October 26, 2001
B.B. Branton
(931) 598-1136

Men's Soccer:

Sewanee Defeats DePauw, 1-0

(Greencastle, Ind.) --   Andy Leffler’s goal in the 59th minute off a double assist from David Allen and Andrew North gave the Sewanee men’s soccer team a hard-fought 1-0 win against DePauw here Friday to bring the visiting Tigers within one win of clinching the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference crown and its first-ever automatic NCAA tournament bid.

In a well-played match, Sewanee relied on strong defense, ball control and team speed to counter a talented DePauw squad and a bitter cold, windy Indiana afternoon with temperatures in the low 40’s.

The win not only put the visiting Tigers (14-2-0, 7-1-0) in a position to clinch their first championship in Sunday’s final regular season match at Rose-Hulman (2-12-0, 2-5-0), but also kept DePauw (12-4-0, 6-1-0) from winning its first SCAC title.

Sewanee’s overall season win-streak is now at 10, its consecutive shutout streak is at six, and the team is 7-0 in October. Coach Matt Kern picked up his 125th career victory.

A scenario involving a Sewanee loss on Sunday, and the Tigers could finish as low as third; then hoping for an at-large berth to post-season play which will be announced on Nov. 3.

Prior to what proved to be the winning goal, the visitors had to withstand a DePauw offensive attack in the box in the key first five minutes of the second half, which included three shots on goal—all for naught—off corner kicks.

Sewanee junior Chris Wooster headed away a sure goal off a corner kick, while goalkeeper Paul Roper made two of his five saves on the afternoon.

DEFENSE: Sewanee played a strong defensive match with sophomore Keith Davis heading away several DePauw shots to the box late in the match and Roper playing flawless in the nets for his six straight shutout, eighth of the season and 22nd of his career.

NOTES: Sewanee has a 10-match win streak, dating back to Sept. 21st. Sewanee has posted six straight shutouts and eight overall .. The 13 goals against is one better than the school record (14) set by the 1998 team .. Sewanee has not allowed a goal since the Oglethorpe match on Oct. 5Coach Matt Kern is 125-91-11 (57.5%).

Line-ups:
Sewanee:  Roper, Wooster, R. Davis, K. Davis, Johnston, Cail, Garvich, North, Leffler, Allen, Smythe.  Substitutes:  Mantini, Hamilton, Thomas, Packard, Bethay.
DePauw: Missey, Raush, McCaslin, Pflegling, Shook, Skeeters, Kessler, Capos, Schriner, Foster, Cohen. Substitutes: Joyner, Prosyer.

Stats:

Attendance: 75

Sewanee Coach Matt Kern:

"DePauw is an outstanding team. Their team speed and attacking transition was very difficult to defend."