DePaul University

Weekly Notes

CHICAGO - The DePaul women’s soccer team plays their final four regular-season matches at Wish Field beginning this weekend with Providence and Connecticut.  The Blue Demons enter the season-ending homestand looking to make a push into the BIG EAST Tournament.  Last weekend, DePaul tied Seton Hall, 2-2, and knocked off Rutgers, 1-0.  DePaul is tied for fifth in Division B with seven points.  The top six teams in each division qualify for the league tournament.

Looking at the Blue Demons: The 2005 season is the 10th year of women’s soccer as a varsity sport at DePaul University... the 1-0 victory over Rutgers was the first BIG EAST win for the program... the back-to-back overtime matches against Cincinnati and USF marked the second time in school history that the Blue Demons have played in back-to-back draws (last, Oct. 16 vs. UNC Charlotte and Oct. 18 vs. South Florida)... 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 and Margo Sackmaster have each scored two goals this season... the Blue Demons have outshot their opponents, 192-176, but have been outscored, 21-9... the six 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 returned with Hill, Sitch, Erin Walter (4G/10A/18P), Jennifer Dyer (6G/5A/17P) and Lauren Spacht (5G/5A/15P)... that group has totaled four goals, five assists and 119 shots in 2005... head coach John Wilson is in his sixth season at DePaul.

Witt Earns Honors: Senior Amy Witt was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll after leading the Blue Demons to a 1-0-1 record last weekend.  Witt scored the first Blue Demon goal in the 2-2 tie on Friday at Seton Hall.  She followed that effort with an assist on Lauren Spacht’s eventual game-winner for a 1-0 DePaul victory at Rutgers on Sunday.  Witt is the first player this season named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll.

Scouting Providence: Providence enters the weekend at 4-7-2 overall and 1-4-2 in BIG EAST action.  Last weekend, the Friars tied St. John’s, 2-2, and defeated Syracuse, 1-0, in a pair of conference road matches.  Kelly Determan leads the team with five points on two goals and an assist while three other players have four points.  Kathryn Mahoney and Kelly Pettersen have scored two goals apiece and Danielle Wieneke has a goal and two assists this season.  Overall, Providence has been outscored by their opponents, 16-10, with goalkeeper Ashely Fedyshyn totaling a 1.19 goals against average in over 1200 minutes in goal.  Head coach Jim McGirr is in his first season with the Friars.  Providence is tied for fifth in Division A after being picked to finish eighth in Division A in the BIG EAST preseason poll.  The Series: Friday is the first meeting between the two programs.

Checking on Connecticut: The Huskies open the weekend with a Friday evening match at Notre Dame.  Connecticut is ranked No. 10 in the latest Soccer America poll and No. 17 in the NSCAA Top 25 with an 11-2-1 overall and 7-0-0 BIG EAST record.  The Huskies have not lost since Sept. 4 and are 9-0-1 in their last 10 matches.  Last weekend, they won a pair of road matches at St. John’s, 3-2, and Syracuse, 3-0.  Elizabeth Eng is the top scorer with 17 points on six goals and five assists.  Brittany Taylor adds 13 points on six goals and an assist followed by Brittany Tegeler with 12 points on five goals and two assists.  Overall, the Huskies have outscored their opponents, 28-13, with Stephanie Labbe and Megan Jessee combining for a 0.89 goals against average.  Head coach Len Tsantiris is in his 25th season at Connecticut.  The Huskies were picked by the league’s coaches as the favorite in Division A.  They lead the division with 21 points on a 7-0-0 record.  The Series: Sunday is the first meeting between the Blue Demons and Huskies.

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.

Looking Forward:  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 five teams in each division qualify for the league tournament.  The winner earns the BIG EAST’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.