Following the Chicago Cup victory, DePaul men's soccer ended the spring season with excitement for the fall. A new team dynamic and winning streak put the Blue Demons in a good position heading into the school year finale.
“We can play against anyone,” the team's sophomore captain Ethan Gordon said after DePaul's first cup win against Northern Illinois, a 3-1 win.
The Chicago Cup is a tournament for D1 men's soccer programs at Chicagoland area colleges. Cup winners can consider themselves the best in the city. Although the tournament is technically an exhibition, coaches take it seriously and use it to showcase their team's strengths.
Photo credit: Sonia Puri
The team moved on to the next chapter of their spring season story, playing against Northwestern University, but lost 2-1 to the Blue Demons despite home field advantage.
“Once (the cup game) is over, we can go into the fall season with a lot of confidence,” said Blue Demons junior center fielder Callum Watts, predicting a final win against UIC in the spring. This is the second consecutive year that the DePaul men's team has won the Chicago Cup.
For soccer, the spring season represents a time of adjustment, transition, and adaptation.
“The team's main focus is preparing for the fall season,” head coach Mark Plotkin said.
Behind the scenes, the Blue Demons integrated new players over the winter to fill the void that players inevitably transfer and senior players leave.
“We've been out here (training) since January,” Plotkin said. “They are really starting to see the fruits of their labor.”
Photo credit: Sonia Puri
Plotkin said the winter training season is an opportunity for the team to get to know each other as players before the spring season begins. According to Plotkin, the team “came together” and came closer than ever to defeat the opposing team.
“I'm so proud of their growth and how close they all are,” he said.
Plotkin said the team's closeness on and off the field was evident in every game, with experienced players welcoming newcomers, bonding and supporting each other through challenges.
Captain Gordon, who plays at center back, described the team's current situation as “positive.”
“The fourth and fifth year players are like family,” he said. “But we've grown around our new players. They've made solid strides toward that.”
Photo credit: Sonia Puri
As captains approaching seniority within the team, conflict and anxiety over how the new players would fit into the team were at the forefront of their minds, but with the victory proving that Gordon They seem to be proud of their achievements.
“I think this spring was a big step forward for the whole team,” Gordon added after the team took home the championship cup. “What we've been doing has worked.”
Plotkin said the final cup game was won with a different lineup than the regular lineup. Due to injuries to several teammates, the lineup was changed, allowing new players to get a chance on the field. Despite the new dynamics, the team still came out on top.
The fall season is looking bright for the Blue Demons after winning the Chicago Cup for the second time.
“If you had a picture of how we wanted this spring season to go, this is exactly how we planned it to go,” Plotkin said.
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