DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Close Home Schedule This Weekend
10/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
Weekly Notes
CHICAGO - DePaul wraps up a season-long six-game homestand with the final two matches at Wish Field this weekend. The Blue Demons take on Cleveland State and Indiana in non-conference action. Sunday’s match against the Hoosiers is Senior Day as it is the final home match of the regular season. The Blue Demons and Vikings kick off at 3 p.m. on Friday followed by DePaul and Indiana at 1 p.m. on Sunday. DePaul enters the match with a 8-7-1 overall record and a 4-4-1 mark in Conference USA play after shutting out both Houston and TCU last weekend. Cleveland State enters the weekend at 0-15-0 in their first season of competition while Indiana stands at 8-5-2.
Looking at the Blue Demons: 2004 marks the ninth season of women’s soccer at DePaul University... Julianne Sitch and Lea Hill lead the club with 23 and 21 points, respectively... Erin Walter has 16 points (4G/8A) followed by Jennifer Dyer (5G/5A) and Lauren Spacht (5G/5A) at 15 points apiece... 2004 marks the first season with four players totaling at least 15 points... Hill has a team-high nine goals with three assists while Walter leads the club and Conference USA with eight assists to go with four goals... Walter leads C-USA in assists and the eight assists are a single-season school record... in nearly three seasons, Sitch has recorded a program-best 75 points, 28 goals and 19 assists... DePaul’s six goals and nine assists against Liberty on Sept. 5 are both school records... the club tied the scoring record in the 6-1 win against Northern Iowa on Sept. 17... head coach John Wilson is in his fifth season in Lincoln Park.
Updating the Recordbook: For the third straight season, the women’s soccer team has broken all offensive records in the program’s history. With at least three games left in the season, the Blue Demons hold new team records with 117 points, 38 goals and 41 assists.
Individually, Erin Walter set a new program single-season record with her eighth assist last weekend. Both Lea Hill and Julianne Sitch are threatening Sitch’s 2003 record of 12 goals in a season.
Scoring in Bunches: DePaul’s 38 goals through 16 games set a new record last weekend. A year ago, the club set the top mark with 33 goals in 23 matches. Twice this season, the Blue Demons have scored a school-record six goals in a match. The nine goals in back-to-back matches against Northern Iowa and Marquette are the most in a two-game stretch. DePaul’s 12 goals in the three games against UW-Milwaukee, Northern Iowa and Marquette tied a record set in 2002 with 12 goals against IPFW, Indiana State and Drury. The Blue Demons are spreading the wealth as 10 different players have scored at least one goal and five players have at least 15 points. DePaul’s 2.38 points per game ranks 36th in the latest NCAA statistical rankings and leads Conference USA.
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.
Looking at Cleveland State: The Vikings, in their first season of NCAA competition, enter the weekend at 0-15-0 and 0-4-0 in Horizon League action... last weekend, they dropped a 3-1 decision to Youngstown State... Jennifer Wieand and Amber Rasmussen lead the team with four points apiece... Wieand has two goals while Rasmussen has totaled a goal and two assists... former DePaul assistant Derrek Falor is in his first season as head coach at Cleveland State... former Blue Demon goalkeeper Lauren Geiger is an assistant on Falor’s staff. The Series: Friday is the first meeting between the two programs.
Scouting Indiana: Sunday’s opponent, Indiana, enters the weekend at 8-5-2 overall and 3-4-2 in Big Ten action... they play at Purdue on Friday night... last weekend, they dropped a 1-0 decision to Northwestern before playing Illinois to a 1-1 tie... Kim Grodek leads the team with 17 points on seven goals and three assists while Megan Pipkens has added 13 points on three goals and seven assists... head coach Mick Lyon is in his third season with the Hoosiers. The Series: Indiana leads the all-time series, 1-0... they won the lone meeting in 2002 by a 1-0 score.
What’s Ahead: The Blue Demons play their final match of the regular season at UAB on Oct. 29. The 2004 Conference USA Tournament is set for Nov. 3-6 in St. Louis, Mo. The top eight teams in the league standings qualify for the league tournament. A year ago, the Blue Demons won the C-USA Tournament as the No. 6 seed and advanced to the first NCAA Tournament in school history.
