The last few months have been full of updates for the soccer team of DePaul with fresh newcomers being announced for the class team and a new associate head coach, all as early preparation for the soccer season to be started in August 2022. During March and August, the team has had five full spring weekends scheduled to test its performance against several regional opponents.
There are high hopes for the DePaul soccer team and all eyes are set on the latest acquisitions. A brand-new list of players with great potential and previous athletic achievement are expected to hit the ball in the fall and make the best season for the team, ever.
About the soccer team
The soccer team of DePaul, called Blue Demons, is made up of players from various colleges of the DePaul University in Chicago. Represented by the colors blue and scarlet, the school’s team competes in the Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big East Conference.
The team was initially established exactly 40 years ago, back in 1982. The best position was achieved in 2008, when the team succeeded to get their First Round position in the NCAA, after a match against the Bradley Braves, another team from the state of Illinois.
The men’s soccer team of DePaul is the best ranked out of all the athletic teams under the Department of Campus Recreation. The university also has a women’s soccer team with good ranking. Other sports represented are football, ice hockey, lacrosse, roller hockey, rowing, rugby, tennis, volleyball and water polo.
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Currently, in Chicago, the De Paul team is trained by head coach Mark Plotkin, on his second season as a leader with the school team. Plotkin is only the seventh name on a very short list of head coaches since 1982, and he is himself a graduate from the DePaul University and a former player in the team. The team is training and playing its home official games on the Wish Field soccer stadium and DIBS, the team’s mascot dressed in blue and red, is never missing.
Fresh resources for 2022 season
In a press release published on the official page of the soccer team before New Year, the school officially announced ten new incomers to the team and presented them individually on the website together with their playing position in the team. Nine of the new members are freshmen and one is a transfer from Colgate:
Tyson Amoo-Mensah was signed as midfielder. He originates from Chicago and played soccer at Sockers Football Club and Naperville North High School before committing to DePaul’s team. Tyson has been noted for his restless defense and the hard work covering all the field during games, enjoying the entire match.
Diego Benitez, also signed as midfielder, comes from Palatine and has played in Sockers Football Club before the class of 2022.
Another midfielder for the new class team is Colin Mackey, coming from Indiana Fire Academy.
Sebastian Sanchez from Louisville City Football Club will cover the mixed position of defender/midfielder. He also played on the soccer team of Ballard High School.
Ethan Gordon, new defender from Tulsa Soccer Club comes with an already notorious performance as former captain and key leader at Booker T. Washington High School and, more recently, earned ECNL All-Conference honors with Tulsa Soccer Club.
Felipe Corral from Sockers Football Club and Alex Halevy from Garces Memorial High School are both playing winger positions.
For the forward position, the coaching team selected Sam Moore from Columbus Crew Academy. An extremely valuable player, highly regarded in his previous teams, Sam is expecting to take his scoring success to a new level in DePaul.
Clayton Brooks from Louisville City Football Club will be assigned the position of goalkeeper at Blue Demons starting in August.
Will Stroud, is the only graduate to be transferred from Colgate University and join the long list of newcomers. He already played in 20 matches over 2 seasons in Colgate and has experience in college level soccer. In the DePaul team, Will will play as defender.
Changes were made also in the coaching team, with Tyler Keever becoming the Associate Head Coach after 4 seasons of serving as an assistant. This announcement was made in February, explaining the successful influence Keever had on the progress of several players from the team.
Changes in team – a good sign?
A lot of changes in both players and coaches can either bring advantages or disrupt the team how it was before. For the DePaul soccer team, all the recent changes made in the team are meant to prepare for the season of 2022, starting in August. After a very good previous year, head coach Plotkin is very excited about his new selection and looking forward to the start of the season in August, his fifth season of collaboration with the DePaul men’s soccer program.
Without any resemblance to what happens in other countries of the world, in the U.S., college sports are extremely well implemented, at a professional level, supported by a system of organizations that are promoting it on a regional and national level. College students become top athletes even before graduating and have the opportunity to choose their future career, either in their main field of academic studies or sports. Furthermore, there is of course not only soccer to choose from – among some of the most popular college sports are baseball, basketball and others. DePaul is especially known for basketball, but also offers cross-country and tennis with both men’s and women’s teams.