Blue Demons Secure Victory in BIG EAST Conference Opener

Friday, September 14

Wish Field

2:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

4-3-0

Providence

3-3-1

OT 1

OT 2

Providence

DePaul

Blue Demons Secure Victory in BIG EAST Conference Opener

9/14/2018 6:21:00 PM | MEN'S SOCCER

Box Score

DePaul defeated Providence, 2-1, in double overtime

CHICAGO - The Blue Demons claimed their first ever victory over Providence, 2-1, in a double overtime match that marked the beginning of the BIG EAST's 35^th season of men's soccer.

Sophomore midfielder Istvan Wilhelms gave his squad the go-ahead goal early in just the fourth minute of the match with an assist from senior captain Harry Hilling. The Providence goalkeeper, Colin Miller, came out just too far of the box which allowed Wilhelms to run right past him to slip the ball into the back left corner of the net.

The team held their 1-0 lead at halftime but would give up the equalizer to Providence in the 51^st minute and fight for the game until the start of overtime. Wilhelms acknowledged his team's mentality, and his own, going into overtime.

"The whole entire overtime, I was (thinking) 'One chance that's all I need'; and that came, I rushed toward it and tapped it – sometimes that's all you need – and we're so happy," Wilhelms said."It definitely shows our composure and how we react. We're definitely a strong team together as one."

The second goal and game-winner wouldn't come until the 107^th minute of the second OT. Freshman midfielder/forward Jake Fuderer passed the ball across to the left side of the field to freshman forward Jack Richards who headed it towards the net. The ball was then tipped by Wilhelms and bounced perfectly to escape the goalkeeper's hands for the game-winner.

Head coach Mark Plotkin saw it all play out on the bench and is proud of how his team responds to the pressure of BIG EAST play, as well as responding to being picked to finish last in the preseason poll.

"I saw it all playing out," Plotkin said. "Jake (Fuderer's) ball over to Jack (Richards) was perfect and you saw Jack setting up for the header, and when you see that happening you just hope that somebody's making that near post run.

"We talked in between the overtimes about just making one play, just making one last extra effort to get inside the box and make a special play. Ishy made two today and I couldn't be prouder of him. It was an awesome performance by the guys. I thought we had a great first half – scoring early felt great; it just set the tone for the rest of the game. Providence is an awesome team, so for our guys to come back and put one away in OT, I couldn't be more excited for them."

This statement win saw Wilhelms set a new career high for himself with two goals, Fuderer and Richards both notched their first assists while Hilling added his fourth assist of the season.

"We had something to say today and getting the result, here, at home was big time, especially against a really good Providence team," Hilling said. "Everyone's really excited and we're looking forward to the next BIG EAST game."

This match sets the tone for the rest of the season Plotkin says, but it also has a lot to do with the men on the field.

"It's the culture of these guys, they just wont quit," Plotkin said. "They just keep going and going no matter what. I couldn't be prouder that that's the culture, enthusiasm and energy of this team. When you have that going for you you can win a lot of soccer games."

Up Next
The Blue Demons have two non-conference games remaining in their schedule, the first coming on Tuesday against Red-Line Rival Loyola-Chicago. The game will be broadcast on Blue Demon All-Access and live stats can be found through the links on our website. First touch is set for 3:00 p.m. at Wish Field.

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