A goal and an assist from Art Garza was enough for DePaul to upset Marquette 2-1 in the Blue Demons’ final match of 2013, earning them their first Big East win of the season.

Seven DePaul seniors were celebrating Senior Day as Marquette was aiming to secure the regular season Big East championship.

Head coach Craig Blazer was pleased to break through and get the first conference win of 2013.

“To get a win in the Big East is so hard and we finally broke through with two outstanding goals and good defending,” Blazer said. “We’re thrilled.”

The match was brutal for some of the seniors with three of them having to leave the game temporarily for an injury. Senior keeper Eric Sorby had to exit the game in the ninth minute after he injured his finger trying to clear the ball with a punch-out. Freshman keeper Quentin Low would enter the game to replace him, ending senior day early for Sorby.

Low ended up letting in one goal in his debut, the lone goal for the Golden Eagles.

“(Low) worked his tail off all year and it just goes to show what we say to the guys is ‘be ready for your opportunity,'” Blazer said. “He was outstanding.”

The Blue Demons got on the board first in the 25th minute when senior midfielder Jared Blincow crossed the ball into the box where junior midfielder Art Garza was wide open. Garza knocked the ball into the net far post off of a header to give DePaul a 1-0 advantage. It was Garza’s fourth goal of the year and Blincow’s second assist of the year.

Garza gave credit to Blincow for the opportunity, saying that he did “all the work.”

“Jared played a perfect ball into the box,” Garza said. “He did all the work I was just standing there.”

The lead, however, wouldn’t last for long. A hard shot by freshman midfielder Louis Bennett II was saved by Low but the deflection landed at the feet of redshirt sophomore forward C. Nortey, who fired it in from close range for the equalizer. It was Nortey’s ninth goal of the season.

The scoring kept coming fast and furious as the first half wore down. In the 34th minute, a DePaul corner kick taken by Garza found the head of junior defender Koray Yesilli, who powered it in for his second goal of the year. Garza also added his third assist of the season as well.

The Blue Demons would take the 2-1 advantage into the half.

Another scary moment for keepers came in the 48th minute when a collision between Marquette redshirt junior keeper Charlie Lyon and DePaul junior midfielder Michael Stankiewicz knocked both men out of the game. Lyon would reenter the game after the injury break while Stankiewicz had to be attended to on the sideline.

A yellow card was issued in the 61st minute when junior midfielder Brady Wahl brought down an advancing Demon attack with a tackle from behind, momentarily stopping the numbers advantage for the Blue Demons. Less than two minutes later freshman midfielder Simon Megally was booked for a hard tackle in the midfield, resulting in a Marquette free kick.

The team earned a yellow card when a DePaul team manager was booked for mouthing off to the referee in the 70th minute. In the 71st minute Garza earned a yellow for a hard tackle near the midline, bringing DePaul’s yellow card count up to three for the day.

Junior forward Anthony Hunter would earn DePaul’s fourth yellow card of the day in the 77th minute as he brought down a Golden Eagle attack near midfield, stopping a potential chance for Marquette.

The Demons’ defense held strong in the last minutes of the game as they held on to beat the Golden Eagles 2-1 for their first Big East conference win of 2013. They finished the year at 5-11-2 but Craig Blazer is hoping this momentum caries on through next year.

“Now the guys know what putting that type of effort out for the whole game feels like,” Blazer said. “Now we’ve got confidence and the whole factor is priceless.”