Men's Soccer Visits DePaul For 2007 Season Finale
11/2/2007 10:07:06 AM | Men's Soccer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Orange (6-7-4, 3-7-0) will play its final match of the 2007 campaign on Saturday, Nov. 3 against DePaul at Wish Field beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST. A victory for the Orange would produce a .500 record for the team in a season in which it went undefeated against non-conference foes for the second straight year and knocked off a top 25 opponent (USF). It would also be the 400th all-time victory for the program.
Saturday’s match is the last game in the careers of senior defenders
Aaron Bonser (Fairport, N.Y.), Brad Peetoom (Abbotsford, British Columbia) and James Goodwin (Merrimack, N.H.). The trio made their last home appearances on Wednesday against St. John’s.CAVICCHIA LIKELY TO START 50TH MATCH
Saturday will likely be the 50th start in goal for Orange junior keeper Robert Cavicchia (North York, Ontario).
BIG DRAW
Syracuse’s match against St. John’s on Halloween resulted in its largest home attendance figure of the season. A crowd of 1,049 turned out for the match, which aired live on ESPNU and also featured a costume contest to celebrate the holiday. It was the fourth-largest crowd in the history of the SU Soccer Stadium. The gathering was also the Orange’s second crowd of 1,000-plus spectators this year. For the West Virginia game on Sept. 23, there was 1,010 fans who showed up to take in the game between the nationally-ranked Mountaineers and the Orange.
HALL FINDS MARK VERSUS ST. JOHN’S
Junior forward Kyle Hall (Toronto, Ontario)
ABOUT THE BLUE DEMONS
DePaul enters Saturday’s match ranked third in the conference’s Red Division. The Blue Demons are one point behind Louisville for second place. The top two in the division receive a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Craig Blazer’s club had its three-game winning streak stopped on Oct. 31 with a 3-0 loss against non-league foe Loyola-Chicago.
DePaul is one of the top defensive teams in league. It is allowing 0.73 goals per game and has given up just 12 goals all year. It has shut out nine opponents, including four in a row to start the season. The Blue Demons have also been particularly tough to beat at home. They own a 7-1 mark this season at Wish Field, including a 3-1 record in home conference games.
Alex Mangan is the team’s leading scorer and has started 15 of the team’s 16 games. He has 13 points on the year, including six goals, four of which have been game-winners. Patrick Hopkins is second on the club with three goals. He is tied with Julian Chille (1g, 4a) for second on the team with six points. Keeper Brian Visser is the reigning Goalkeeper of the Week in the BIG EAST. For the season, he has eight shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.79. He has 46 saves.
THE SYRACUSE-DEPAUL SERIES
Saturday’s game represents the third time the Orange and Blue Demons have met on the pitch. The series is tied at one game apiece. DePaul joined the BIG EAST Conference for the 2005 campaign and posted a 1-0 victory against SU in 2005 at Wish Field. The Orange won last season’s meeting, 1-0, on a second-half goal by Hansen Woodruff.
