500th Game for Jim DeRose

Bradley Soccer will visit MVC rival Loyola Chicago Sunday in the 500th game for head coach Jim DeRose

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Soccer 3/12/2021 12:46:00 PM

CHICAGO, IL - Bradley Soccer returns to action with a historic game Sunday when the Braves (2-2-0, 1-2-0 MVC) visit Missouri Valley Conference rival Loyola Chicago (2-1-2, 1-0-1 MVC) for what will be the 500th game in the career of 25th-year head coach Jim DeRose.

Game 5: Bradley Braves (2-2-0, 1-2-0 MVC) at Loyola Chicago Ramblers (2-1-2, 1-0-1 MVC)
Date: Sunday, March 14, 2021
Time: 1:00 pm
Where: Chicago, IL (Loyola Soccer Park)
TV/Video Streaming: ESPN3
Audio: N/A
Live Stats: LoyolaRamblers.com
Tickets: Fans will not be permitted

Setting the Stage
• Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer game between Bradley and Loyola Chicago will be the 500th game in the career of 25th-year Braves head coach Jim DeRose.
• The Braves have alternated wins and losses through the first four games of the season and are coming off a 2-0 home defeat to Valley rival Drake Tuesday night at Shea Stadium.
• While the Drake game completed a quick, 2-game home stand, the Braves will alternate road and home games for the remainder of the scaled-down spring season.
• Sitting on three points with a 1-2-0 league record, Sunday's game will complete Bradley's first circuit in The Valley's 2021 double round-robin league schedule.
• Sunday's game originally was scheduled to be played indoors at the Sportscore Two Complex in the Rockford area, but the favorable weather conditions this week allowed for the transition back to Loyola Chicago's home field at Loyola Soccer Park.

Series History
25th Meeting | Bradley leads 14-8-2 | Loyola Chicago leads 6-5-1 at home
• As the teams prepare for their 25th head-to-head matchup, Loyola Chicago will be looking to extend its most successful series run against the Braves.
• The Ramblers are unbeaten (3-0-2) in their last five games against Bradley, dating to a 2-1 win Oct. 21, 2017 in the return game of the 2017 season's double round-robin league schedule.
• Since Loyola Chicago joined the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2013 season, the Ramblers hold a 5-3-2 series advantage, while posting a 4-0-1 home record against the Braves.
• Two defensive-minded teams, Bradley and Loyola Chicago played a pair of scoreless draws during the 2019 regular season, before the Ramblers took the season rubber match with a 2-1 decision during the semifinals of the 2019 MVC Men's Soccer Championship at Loyola Soccer Park.
• Bradley's last road win against the Ramblers was a 3-0 decision Oct. 31, 2012.
• Prior to LUC's entry into the MVC, Bradley held an 11-3-0 series advantage.

500th Game for DeRose
• Sunday's matchup at Loyola Chicago will represent the 500th game in the career of 25th-year Braves head coach Jim DeRose.
• Taking over at the helm of the Braves program in 1996, DeRose brings a 252-193-54 record into Sunday's game.
• DeRose, who also earned his 250th career victory at Loyola Soccer Park when the Braves beat Evansville in the first round of the 2019 MVC Men's Soccer Championship, is responsible for 83.2 percent of Bradley Soccer's 303 all-time wins in the program's 34-year history, including 96.4 percent (80-of-83) of its all-time Valley wins and 100 percent of the program's MVC (21) and NCAA (4) postseason victories.
• DeRose is the second-winningest coach in MVC Soccer history, trailing only Missouri State's Jon Leamy, who owns 283 wins in his 29th season heading into Sunday's game against Evansville.

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