Women's Soccer Hosts Connecticut and Providence at Wish Field
10/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
DePaul vs. Connecticut
Friday, Oct. 19 | 3 p.m.
Wish Field | Chicago, Ill.
DePaul vs. Providence
Sunday, Oct. 21 | 1 p.m.
Wish Field | Chicago, Ill.
CHICAGO - The DePaul women’s soccer team closes the home portion of the regular-season schedule with games against Connecticut and Providence this weekend. The two matches finish a four-game homestand as the Blue Demons fell to Villanova and Georgetown last weekend by identical 1-0 scores.
DePaul enters the weekend at 4-10-1 overall and 1-6-0 in league play while Connecticut is 10-2-1 overall and leads the American Division with a 6-0-1 record in BIG EAST action. Providence stands at 3-10-1 and 2-5-0 in BIG EAST action and plays at Notre Dame on Friday night.
Following this weekend, the Blue Demons finish the regular season with an Oct. 26 match at Rutgers and a game at Seton Hall on Oct. 28. The 2007 BIG EAST Championship starts Nov. 1 with the top five teams from each division qualifying for the tournament.
Noting the Blue Demons: Each of the last six matches have been decided by one goal... DePaul’s 2-1 double-overtime win at Cincinnati was the first overtime win since the 2004 season... the Blue Demons defeated Louisville by a 2-1 score on Oct. 8, 2004... the five goals scored against IPFW on Sept. 23 were the most since a school-record six against Northern Iowa on Sept. 17, 2004... the 2004 squad posted 6-1 victories over Northern Iowa and Liberty that season to set match records... the five goals against the Mastodons marked the third-highest single-game total in school history... Jennifer Dyer’s two goals against IPFW were her first multi-goal match... she is now second all-time with 15 career assists, fourth all-time with 39 points and tied for sixth all-time with 12 goals... Shannon Williams entered this season with one goal and has scored six in 13 games this season... she is currently tied for 12th all-time with 15 points on seven goals and an assist... the win over Ohio to start the 2007 campaign ended a 12-match winless streak (0-11-1)... head coach Erin Chastain is in her first season at DePaul and the third coach in program history... she is the first coach in program history to win the first match... the 2007 season is the 12th year of women’s soccer as a varsity sport at DePaul University... the Blue Demons are 24-21-3 in the last five-plus seasons in matches at Wish Field... on the flip side, the program is 18-30-8 on the road in that same span.
Undefeated Start Just Second All-Time: The 2-0 start for the Blue Demons is just the second undefeated beginning to a season in program history. The 2001 squad holds the best start to a season at 5-0-0 in the program’s 12 years while the Blue Demons are 4-8 all-time in season-opening matches.
Chastain in First Season at DePaul: Following five seasons at Santa Clara as an assistant coach, Erin Chastain was named DePaul’s third head coach on Mar. 1, 2007. While at Santa Clara she helped the Broncos claimed four West Coast Conference titles and a pair of NCAA Championship National Semifinal appearances. The 2002 team finished second in the NCAA Championship while in 2004 Santa Clara reached the national semifinals followed by a quarterfinal appearance in 2005. Prior to Santa Clara, Chastain served as an assistant coach at Northwestern and played collegiately at Minnesota where she was a two-time All-Big Ten honoree. The Chastain name is familiar to soccer fans as Erin’s sister-in-law, Brandi, led the United States to the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Scouting Connecticut: The Huskies stand at 10-2-1 overall and 6-0-1 in BIG EAST play... they sit atop the American Division with 19 points and clinched a berth in the BIG EAST Championship with a 2-0 win against West Virginia on Oct. 14... Meghan Schnur leads the team with 15 points on four goals and seven assists while the team has outscored the opposition, 32-6... head coach Len Tsantiris is in his 26th season at Connecticut. The Series: Connecticut has won both meetings between the two programs.
Checking on Providence: The Friars enter the weekend at 3-10-1 overall and 2-5-0 in league play... Providence plays at Notre Dame on Friday night... last weekend, they lost to West Virginia before defeating Pittsburgh... the Friars have been outscored, 28-5, this season... head coach Jim McGirr is in his third season with the Friars. The Series: The teams have split their two meetings with each side winning on their home field.
2007 BIG EAST Championship: The semifinals and championship of the 2007 BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship will take place in Morgantown, W. Va., on the campus of the West Virginia University. The first round and quarterfinal matches will be hosted by the higher-seeded team on Nov. 1 and Nov. 4. The champion receives the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.