CHICAGO – DePaul men’s soccer kicks off their preseason with a trip to Bloomington for an exhibition matchup with the Hoosiers on Friday at 5 pm CT. The match is the first of three preseason games for the Blue Demons before their season opener at Wish Field versus Bowling Green on Friday, Aug. 26.
DePaul takes the field for the first time since the conclusion of the 2021 season which saw the Blue Demons finish 7-7-3 overall. The squad earned wins against Wisconsin, Creighton and Villanova and fought to a draw with No. 25 Providence.
DePaul returns 18 letterwinners back to the pitch this season, including offensive leaders Jack Richards and Marek Gonda. Richards was tied for ninth in goals and ranked 10th in goals per game (0.29) in the BIG EAST a season ago. Gonda wrapped up his sophomore campaign with four goals and achieved a five-point game vs. St. Thomas early last season.
Matthew Brickman, Jake Fuderer and Grant Herbeck will lead the Blue Demons defense after playing key roles last season. Both Brickman and Fuderer were named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll and Fuderer was a member of the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Herbek has started 21 games over the last two seasons.
Returning to the net this season is a sophomore Gandhi Cruz. Cruz was a 2021 All-BIG EAST Third Team selection and ranked 17th in the nation in saves (76) and tied for first in the conference (48).
The Blue Demons welcome eight true freshmen to the squad this season, alongside two transfer students – Cade Hagan and Will Stroud.
Following Friday’s exhibition, the Blue Demons will host Lewis at Wish Field on Tuesday, Aug. 16 with first touch scheduled for 3 pm. DePaul’s home exhibition is open to the public and free to all attendees.
Indiana Info
- 2021 Big Ten Head Coach of the Year Todd Yeagley returns for his 13th season at Indiana
- The Hoosiers went 15-6-1 overall last season, 5-3 in the conference
- IU is the only program to earn a national seed in each of the last eight seasons, extending their consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to 35
- Indiana’s second-leading scorer, Samuel Sarver, returns after a seven goal and four assist season in 2021