DePaul University
Northwestern
DePaul Falls to Northwestern in Preseason Finale
8/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
Aug. 12, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. - DePaul may have learned a valuable lesson Friday night in its final exhibition match of the women's soccer preseason.
The Blue Demons gave up a pair of opportunistic goals in a 2-0 loss to Northwestern at Lakeside Field in Evanston.
In the first half, Northwestern's leading scorer in 2010, sophomore forward Kate Allen, took advantage of a mistake to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
"We turned the ball over un-necessarily without pressure," said DePaul coach Erin Chastain. "When that happened, Northwestern was able to capitalize on it."
The second goal came in the second half after the Blue Demons were unable to clear out an NU corner kick. Northwestern senior Caroline Dagley got behind the defense and scored an insurance goal.
"I wasn't happy with our performance," Chastain said. "I think we turned the ball over too much.
"We are happy to have had two exhibition games to prepare us for our first match next Friday.
"I didn't get too excited after our exhibition win over Indiana last Sunday, and I'm not panicking that we weren't able to win this game."
Chastain said the Blue Demons will identify the breakdowns and be better prepared for the regular-season opener next Friday against Iowa at Wish Field.
"We saw some bright moments and some areas we need to focus on in training next week," Chastain said. "We need to turn those moments into more consistent performances across the board.
"We also saw some good things from several new players and will add more names to that list next Friday."
