DePaul University

Weekly Release

CHICAGO - The DePaul women’s soccer team returns to Wish Field for a pair of weekend matches against Northern Iowa and Marquette.  Sunday’s Marquette match will be the Conference USA opener and the first of nine straight league games.  DePaul and Northern Iowa kick off at 4 p.m. on Friday while the Blue Demons and Golden Eagles tangle at 2 p.m. on Sunday.  The Blue Demons stand at 3-3 while Northern Iowa is 0-5-2 and Marquette holds a 3-2 record.

Looking at the Blue Demons:  2004 marks the ninth season of women’s soccer at DePaul University... Lea Hill and Julianne Sitch lead the club with 11 points each... Hill has a team-high five goals with an assist while Sitch leads the club with five assists to go with three goals... DePaul returns 19 players and welcomes seven newcomers to the 2004 roster... in two seasons, Sitch has recorded a program-best 63 points, 23 goals and 17 assists... DePaul’s six goals and nine assists against Liberty on Sept. 5 are both school records... head coach John Wilson is in his fifth season in Lincoln Park.

Sitch on Hermann Trophy Watch List: DePaul junior and preseason Conference USA Player of the Year Julianne Sitch is one of 25 student-athletes named to the preseason Hermann Trophy watch list.  The Hermann Trophy is annually awarded to the top men’s and women’s collegiate players.  The 25 players on the preseason list are considered to be among the top players entering the 2004 college season and are the ones to watch this fall.  A list of 15 semifinalists will be announced in November, with three finalists selected in early December.  The winner will be announced at a dinner at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo., on Jan. 8, 2005.

Last Time Out: Julianne Sitch came through in a big way last Sunday scoring the game-winner with two minutes left in the second overtime period.  The Blue Demons trailed 2-1 until Lea Hill tied the match in the 70th minute before Sitch’s heroics put DePaul over the top, 3-2.

The Blue Demons got on the board first when Lauren Spacht scored her third goal in as many games at 3:05.  She has now scored a goal in three consecutive matches.

The Panthers answered four minutes later when Sarah Freidel beat Blue Demon keeper Lindsey Deason.  Andrea Kramer and Elizabeth Chudy assisted the goal at 7:02.  Niether team could find the net for the rest of the half and the two teams went to the break tied at 1-1.

Just over two minutes into the second half, UW-Milwaukee (1-5-1) took the lead when Kramer scored at 48:53.  Freidel was credited with the assist.

As she’s done all season, Hill came off the bench to give DePaul (3-3-0) a spark in the second half.  After entering the game in the 66th minute, she tied the match at 2-2 on her fifth goal of the season at 70:21.

Hill’s score was the final goal of the second half and the two teams went to overtime.  In the first extra period, neither team could score and it looked that way towards the end of the second overtime.

Looking at Northern Iowa: The Panthers come to Chicago looking for their first victory of the season... they have lost to Minnesota, Pacific, Idaho State, UW-Green Bay and North Dakota State while playing to ties with Western Illinois and Loyola-Chicago... Candice Divoky leads the team with three points on a goal and an assist... in their seven matches, the Panthers have been outscored 13-4... head coach Linda Whitehead is in her fifth season with the Panthers.  The series: DePaul won the only meeting, 1-0, last year at Northern Iowa.

Scouting Marquette: Sunday’s opponent, Marquette, enters the weekend at 3-2... they host UW-Green Bay on Friday night in Milwaukee... they have dropped matches to Indiana, Kansas and Marquette while knocking off South Dakota State and tying Mississippi State... the Golden Eagles have knocked off Central Michigan, South Dakota State and UW-Milwaukee while falling to Indiana and Oakland... their match at Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 12 was postponed due to tropical weather... Meghan Connelly leads the team with five points on two goals and an assist... head coach Markus Roeders is in his ninth season.  The Series: The Golden Eagles leads the all-time series, 7-2... until last year, the Blue Demons were winless against Marquette... DePaul posted the first win, 1-0, at Wish Field before defeating the Golden Eagles again two weeks later in double overtime, 2-1, in the C-USA Tournament.

Ranked In the Region: With nine starters returning from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, the Blue Demons found themselves ranked fifth in the SoccerBuzz preseason polls.  Following the 2-2 start, the Blue Demons stand at No. 12.  A year ago, the club was ranked as high as eighth in both the SoccerBuzz and NSCAA regional rankings.  The Blue Demon schedule has five of the top 15 preseason teams in the Great Lakes Region this season.  In addition to the exhibition match against Purdue, the team also plays No. 7 Indiana, No. 10 Western Michigan, No. 12 Marquette and No. 15 Eastern Illinois.

What’s Ahead: The Blue Demons play four straight road matches beginning with Memphis and Saint Louis next weekend.  Following that road trip, the club heads to North Carolina for matches at East Carolina and Charlotte.  Following the four-game swing DePaul plays six straight home matches at Wish Field.