DePaul University
Loyola-Chicago
DePaul's Dynamic Duo Rambles Past Loyola-Chicago
9/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
Sept. 19, 2010
Bluetube: Highlights from win over Loyola-Chicago
CHICAGO - Casey Mercurio and Natasa Radosavljevic provided an unbeatable one-two punch for DePaul on Sunday.
Mercurio scored early and Radosavljevic closed the deal in the Blue Demons' 2-0 victory over Loyola-Chicago at Wish Field at Cacciatore Stadium.
In the 11th minute, set-piece specialist Tara Strickland lofted a terrific cross that Mercurio headed in for her first goal of the season.
It was the ideal way to start out after DePaul had lost to Notre Dame 2-0 on Friday.
"It pumped us up more after we started out a little slow," Mercurio said. "It was an awesome corner kick by Tara and I jumped in front of the (Loyola player).
"I had a great opportunity and took advantage of it."
A defender such as Mercurio doesn't get many offensive chances, and the Blue Demons quickly demonstrated their appreciation.
"It was exciting the way my teammates were supporting me," Mercurio said. "We were all pretty shocked to get that goal so soon."
DePaul (5-3-2) continued to attack Loyola goalkeeper Colleen Dougherty, launching a season-high 17 shots at the Ramblers with a season-high eight shots on goal.
"We created some chances to score, especially in the second half," said DePaul coach Erin Chastain. "Both Ari (Arianna Foster) and Ashleigh (Goddard) each had a good chance to put one in.
"Casey is pretty fearless, and she is a good target on set pieces. She did a good job of tracking Tara's corner kick and got on the end of it."
In the 87th minute, Radosavljevic had a great individual sequence that led to her second goal of the season.
"Our defender Kyle Nordness had crossed the ball down the line," Radosavljevic said. "The defender tried to shield me from the ball, but I read her move and stole the ball from her.
"I turned toward the goal and had a sharp angle. But, I'm left-footed, so I took the shot and luckily it went in.
"We needed an insurance goal we so we could put the game away. It felt really good, and I was overjoyed."
Ever the taskmaster looking to drive her program to unprecedented heights, Chastain had higher expectations.
"Our overall performance---I thought we made the game more difficult than it had to be," said the Blue Demon coach. "It was great that we were able to get the win today, but we have to be a lot better on Friday when we play No. 16 Louisville (7-1-0)."
NOTES: Strickland's assist was the 14th of her Blue Demon career, placing her third all-time in program history... her next assist will tie her for second with Jennifer Dyer... Strickland now has 38 career points, which is fifth all-time... Dyer is fourth all-time with 39 points... less than 24 hours after the DePaul men's soccer team had season highs in shots (19) and shots on goal (14), the women's team duplicated that feat with a season-high 17 shots and season-high eight shots on goal... Michelle Scandora led the assault with five shots and two shots on goal... Kelly Blumberg had three shots with two on-net while Foster also took three shots... Lauren Pagone had two shots... DePaul had a commanding 8-1 advantage in corner kicks... goalkeeper Claire Hanold registered her fourth shutout and also combined for a fifth with Kelsey Hoinkes... Loyola (2-8-0) had its players take the "L" train to Wish Field as their athletic department vans were in use by other teams.
