Blue Demons to Visit Xavier, Host Creighton This Week

CHICAGO - DePaul men's soccer continues their road swing against Xavier on Wednesday before returning home for Senior Day on Sunday in a 1:00 p.m. tilt against No. 19 Creighton. They are looking to secure additional BIG EAST points through these two matches.

Prior to hosting Creighton on Sunday, the program will celebrate its four seniors -- Harry Hilling, Michael Mojarro, Anton Sell and Bryan Simons. The ceremony will begin at approximately 12:45 p.m. CT.

Last Time Out

DePaul battled to a double overtime 2-2 draw with the St. John's Red Storm in New York. Following a defensively heavy first half for the Blue Demons that only saw one shot on goal, the DePaul men's soccer team ignited a spark in the second half and managed to battle back and force yet another overtime this season to earn a draw.
After finding themselves down a goal and a series of DePaul corner kicks, Matthew Brickman tapped a rebound towards Zach El-Shafei who sent a screamer from the top of the box into the upper right hand corner to tie the game at 1-1. El-Shafei notched his third goal of the season, the most he's scored in his career at DePaul. Brickman snagged his second career assist on the goal.
Exactly three minutes later, off a free kick from El-Shafei, the ball was passed around to five different players without touching the ground, before Istvan Wilhelms would get a hold of it, let it bounce once and send it right past Lenny Wilson to take a 2-1 lead. Wilhelms scored his fourth goal this season, tying last season's total, and now has eight points on the season. Brickman picked up another assist and Sasa Labovic picked up his first assist this season.
Twenty-one seconds later, St. John's took away any of DePaul's momentum by evening the game up at 2-2, forcing the game into overtime. Through both overtimes, DePaul won three corner kicks and El-Shafei had the only shot on goal for DePaul, and the clock ran down to zero for the draw.

About Those Blue Demons (4-7-3, 1-3-2 BIG EAST)
DePaul's offense is led by Wilhelms with four goals and El-Shafei with three. Senior captain Harry Hilling has tallied five assists, placing him in a four-way tie for the most in the league. Sophomore goalkeeper Drew Nuelle has 55 saves in between the posts, playing over 1,300 minutes with a 1.20 goals against average alongside a save percentage of 0.753. The Blue Demons opened the 2018 BIG EAST campaign with a statement win over Providence. They earned a draw against Seton Hall and most recently to St. John's but fell to Georgetown, Villanova and Butler.

Looking ahead towards the post-season, DePaul is currently sitting eighth in the conference standings - just two spots out of playoff contention.

Scouting the Musketeers (4-6-5, 2-3-1 BIG EAST)
Xavier is currently on a four-match losing streak after most recently dropping their contest against Marquette. Their two victories have come against Georgetown and Villanova and losses to Providence, Creighton and Marquette. The lone draw was against St. John's. The offense, averaging 1.40 goals per game, is led by Simon Hestnes who currently has seven goals, five assists and 19 points in his 2018 senior campaign. Behind him is Samson Sergi with four goals and three assists. Zachary Nelson has played the majority of games in net for the Musketeers, making 42 saves along with a goals against average of 1.28 and a save percentage of 0.764.

Series Stuff
In a series that dates back to 1982, the Blue Demons have only won a single match against Xavier in 2007. Otherwise the all-time record for DePaul against the Musketeers is 1-14-0.

2017 Matchup
The DePaul men's soccer team was edged by Xavier 2-0 in its BIG EAST battle. While the Blue Demons had nine attempts at the frame, the Musketeers stifled DePaul's scoring chances to secure a shutout. DePaul had three first-half opportunities to take a lead but each attempt was negated. Xavier took a 1-0 lead just before the half as a left-footed blast by Jacob Goodall ricocheted off a DePaul defender and bounced over goalkeeper Quentin Low for the go-ahead score In the 78th minute, the Musketeers added an insurance goal when Cameron Taylor's header off a free kick by Goodall landed into the net for the 2-0 lead and eventual winning result. The Blue Demons return to action on Saturday, Oct. 28 when DePaul travels to Nebraska to face Creighton at 7 p.m. The Bluejays are 7-0 all-time against DePaul, winning the 2016 meeting with the Blue Demons 4-1 at Wish Field.

Scouting Creighton (9-3-2, 5-0-1 BIG EAST)
Creighton is now ranked No. 19 in this weeks United Soccer Coaches Poll after dropping 11 spots after their 0-1-1 week. Their offense is averaging 1.30 goals per game, led by Sven Koenig with seven goals; he also leads the BIG EAST. Akeem Ward takes the reigns in assists with four total to lead his squad. In goal, Paul Kruse posts a goals against average at 0.479 to go along with a save percentage of 0.829. He also has seven shutouts under his belt. The Bluejays' lone draw came against Providence.

Series Stuff
Creighton owns this all-time series 8-0-0.

2017 Matchup
The DePaul men's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to its BIG EAST rival Creighton to wrap up its final road match of the 2017 season. DePaul had 11 chances at the frame on Saturday, but the seven shots on goal were stifled by the Bluejays' goalkeeper and backline. Creighton netted the game-winner in the 74th minute and DePaul sophomore Zach El-Shafei narrowly missed the equalizer in the 79th minute as one of his two shots on the evening went just left of the near side post. The Bluejays added an insurance goal in the final 90 seconds of the contest as Sven Koenig sent a right-footed boot to the lower left-hand corner of the net. Saturday's loss eliminates DePaul's opportunity of participating in post-season play.

Notes
...Zach El-Shafei leads the team in points with 33.
...Harry Hilling's five assists are tied for the league lead.
...To date, Drew Nuelle has played all 14 matches, over 1349 minutes and 55 saves.
...DePaul has played seven overtime matches, including four double overtime matches.

Live Coverage
Fans can visit the DePaul men's soccer schedule page for all live coverage, links and more. Wednesday's road match against Xavier can be found on the Big East Digital Network, here. Click this link to follow along with live stats. Saturday's match against Creighton will be broadcast on the BEDN, here. To follow along through live stats, click this link.

Full recaps and statistics after each match this weekend will be posted to the Men's Soccer page.

Social Media
For everything DePaul Men's Soccer, follow the Blue Demons across multiple social media platforms: Twitter or Instagram. Join in the conversation using #PlayingPossesed and #DPUmsoc.
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Blue Demons to Visit Xavier, Host Creighton This Week

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Matthew Brickman

Zach El-Shafei

Zach El-Shafei

Harry Hilling

Sasa Labovic

Quentin Low

Michael Mojarro

Drew Nuelle

Anton Sell

Bryan Simons

Istvan Wilhelms

DePaul University Athletics

Blue Demons to Visit Xavier, Host Creighton This Week

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Matthew Brickman

Zach El-Shafei

Zach El-Shafei

Harry Hilling

Sasa Labovic

Quentin Low

Michael Mojarro

Drew Nuelle

Anton Sell

Bryan Simons

Istvan Wilhelms

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