DePaul University Athletics
Women's Soccer Plays Two This Weekend
9/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
Weekly Release
Live Stats for Friday's match at Notre Dame
CHICAGO - The DePaul women’s soccer team opens the BIG EAST schedule on Friday night at Notre Dame before returning to Wish Field for a non-conference game on Sunday afternoon against Central Michigan. The Blue Demons are playing just their second and third matches since Sept. 4. Last weekend, the team traveled to Western Michigan and played the Broncos to a 1-1 draw.
Looking at the Blue Demons: The 2005 season is the 10th year of women’s soccer as a varsity sport at DePaul University... Julianne Sitch has scored the two goals for DePaul this season... the Blue Demons have outshots their opponents, 96-75, but have been outscored, 9-2... the three shutouts suffered by the Blue Demons this season equal 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)... head coach John Wilson is in his sixth season at DePaul.
Noting Notre Dame: The Irish enter the conference opener at 5-1-0 and ranked No. 5 in both the NSCAA and Soccer America national polls. As defending national champions, Notre Dame has put up impressive numbers early in the season outscoring their opponents, 32-5, with a pair of shutouts. Kerri Hanks and Katie Thorlakson lead the offensive attack. Hanks has totaled 23 points on 11 goals and an assist while BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Thorlakson has 20 points with six goals and eight assists. Ten different players have a scored a goal while a trio of goalkeepers owns a 0.86 goals against average. Head coach Randy Waldrum is in his seventh season. The Series: Friday is the first meeting between the two programs.
Recapping Last Weekend: With 49 combined shots, including 14 alone by DePaul’s Julianne Sitch, the Blue Demons and Broncos played to a 1-1 tie last Sunday. DePaul outshot Western Michigan, 32-17, in the 120 minutes of action. After a scoreless first half that saw 22 Blue Demon shots to 17 for the home team, Sitch got DePaul on the board at 60:14. Lea Hill fed Erin Walter who set up Sitch with a pass over the Western Michigan defense. Sitch took the pass off two bounces and lofted it over Bronco goalkeeper Kate Perz from 22 yards out for her second goal of the season. Western Michigan came back 14 minutes later and knotted the match at 1-1 when Stephanie Johnson took a shot from the right side that just escaped the reach of Sarah West and found its way under the crossbar.
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 her two goals in the first five matches senior Julianne Sitch has totaled 81 points on 31 goals and 19 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 go on the road for five of the next six matches. DePaul hosts Louisville next Friday at Wish Field and then the team travels to Cincinnati, USF, Marquette, Seton Hall and Rutgers. The Blue Demons close the regular-season schedule with a four-match homestand that features games with Providence, Connecticut, Georgetown and Villanova.
