DePaul University
0-0-1, 0-0-0
Purdue Fort Wayne
0-0-1, 0-0-0
Blue Demons Settle for Draw with Purdue Fort Wayne in Opener
8/21/2025 7:15:00 PM | MEN'S SOCCER
CHICAGO – DePaul men's soccer opened the 2025 season on Thursday with a 3-3 draw against Purdue Fort Wayne. The Blue Demons trailed early and later took a two-goal lead in the second stanza that eventually slipped away.
Purdue Fort Wayne (0-0-1) struck twice in the final 25 minutes of the match to salvage the pointDePaul (0-0-1) had three different goal scorers find the back of the net in the opener. Redshirt-junior Christian Baumgartner opened the scoring in the first half before Luca Iaccino and Noeh Hernandez converted from the penalty spot in the second half.
Both sides fired seven shots on frame while the Blue Demons held a 7-6 edge in corner kick opportunities.
Graduate goalkeeper Santiago Davila made four saves in net.
How it Happened
Purdue Fort Wayne capitalized on the first quality chance of the match as Karsten Ternes found the back of the net in the 12th minute on a corner kick opportunity.
Putting together the counter, DePaul earned consecutive corners in quick succession to put the Mastodons back on their heels. A minute after subbing onto the pitch, Baumgartner was in the right place at the right time, hitting home a one-timer in the 23rd minute off the head of Gordon who bettered service from Nolan McGuire's throw in.
The two sides combined for six additional shots in the latter stages of the first half but neither club bent as the score stood at 1-1 after 45 minutes of action.Â
The Blue Demons were the apparent aggressors in the beginning of the second half as sophomore Jayden Waski earned the first of two penalty opportunities for the side after being brought down on the right side of the box. Iaccino stepped up and hammered home a shot in the bottom left corner of the cage to give DePaul its first lead of the game in the 48th minute.
Nearly 11 minutes later, Waski found himself in a similar position, being drawn down by the Mastodons keeper in the box. After VAR Review, the Blue Demons were awarded another penalty for Hernandez to file it away and extend the advantage to 3-1 after 58 minutes of play.
Purdue Fort Wayne's Iann Topete earned a second-half brace in a 12-minute span to draw his side level in the 77th minute.
The Mastodons threatened in the waning seconds of the match, but DePaul's back line stood tall to earn a point.
Match Notes
- Christian Baumgartner scored for the fifth time in his career on Thursday.
- Luca Iaccino netted his second career goal in just his ninth appearance for the Blue Demons.
- Noeh Hernandez tallied the 14th goal of his collegiate career and moved up to 17th all-time in DePaul's career points list with 39.
- Hernandez is now 4-for-4 on penalty kick opportunities in his career.
- A couple familiar faces returned to the pitch for DePaul after missing largely the entire 2024 season as Ethan Gordon saw game action for the first time since August 25, 2024 and Callum Watts suited up for the first time since Sept. 2, 2024.
- Gordon notched the fourth assist of his career on Baumgartner's goal in the 23rd minute.
- Joon Han made his DePaul debut on Thursday, logging 53 minutes, after transferring from Salt Lake Community College in the offseason.
- A trio of Blue Demons made their collegiate debuts including transfers Tyler Flowers and Sam Tinoco in addition to true freshman Nathan Laird.
- DePaul moved to 14-23-6 all-time in season openers including a 7-5-3 mark in openers played at Wish Field.
- Purdue Fort Wayne leads the series with the Blue Demons 2-1-1.
Up Next
DePaul will continue its six-match homestand to open the season on Sunday, Aug. 24 when Oakland travels to Lincoln Park. First touch is set for 12:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Karsten Ternes (1)
Assisted By: Shane Anderson
GOAL by PFW Ternes, Karsten Assist by Anderson, Shane.
11:17
Christian Baumgartner (1)
Assisted By: Ethan Gordon
GOAL by DePaul Baumgartner, Christian Assist by Gordon, Ethan.
22:25
Luca Iaccino
DePaul Luca Iaccino PENALTY KICK GOAL.
47:22
Noeh Hernandez
DePaul Noeh Hernandez PENALTY KICK GOAL.
58:58
Iann Topete (2)
Assisted By: Shane Anderson
GOAL by PFW Topete, Iann Assist by Anderson, Shane.
64:51
Iann Topete (2)
Assisted By: Ameer Shetiah
GOAL by PFW Topete, Iann Assist by Shetiah, Ameer.
76:15
