DePaul University Athletics
Saturday, August 18
Macomb, Ill.
5:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
1
at
2
Western Illinois
DePaul falls to Western Illinois in exhibition match
8/18/2018 7:49:00 PM | MEN'S SOCCER
Zach El-Shafei and team fall just short of win in preseason opener
DePaul vs. Western Illinois | Saturday, Aug. 18 | 5:00 p.m. | John MacKenzie Alumni Field
MACOMB, Ill. – In their first exhibition game of the season, DePaul men's soccer fell to the Leathernecks of Western Illinois, 2-1, at John MacKenzie Alumni Field on Saturday evening.
The Blue Demons found themselves ahead 1-0 just three minutes into the game after a successful penalty kick by Zach El-Shafei that sailed into the left corner of the net, just past the goalkeeper. The junior midfielder would tally five shots — three of those on goal in his 66 minutes of play.
Western Illinois would get even in the 29th minute with a goal from senior defender Jamison Kozar. From then on, the back and forth match would stay tied until just after the start of the second period. Sophomore midfielder Paul Kirdorf scored for the Leathernecks in the 47th minute to push their lead to 2-1.
Following that goal, the Blue Demons would battle to put up nine shots — as opposed the Leathernecks' six — in an effort to tie the game to no avail. Goalkeeper for WIU Tim Hansen blanked DePaul in the second half making three crucial saves.
With six players injured, 20 of their remaining players took the pitch Saturday night. DePaul outshot Western Illinois 12-11 and throughout the game, DPU would win eight corner kicks, compared to WIU's one.
Head coach Mark Plotkin said that Saturday's game was a perfect example of the team looking for ways to grow and improve.
Up Next
The Blue Demons will welcome Eastern Illinois to Wish Field on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Kickoff against the Panthers is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Scouting the Panthers
Eastern Illinois opened up their season with a 2-0 loss to Wisconsin in an exhibition match on Tuesday, Aug. 14. They finished the 2017 season 4-9-6 overall and 2-2-1 in conference play. The lead in the all-time series between Eastern and DePaul is at stake on Tuesday. This will be the fifth matchup between the two teams, with the series record set at 3-1.
Live Coverage
For Tuesday's match, fans can visit the DePaul men's soccer schedule page for all live coverage, links and more. Live stats can be found here. Full recaps and statistics after each match this weekend will be posted to the Men's Soccer page on DePaulBlueDemons.com.
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.
Be sure to like DePaul on Facebook and check out some of the sights and sounds around DePaul on Twitter or on Instagram.
Miss any of the action? Subscribe to the Blue Demons on YouTube.
MACOMB, Ill. – In their first exhibition game of the season, DePaul men's soccer fell to the Leathernecks of Western Illinois, 2-1, at John MacKenzie Alumni Field on Saturday evening.
The Blue Demons found themselves ahead 1-0 just three minutes into the game after a successful penalty kick by Zach El-Shafei that sailed into the left corner of the net, just past the goalkeeper. The junior midfielder would tally five shots — three of those on goal in his 66 minutes of play.
Western Illinois would get even in the 29th minute with a goal from senior defender Jamison Kozar. From then on, the back and forth match would stay tied until just after the start of the second period. Sophomore midfielder Paul Kirdorf scored for the Leathernecks in the 47th minute to push their lead to 2-1.
Following that goal, the Blue Demons would battle to put up nine shots — as opposed the Leathernecks' six — in an effort to tie the game to no avail. Goalkeeper for WIU Tim Hansen blanked DePaul in the second half making three crucial saves.
With six players injured, 20 of their remaining players took the pitch Saturday night. DePaul outshot Western Illinois 12-11 and throughout the game, DPU would win eight corner kicks, compared to WIU's one.
Head coach Mark Plotkin said that Saturday's game was a perfect example of the team looking for ways to grow and improve.
"Western Illinois is a tough opponent and really challenged our team in a variety of ways," Plotkin said. "It gave us a great opportunity to see all of our players in a game situation and how they would respond to adversity.
"I'm thrilled with a lot of the individual performances and feel we made a big step forward in our development. Our staff challenges this team to improve each day we are out on the field and I feel we definitely accomplished that today.
"I'm excited for Tuesday to see how our team can grow and respond against Eastern Illinois."
Up Next
The Blue Demons will welcome Eastern Illinois to Wish Field on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Kickoff against the Panthers is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Scouting the Panthers
Eastern Illinois opened up their season with a 2-0 loss to Wisconsin in an exhibition match on Tuesday, Aug. 14. They finished the 2017 season 4-9-6 overall and 2-2-1 in conference play. The lead in the all-time series between Eastern and DePaul is at stake on Tuesday. This will be the fifth matchup between the two teams, with the series record set at 3-1.
Live Coverage
For Tuesday's match, fans can visit the DePaul men's soccer schedule page for all live coverage, links and more. Live stats can be found here. Full recaps and statistics after each match this weekend will be posted to the Men's Soccer page on DePaulBlueDemons.com.
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.
Be sure to like DePaul on Facebook and check out some of the sights and sounds around DePaul on Twitter or on Instagram.
Miss any of the action? Subscribe to the Blue Demons on YouTube.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
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