Jalen Harvey, Anthony Hunter and their DePaul University Men’s Soccer teammates battled for 110 minutes, playing some very good defense and launching counterattacks when the opportunities arose against St. John’s.
Right down to the final seconds with Simon Megally making an open-field rush up the pitch, DePaul came close to breaking the deadlock in a 1-1, double-overtime BIG EAST Conference tie at Belson Stadium.
Erik Rodriguez scored DePaul's goal and had St. John's goalkeeper Jordan Stagmiller beat with a header in the 89th minute when Jean Leveille came racing in from the right and back-kicked the ball off the line to force the first overtime.
It was the same Leveille who foiled Megally on the last rush of the game. Megally was racing towards the St. John’s net, and just as the sophomore forward was making his move to load up for a shot in the box, Leveille caught up with him and knocked the ball loose.
Rodriguez scored his second goal of the season in the 39th minute after a nice cross from Hans Wustling. His header found the right corner of the net---almost the same spot his 89th-minute shot was headed.
In the 107th minute, Rodriguez made a crafty turn and fired a shot that went just over the crossbar.
"We talked to Erik after he played well in the Butler game about taking the next step of playing consistently," said DePaul coach Craig Blazer. "He did that today. He was able to hold up the ball and bring his teammates into the play.
"He also defended well tonight, playing well on both sides of the field."
Five minutes after Rodriguez scored, Casey Osborne found the equalizer for St. John's.
"Both teams had chances for the winning goal," Blazer said. "Individually and collectively, our guys responded to the challenge tonight.
"Anytime you can go on the road in the BIG EAST and come away with a point, that's an accomplishment. It's a good testament to this young team that they keep finding a way to stay in the mix for qualifying for the BIG EAST tournament.
