DePaul University Athletics
BIG EAST Title Quest Begins Tuesday Against Providence
11/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
BIG EAST Championship First Round
Providence at DePaul | 1:05 PM Tuesday | Wish Field
BIG EAST Digital Network |
DePaul Notes
CHICAGO - DePaul's challenging path to repeat as BIG EAST Conference champion begins on Tuesday with a BIG EAST Championship first-round game against Providence set for 1:05 p.m. at Wish Field.
Unlike last season when the Blue Demons won the conference regular-season title, No. 1 tournament seed and accompanying first-round bye, this year they will have to win three games in six days to defend their title.
They almost pulled that off in 2013, edging Villanova 1-0 at home in the first round and topping Georgetown 1-0 in the BIG EAST semifinals before falling to Marquette 2-0 in the title game.
The first step in this demanding postseason quest is a Providence team that finished the regular season with a school-record 12 wins (12-7-0) and 5-4-0 in the BIG EAST.
Less than two weeks ago, Providence and goalkeeper Kristyn Shea were able to contain DePaul's high-powered attack in a 2-0 Blue Demon loss in Rhode Island.
DePaul has a narrow 6-5 lead in a series that began with a 3-2 Blue Demon victory on Oct. 14, 2005 at Wish Field. The good news for Blue Demon fans is that their favorite side is 5-0-0 against the Friars at Wish Field.
The Blue Demons (12-3-4, 6-1-2) came away with the No. 3 seed in the tournament despite having the same conference record as Georgetown. The Hoyas secured the No. 2 seed and first-round bye because of a tie-breaker. St. John's is the top seed.
The winner of Tuesday's game will face Georgetown (11-5-2, 6-1-2) on Friday at Creighton's Morrison Stadium.
Once again heading up the DePaul attack is senior forward Elise Wyatt with 12 goals and five assists for 29 points. Wyatt needs one more goal set a new single-season record currently shared by Julianne Sitch (2003) and teammate Abby Reed (2014).
Freshman Franny Cerny backs up Wyatt with six goals and five assists while Alexa Ben and freshman Madeline Frick each have four goals and seven assists. Reed has five goals and five assists.
The Blue Demons have outscored their opponents 35-8 and come in with a 115-32 advantage in points. They have outshot teams 280-122 and hold a 138-52 margin in shots on goal. They are 6-1-2 in their last nine games.
Playoff Time: No. 3 seed DePaul opens the BIG EAST Championship at home against No. 6 Providence at 1 p.m. Tuesday with the winner advancing to face No. 2 Georgetown in the BIG EAST semifinals Friday at Creighton... the Blue Demons are 5-4-1 in the BIG EAST postseason, advancing on penalty kicks after last year's 0-0 semifinal tie with Marquette... they went on to win their first BIG EAST tournament title with a 2-0 decision over Georgetown... DePaul made its first BIG EAST playoff appearance in 2009, losing 1-0 at USF... in 2010, the Blue Demons beat Pittsburgh 1-0 and lost to Marquette 3-0... in 2012 they topped Villanova 3-0 before falling to Georgetown 1-0... in 2013 they beat Villanova and Georgetown by 1-0 scores and lost in the title game to Marquette 2-0... that was the only time DePaul had to play three playoff games in six days... they will have to repeat that feat to reach the 2015 title game.
Last Week: DePaul went 1-0-0 with a 2-1 victory in overtime against Marquette at Wish Field... Elise Wyatt opened the scoring with her 12th goal of the season in the 61st minute... Marquette tied it in the 67th minute and Jessie Schmidt scored the golden goal in the 96th minute... Schmidt was named to this week's BIG EAST Honor Roll.
Series History: DePaul leads the series 6-5-0... on Oct. 22, DePaul came away with a 2-0 loss at Providence during the conference season... last year, the Blue Demons edged Providence 2-1 at Wish Field... DePaul is 5-0-0 against the Friars at Wish Field... the first meeting was Oct. 14, 2005 with DePaul winning 3-2 at home.
Conference Scene: The Blue Demons are leading the BIG EAST in points and are tied for the league lead in assists... they are second in goals, shutouts and fewest goals allowed... Wyatt is second in goals and points...Madeline Frick and Alexa Ben are tied for fourth in assists... Alex Godinez is first in shutouts and GAA... Franny Cerny has won the Freshman of the Week award four times.
Notable: Wyatt was the NSCAA and BIG EAST Player of the Week on Oct. 12 after a hat trick and two assists in two games... she set the school's all-time career record for goals with the hat trick against Butler and her current total is 35... she also won both awards on Aug. 31 after five goals in two games... Wyatt is the only player in the country to win the NSCAA award twice... Wyatt was named CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team and Alexa Ben was chosen for the Second Team.
By the Numbers: DePaul has racked up a school-record 11 shutouts and is outscoring its opponents 40-12... the Blue Demons have a 35-8 edge in assists and 115-32 in points... they are outshooting teams 280-122 and have a 138-52 advantage in shots on goal... Wyatt leads the team with 12 goals and five assists for 29 points... she needs one more goal to set the DePaul single-season record... Cerny has six goals and five assists... Frick and Cerny each have four goals and seven assists... Abby Reed has five goals and five assists.
Scouting Report: Providence has won three of its last four and the 12 wins this season are the most in school history... the Friars have outscored opponents 24-20 with a 69-59 edge in points... they have outshot teams 248-242 with a 103-102 edge in shots on goal... Catherine Zimmerman leads the team with six goals and four assists... Rachel Ugolik has five goals and three assists... Casey Estey has four goals and two assists.
