CHICAGO - DePaul men's soccer battled through 110 scoreless minutes against the Butler Bulldogs at Wish Field on Saturday afternoon. In front of the largest Blue Demon crowd of the season, DePaul (7-6-2, 3-3-2 BIG EAST) and Butler (6-6-2, 4-2-1 BIG EAST) traded plenty of chances but neither team could find the finishing touches to light up the scoreboard.
"It was a great performance today against a quality Butler team," said head coach Mark Plotkin. "I thought in the second half and overtime, we were unlucky not to score. I'm thrilled with our team form and am excited to see our guys perform next week against St. John's on Senior Day."
With the draw, DePaul picks up a key point in the BIG EAST standings with two matches to play. The rest of the conference is in action later today and a handful of key matchups across the slate will impact DePaul's place in the center of the BIG EAST standings.
On a perfect fall afternoon at Wish Field, both sides settled into the match during the game's first 30 minutes. Butler recorded most of the early scoring chances, totaling nine first-half shots to DePaul's two. Despite firing off nine shots, only two ended on target and Gandhi Cruz was able to safely handle all attempts.
In the second half, DePaul found ways to maintain possession in the attacking half. DePaul attempted three consecutive corners near the 50-minute mark and the best chance came when a Jacob Huth shot was deflected away.
25 minutes later, the Blue Demons almost pulled ahead on a spectacular shot by Patrick Watkins. Off of a corner, Watkins collected the ball outside the 18-yard box and sent in a right-footed shot that glanced off diving Gabriel Gjergji and off the crossbar. Watkins' strike from distance nearly made it 1-0 Blue Demons but the match continued along with no score.
With the score tied at the end of regulation, the sides headed to sudden-death overtime. In the first overtime, the best offensive chance came when Marek Gonda flicked a quick one-time attempt on goal from within the box. Gonda's shot glanced off of the left post and trickled along the goal line. Butler was able to get to the loose ball and clear the danger. The shot was inches away from being the Blue Demons' game-winner.
In the second overtime, Butler generated the only three shots but Cruz made a save on the lone attempt on target. DePaul's defense stood strong to hold off Butler attacking runs in space with both sides pushing for the winning goal. After 110 minutes, there was no scoring to be had and both teams escaped with a point in the BIG EAST standings.
KEY STATS
- DePaul has played back-to-back overtime matches and now gets a full week to recover before a matchup with St. John's in Chicago next Saturday.
- DePaul was outshot 20-10 by Butler and the Bulldogs put eight attempts on target to DePaul's two. However, the Blue Demons were active on the attacking end and applied plenty of pressure in the final third, only to have their chances shut down by the Butler backline.
- Marek Gonda led the Blue Demons with three shots. He has now recorded a shot in six straight games.
- Cruz matched a season high with eight saves in the draw. The freshman also tallied eight in DePaul's Alumni Day win over Oakland back on Sept. 18.
- With the draw, the Blue Demons are now 2-1-1 at home in conference play this fall.
UP NEXT
DePaul hosts St. John's next weekend at Wish Field. The Blue Demons and Red Storm will kick off at 1 p.m. for 2021 Senior Day. The match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports presented by SoFi.
For all of the latest on DePaul Men's Soccer, stay tuned to depaulbluedemons.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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October 24, 2021 at 04:23AM
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DePaul and Butler Finish in Scoreless Draw - DePaul Blue Demons
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