Behind Jalen Harvey, DePaul’s men soccer team was able to come back to beat Drake (1-4-1) 3-2 in overtime.
Harvey scored all the Blue Demon’s goals but the most important one came in 98th minute from an assist by Erik Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was on the left side of the field and sent the pass in beautifully to set up Harvey for the game-winning header.
“I saw the opening and Erik put it exactly where I wanted it. It was probably because of that roommate connection,” Harvey said. “So when he put it there, I had to finish this one. Can’t miss this one.”
The Bulldogs took a commanding 2-0 lead in beginning of the second half with one goal by James Wypych in the 54th minute and another by Enna Steven in the 58th minute, but DePaul never gave up.
“We kept it 2-0. The guys kept their heads in the game because the way Drake scored the first two goals, they did well with them, but it’s not like we gave anything away,” Head Coach Craig Blazer said.
Although Blazer was encouraged by how his guys handled various challenges, at times it did seem like the Blue Demons were playing lackluster. The Bulldogs were beating them to first and second balls but luckily, when Harvey got in the game, the team started clicking offensively.
“When I got my chance on the field, I wanted to prove a point being pissed off that we were down 2-0,” Harvey said.
The Blue Demon’s comeback started when Harvey got a great assist from Hans Wustling in the 80th minute to put the game 2-1 Bulldogs. Wustling was on the left side and sent a pass to Harvey perfectly for him to score.
“Hans put an amazing cross and I was able to find a great run and put it in,” Harvey said.
Harvey’s second goal came from an assist from Simon Megally in the 87th minute where he was wresting with two Drake defenders and somehow came away with the score.
“In the second one, Simon gave me a great flick behind. I got between two guys and they kind of poked it away from me but it actually bounced back and I was able to hit it with my weak foot,” Harvey said.
The 5-foot-6inch junior only scored two goals last season. So he was happy that his best college game came in a come from behind victory.
“What better way to prove a point then to score three goals to come back,” Harvey said.
This is not the only come from behind victory DePaul had this season. The first time came at Green Bay where the Blue Demons were up two and Green Bay got it to 3-2 in the 83rd minute. Luckily, behind Harvey’s score in the 87th minute, the team was able to send it to overtime where they won 4-3 with a goal from Anthony Hunter in the 93rd minute.
The Blue Demon’s next game is at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Saturday at 7 p.m. The team is looking forward to the match up and they’re excited to play their cross-town rival. This is the first meet up of the year between the two teams and both Harvey and Coach Blazer are looking forward to the challenge.
“It’s always a rival. We play them two times this season. We beat them last year 2-1…UIC is always a great team to beat. They’re having a great season so it’s the easiest thing to get up for,” Harvey said.
“That’s a big time game and the guys love it. We’ll be ready,” Blazer said.