DePaul University

Weekly Notes

CHICAGO - The DePaul women’s soccer team travels to South Florida and Marquette for a pair of road matches this weekend.  The Blue Demons are in the midst of a five-match road swing that features four straight games against former Conference USA members.  Last weekend, the team lost to Louisville at home and played Cincinnati to a scoreless tie on the road. 

Looking at the Blue Demons: The 2005 season is the 10th year of women’s soccer as a varsity sport at DePaul University... the 0-0 tie at Cincinnati was the fifth scoreless draw in program history... the 2-0 win over Central Michigan on Sept. 18 was DePaul’s first multi-goal game of the season and first since a 7-2 loss at UAB on Oct. 29, 2004... Julianne Sitch has scored two of the five Blue Demon goals this season... the Blue Demons have outshot their opponents, 156-139, but have been outscored, 17-5... the five shutouts suffered by the team this season surpasses the total from all of 2004... the 15 returners from last season accounted for 39 of the record-setting 46 goals a year ago... they also accumulated 42 assists and 120 of the team’s 140 points last year... Sitch and Lea Hill are the top returning scorers with 25 points each in 2004... Hill led the team with 10 goals and five assists while Sitch totaled nine goals and seven assists... overall, the top five scorers are back with Hill, Sitch, Erin Walter (4G/10A/18P), Jennifer Dyer (6G/5A/17P) and Lauren Spacht (5G/5A/15P)... that group has totaled three goals, three assists and 95 shots in 2005... head coach John Wilson is in his sixth season at DePaul.

Scouting South Florida: USF enters the weekend at 5-3-1 overall and 0-2-1 in BIG EAST action.  Last weekend, the Bulls played a pair of overtime matches with a 0-0 tie at Providence and a 1-0 loss against Connecticut.  Jenny Mulvihill leads the team with 12 points on six goals while Erica Lewis adds two goals and two assists for six points.  Overall, USF has outscored their opponents, 14-7, with five shutouts.  Head coach Logan Fleck is in his 13th season with the Bulls.  USF was picked to finish seventh in Division A in the BIG EAST preseason poll.  The Series: Friday is the eighth meeting between the two programs with the Bulls holding a 4-1-2 advantage.  The two teams haven’t met since a 1-0 win for DePaul on Sept. 20, 2002 in Tampa.

Checking on Marquette: The Golden Eagles open the weekend with a Friday evening match against Notre Dame.  That match will be a clash between the Great Lakes Region top two teams with the top-ranked Irish and No. 2-ranked Golden Eagles.  Marquette, ranked No. 18 in both the NSCAA and Soccer America national polls, stands at 9-1-1 overall and 2-1-0 in BIG EAST games.  Last weekend, they dropped a 2-1 decision at Connecticut before a 2-0 win over Providence.  Christy Zwolski leads the team with 11 points on five goals and an assist followed by Alison Loughrin with eight points on four goals.  Overall, the Golden Eagles have outscored their opponents, 18-6, with six shutouts.  Head coach Markus Roeders is in his 10th season with the Golden Eagles.  Marquette was picked by the league’s coaches to finish fourth in Division A.  The Series: Marquette leads the series, 7-3, but the Blue Demons have claimed the last three meetings.  A year ago, DePaul used two goals by Lea Hill and another by Julianne Sitch in a 3-0 victory at Wish Field.  Sunday’s match will be the first in Milwaukee since a 3-0 Marquette victory on Nov. 2, 2002.

Preseason Picks:  The Blue Demons were picked to finish sixth in Division B of the BIG EAST Preseason Poll.  The BIG EAST Conference features a pair of eight-team divisions with the top 12 overall teams advancing to the league tournament.  Senior midfielder/forward Julianne Sitch was one of 12 players selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.

Record Book Update:  With two goals and an assist in the first nine matches, senior Julianne Sitch has totaled 82 points on 31 goals and 20 assists.  A year ago, she totaled 25 points with nine goals and seven assists after a sophomore year with 31 points on 12 goals and seven assists.  As a freshman, Sitch set a then-record for a single-season with 21 points on eight goals and five assists.

Looking Forward:  Following this weekend, the Blue Demons head to New Jersey for weekend matches at Seton Hall and Rutgers.  The road trip wraps up the run of five straight matches on the road as the team returns to Wish Field on Oct. 14 for the first of four straight home matches to finish the regular season.  Providence opens the homestand followed by Connecticut on Oct. 16.  The final weekend of the regular season has Georgetown and Villanova visiting Wish Field for the first time.

The BIG EAST Tournament starts on Oct. 26 or 27 with the first round on campus sites.  The quarterfinals will also be played on campus site either Oct. 29 or 30 with the semifinals and championship on Nov. 4 and 6 in Milwaukee, Wis.  The top six teams in each division qualify for the league tournament.  The winner earns the BIG EAST’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.