DePaul scored twice in quick succession during the first half Saturday afternoon, and the SIUE men’s soccer team suffered a 2-0 defeat to the Blue Demons at Wish Field.

“We are a bit naive right now as to what it takes to win at this level, as we lack a bit of maturity and personality at the moment,” Head Coach Kevin Kalish said following the match.  “We will get there; it’s just going to take more time than we all want.  We are going through that process.  It stings when you lose games because we have a lot of competitors inside the group, but we will get there.”

Matt Polster

The Blue Demons (2-4-1) opened the scoring with a goal from Erik Rodriguez in the 28th minute, before Michael Stankiewicz doubled the lead just over a minute later.

The Cougars (4-3-0) outshot the hosts by a 9-8 margin and earned seven corner kicks while conceding none.  John Berner made one save in goal for SIUE.

SIUE forced DePaul goalkeeper Eric Sorby into five saves, while Andrew Kendall-Moullinhad a header cleared off the line in the second half.

“We now have to put things right for the next game,” Kalish said.  “With the caliber of players we have here we shouldn’t fear anyone. But, the margin is narrow, and unless we perform, any team can win on a given day.  We need to go back to training and look at the areas that went wrong, make it right and then find some consistency with our performances.”

Next up for SIUE is a trip to No. 22 Louisville for the team’s third straight road match.  Six of the Cougars’ first seven games have been played away from Korte Stadium.

“Moving forward we must work hard, believe in what we are doing, and solve these inconsistencies,” Kalish added.  “There are a lot of games left on the schedule to demonstrate the level we expect and to achieve our goals.   How we respond will show a lot about the character of the group.”