Women's Soccer Hosts Georgetown and Villanova at Wish Field

The Blue Demons close the regular season with home matches against BIG EAST opponents Georgetown and Villanova. The Hoyas and Blue Demons kick off on Friday at 3 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. start on Sunday against Villanova.

Weekly Notes

CHICAGO - The DePaul women’s soccer team closes the regular season with a pair of home matches at Wish Field. The Blue Demons host Georgetown on Friday afternoon before entertaining Villanova on Senior Day Sunday. The Blue Demons enter the season-ending weekend looking to make a push into the BIG EAST Tournament. DePaul is tied for sixth in Division B with nine points as the top five 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... DePaul scored a season-high three goals in 3-2 win over Providence on Oct. 14... the 1-0 victory over Rutgers on Oct. 9 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 leads the team with three goals followed by Margo Sackmaster, Lauren Spacht, Alissa VonderHaar and Amy With with two goals each this season... the Blue Demons have outshot their opponents, 226-198, but have been outscored, 25-13... 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 six goals, seven assists and 140 shots in 2005... head coach John Wilson is in his sixth season at DePaul.

Scouting Georgetown: Georgetown enters the weekend at 11-5-1 overall and 4-4-1 in BIG EAST action. Last weekend, the Hoyas dropped a pair of matches to Pittsburgh and West Virginia by identical 2-1 scores. Since winning eight straight matches earlier this season, Georgetown has lost four of their last five games. Chrissy Skogen leads the team with 22 points on 10 goals and two assists while four other players have at least 10 points. Overall, Georgetown has outscored their opponents, 32-16, with goalkeeper Jade Higgins totaling six shutouts. Head coach Dave Nolan is in his second season with the Hoyas. Georgetown is in fourth place in Division B with 13 points after being picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST preseason poll. The Series: Friday is the first meeting between the two programs.

Checking on Villanova: The Wildcats open the weekend with a Friday evening match at Notre Dame. Villanova enters that match with a 9-3-4 overall record and 5-0-3 record in BIG EAST action. The Wildcats are on a nine-match unbeaten streak with a 6-0-3 record during the run. Last weekend, Villanova knocked off Pittsburgh, 1-0, after their match with West Virginia was postponed. Lindsey Finnegan leads the team with 16 points on six goals and four assists. Nikki Mabery adds 15 points on five goals and five assists while the team has outscored their opponents, 24-12. Jillian Loyden has seen the majority of time in goal and holds a 0.71 goals against average. Head coach Ann Clifton is in her ninth season at Villanova. The Wildcats have clinched a berth in the BIG EAST Championship and were picked by the league’s coaches to finish second in Division B. They have 18 points with a 5-0-3 record in conference play. The Series: Sunday is the first meeting between the Blue Demons and Wildcats.

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 in road matches at Seton Hall and Rutgers. Witt scored the first Blue Demon goal in the 2-2 tie on Oct. 7 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 two days later. Witt is the first player this season named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll.

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 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.