This Saturday evening, the DePauw men's soccer team faces its largest challenge yet when it squares off with Ohio Wesleyan University at Boswell Field.
The Tigers enter the game at 11-0-1 as the tenth ranked team in Division III soccer. Meanwhile, their challengers come into Saturday's game sporting a perfect 13-0-0 record as the number one ranked team in the nation.
Ohio Wesleyan approaches Greencastle after throttling Wittenberg University 6-0 last Friday night. The Battling Bishops tallied an enormous 37 shots on net.
This presents a tall order for the Tigers, but the DePauw defense has come alive in the last few games. Junior goalkeeper Jacob Pezzuto has not allowed a goal since the first half of the game at Anderson on Sept. 25. He has gone over 255 minutes without allowing a goal.
Head coach Brad Hauter and the rest of the DePauw coaching staff will have a challenge planning for the potent offensive attack that the Battling Bishops possess.
"The answer is to keep the ball," Hauter said about his defensive strategy. "The more possession we can maintain, the fewer touches their attacking pieces will get."
For Ohio Wesleyan head coach Jay Martin, his defensive message will stay the same that it has been all season long.
"I know that Jacob is a good keeper," Martin said. "Once again, we will do nothing differently to attack the goal. I don't want the OWU players thinking about how good Jacob is. I want them thinking about what they have to do on the field."
On the other side of the ball for the Tigers, it will be key to return to the success they had earlier this season. With the Battling Bishops offense coming into the game playing so well, it will be important for DePauw to have the offense clicking. The Tigers have not scored more than two goals in a game since Sept. 22 when they put up four against Olivet College.
The recent dip in offensive production for the Tigers includes a draw on the road against Kenyon, when the Tigers were held scoreless for 120 minutes.
Martin plans to stick with his same offensive strategy.
"The DePauw attack is very good. We will do nothing different to stop the attack this week," Martin said. "Our goal each game is a shutout."
This plan seems to have been working well for the Battling Bishops, as they come into Saturday's match recording shutouts against Capital University and Wittenberg in their last two matches. Just as DePauw plans to do, Ohio Wesleyan uses powerful offense as a defense.
The potent Battling Bishops recorded 30 shots on net in their game against Capital along with the 37 against Wittenberg. With those kinds of numbers, Ohio Wesleyan has been able to restrict their opponents' time of possession and therefore limit the number of scoring chances for opposing teams.
Although on paper, the Battling Bishops are the most difficult test that DePauw will face all season, there are some positive signs for the Tigers.
Of Ohio Wesleyan's 13 games played this season, only three have been away from home. On the road, the Battling Bishops average 2.67 goals per game instead of the 3.4 they average at home.
Historically Ohio Wesleyan has not been kind to DePauw. Since 1977, the Tigers have compiled a record of 7-32-2 against them. However, recent history proved better for DePauw.
In 2011, the Tigers defeated OWU 4-2 on the road to claim the NCAC championship. The first of two meetings in 2012 resulted in a 3-2 overtime win for DePauw at Ohio Wesleyan's Jay Martin Soccer Complex. Later that season, the two teams would meet again the NCAC finals. DePauw would win on penalty kicks 4-2 after a scoreless 120 minutes.
Past history aside, both teams recognize the significance of this matchup.
"I do know, however, that I will not have to get the team fired up because most of them can read and know that this will be a good and hard game," Martin said.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. this Saturday evening at Boswell Field as a conclusion to the athletic events of Old Gold Weekend.
"Guys have had great energy all season and this week is no different," Hauter said. "When it comes down to it this is a very big game on paper but both OWU and DePauw realize the winner gets three points and that is it."