Sophomore Nate Snyder buried his face in his jersey as he walked off Boswell Field.
While Snyder was the most demonstrative after Saturday afternoon's game, he accurately personified the men's soccer team's outright frustration in its fourth double-overtime draw of the season and third on Boswell.
After 110 minutes, DePauw (8-1-4, 3-1-2 NCAC) and College of Wooster (3-9-1, 0-4-1 NCAC) had no result despite the Tigers' 16 shots to the Fighting Scots' three. DePauw never challenged Wooster's goalkeeper, Matthew Canter, as his five saves all were easily received.
"We were not focused," head coach Brad Hauter said after the game. "I knew it coming in. We talked about how this could be a trap game in the way these guys play and the challenges they give.
"One of the things in the scouting report was to not give them a long throw-in. In our back third we were knocking the ball out of bounds every chance we get. It's that attention to detail against a weaker opponent. Mentally, we don't prepare ourselves for that, and that falls on me."
The tie comes after DePauw scored three goals in each of the past two games. On Oct. 6 against Ohio Wesleyan University (9-2-3, 3-1-1 NCAC), the Tigers beat the previous No.15 ranked Div. III team in the country, 3-2 in overtime. In that game, DePauw tallied 17 shots.
Against Wittenberg University (5-8-2, 0-4-1 NCAC) last Wednesday, DePauw won 3-2 on 19 shots.
Scoring against high-level and average teams is not an issue for the Tigers, but against low-level opponents is where they struggle.
All four double-overtime draws have come against teams with records at or less than .500 - that includes Wooster.
"We just didn't bring it," Hauter said. "It's mental mistakes. If we create 16 shots against any team we should score. It is focus in the critical moment. ... We're having a pattern right now, and it's a pattern that's pissing me off."
DePauw had numerous chances to score against Wooster, but time after time failed to produce a quality shot to challenge Canter. Crossing passes by sophomore Andy Morrison and junior George Elliott frequently landed at the feet of the Fighting Scots. In total, 11 Tigers players took shots, but just three players forced saves by Canter.
Hauter said the reason for the poor shots-on-goal performance was a hesitancy to pull the trigger at the correct moment.
"We look for the better shot and boom, it's not quiet there, and there are more defenders," he said. "We have to be satisfied with the window that's cracked open instead of being all-the way open. Right now, if it's not completely open, we're not pulling the trigger. It just doesn't work that way."
DePauw was missing freshman playmaker and scorer, Adrian Ables, who is out with an injured left hamstring. Despite his absence, the Tigers still fielded their top two threats - Snyder and Morrison.
"So what's the solution if you continue to go through a negative situation you can control, and you don't control it?" Hauter said. "We got to start looking at different players, some different players in key spots. I think maybe we're too comfortable.
"I'm hoping at some point you reach a tipping point where the guys get pissed off walking off the field with this feeling. Other than that, the mindset we have in games like this is killing us, and we don't want to take the lesson and learn from it."
DePauw next travels to Oakland City University (8-2) on Sunday.