DePaul University
Illinois State
DePaul's Offensive Falls Short in Overtime
9/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
Sept. 4, 2011
CHICAGO, Ill. - Stepping onto the Wish Field turf Sunday, DePaul was ready for a big turnaround.
The Blue Demons put on an offensive show, but came up short in a 4-3 overtime loss to Illinois State.
Rachel Tejada's third goal of the game in the 92nd minute put a damper on DePaul's best offensive showing of the season.
Amber Paul scored one goal in each half and Ashleigh Goddard scored a goal in the 80th minute to bring DePaul to a 3-3 tie in regulation time.
Goddard notched her first goal of the season after a corner kick from Rebekah Roller.
ISU took a 3-2 lead in the 74th minute on a goal by Mary Sahm.
Paul's second goal was a header into the Illinois State net off a textbook corner kick from Roller in the 53rd minute.
Illinois State's talented freshman forward Rachel Tejada opened the scoring with her sixth goal of the season in the 24th minute. It came after an assist from Anna Stinson.
Tejada continued making forays into the DePaul zone, and it paid off in the 35th minute. She battled with a DePaul defender in the middle of the field, recovered possession and fired a shot from eight yards away past goalkeeper Claire Hanold.
Looking for retaliation, the Blue Demons cut the deficit in half in the 40th minute. After a corner kick from Roller, there was a scramble in front of the Redbird net. Paul lifted a shot over the head of ISU keeper Mara Kremenovic for the first goal of her collegiate career.
That sent Paul and her teammates into halftime trailing 2-1.
Early in the match, DePaul had been the aggressor. The Blue Demons had outshot Illinois State 4-1 by the midpoint of the first half with two of those shots on goal.
Nikki Condit had the best chance early on with a one-on-one opportunity from the left wing, but Kremenovic came up with the save.
The shots were even at five apiece after the first 45 minutes. ISU outshot DePaul 20-16 and had 10 shots on goal to seven for the Blue Demons.
The Blue Demons were looking to get back on the winning track after coming up short in their first four matches.
DePaul returns to action on Thursday at Loyola-Chicago.
