and Megally each had three shots with one on frame... Freitag and Michael Mojarro each had a shot on goal.
