Home Stand Starts with In-State Rivalry

Bradley Soccer will kick off a brief, 2-game home stand by hosting DePaul Friday night

Bobby Parker, Sr. Associate AD for Communications and Event & Facility Operations Soccer 9/8/2021 9:32:00 AM

Following a Labor Day weekend road swing that carried the Braves more than 1,800 miles from Peoria to Dayton, OH to Peoria to Tulsa, OK and back to Peoria, Bradley Soccer kicks off a brief 2-games-in-3-days home stand by hosting in-state rival DePaul Friday night at Shea Stadium.

GAME PREVIEW
DePaul Blue Demons (2-1-0) at Bradley Braves (1-2-0)
Date: Friday, Sept. 10, 2021
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Peoria, IL
Venue: Shea Stadium

HOME STAND STARTS WITH IN-STATE RIVALRY
• Following a Labor Day weekend road swing that carried the Braves more than 1,800 miles from Peoria to Dayton, OH to Peoria to Tulsa, OK and back to Peoria, Bradley Soccer kicks off a brief 2-games-in-3-days home stand by hosting in-state rival DePaul Friday night at Shea Stadium.
• The brief home stand, which continues Sunday against Utah Valley, will wrap a busy stretch of games for the Braves, who will play four games in 11 days (Sept. 2-12), the most compact stretch of games since a similar 11-day slate Oct. 13-23, 2018.
• When Bradley hosts DePaul Friday night, the Braves will be looking to extend a 2-match home unbeaten (1-0-1) streak, dating to last season, while also snapping a 2-match overall losing streak.

SERIES HISTORY
11th Meeting | Bradley leads 7-1-2
• Friday's match will be the 11th all-time men's soccer matchup between the Braves and Blue Demons in a series that dates to Bradley's second NCAA season in 1988.
• Bradley owns a 7-1-2 overall series advantage and the Braves are unbeaten (6-0-1) in their last seven matchups against DePaul, including four consecutive wins.
• Bradley's first-ever win against a NCAA Division I opponent was its 1-0 victory against DePaul Oct. 29, 1988 at Peoria Notre Dame High School.
• In his 26th year as Bradley head coach, Jim DeRose is 4-0-0 all-time against DePaul.
• Fourth-year DePaul head coach Mark Plotkin is facing Bradley for the first time as a coach, but he was a starter for the 2007 Blue Demons squad that fell victim to the Braves, 2-0, in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament at Shea Stadium - Bradley's first-ever NCAA Tournament win.

BLUE DEMONS SHUTOUT STREAK
• Not only has Bradley won the last four meetings against DePaul, the Braves have posted a shutout in all four of those wins.
• The Blue Demons have not scored a goal against Bradley since a 2-2 draw Oct. 12, 1993 at DePaul.

IN-STATE DOMINANCE
• Bradley head coach Jim DeRose has dominated non-conference competition from the state of Illinois throughout his 26 seasons at the helm.
• Entering Friday's game against DePaul, DeRose boasts a 52-19-5 (.717) record in non-conference games versus teams from Illinois, including a 4-0-0 mark against the Blue Demons.

LOOKING AHEAD
• In its final non-conference tuneup before opening Missouri Valley Conference play, Bradley will conclude the quick home stand Sunday afternoon by hosting Utah Valley in a 1 o'clock kickoff at Shea Stadium.
• The Braves will open their 10-game, Missouri Valley Conference slate with road games Sept. 18 at Drake and Sept. 25 at SIU Edwardsville.

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