Women's Soccer Opens 2019 Season Thursday

CHICAGO - DePaul Women's Soccer will kick off the 2019 regular season with a pair of home games against Milwaukee on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 4:00 p.m. and RV SMU on Sunday, Aug. 25 at 1:00 p.m. Both matches will be live streamed on DePaul All-Access.

Led by head coach Erin Chastain in her 13^th season, the Blue Demons return 17 of their players including Avery Hay, Jessica Lazo, Bina Saipi, Gwen Walker, Jade Eriksen-Russo, Ellie Mink, Morgan Turner, Sydney Parker and Mollie Eriksson. The Blue Demons welcome eight freshman to the program as well as Michele Dalton as the volunteer goalkeepers coach. Michele O'Brien and Rachel Pitman return for their sixth and second seasons respectively.

DePaul was picked to finish sixth in the #BIGEASTwsoc Preseason poll for the second consecutive year, slated behind Georgetown, Butler, Providence and Xavier. Last season, DePaul (8-6-5) finished in a three-way tie for fourth-place tie with Providence and Xavier.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee returns 18 total players, eight of them starters. The Panthers added 12 newcomers to the program as well. Coming off a 16-2-1 overall season and a 9-0 conference record, the Horizon League Champions were picked at the top of the poll for the fourth consecutive season. The Panthers earned plenty of post-season accolades including Kelli Swenson as Defensive Player of the Year, Haley Johnson as Freshman of the Year and Troy Fabiano as Horizon League Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year.

SERIES STUFF
The Panthers hold a slight 4-3 edge in the overall series, following a DePaul loss last season in Milwaukee. The Blue Demons outshot the Panthers 16-12, with both teams attempting eight shots on goal but senior Franny Cerny's lone goal in the 53rd minute wasn't enough to hold them off. Last year's matchup was the first between the two since the Blue Demons earned two straight wins in 2013 and 2014.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
SMU welcomes five and returns seven starters from last season. They ended the 2018 season with a 10-6-2 overall record to accompany a 5-4 conference record, putting them fifth in the American Athletic Conference. In the AAC Preseason Poll, SMU was picked to finish fourth in the conference. The Mustangs competed in one exhibition games, earning a 1-0 victory over the LSU Tigers.

SERIES STUFF
DePaul has faced SMU twice in program history in 2013 and 2018. The 2013 match was canceled due to weather and the Blue Demons dropped a 2-1 battle in Dallas last season. DePaul's 2018 All-BIG EAST Preseason senior forward Franny Cerny and senior midfielder Madeline Frick had multiple chances to find the back of the net — both with three shots — but were unsuccessful. Frick scored the lone goal for the Blue Demons in the 86^thminute to cut SMU's lead to one.

2018 BIG EAST HONORS
...DePaul's captain Franny Cerny was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team
...Center back Adrian Walker was tabbed to the All-BIG EAST Second Team
...Goalkeeper Mollie Eriksson and midfielder Ellie Mink were both earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team
...Morgan Turner was named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Women's Soccer Team
...Mollie Eriksson earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (10/29 and 9/10)

SOCIAL MEDIA
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Players Mentioned

Franny Cerny

Jade Eriksen-Russo

Mollie Eriksson

Mollie Eriksson

Madeline Frick

Avery Hay

Jessica Lazo

Ellie Mink

Ellie Mink

Sydney Parker

Bina Saipi

Morgan Turner

Morgan Turner

Adrian Walker

Gwen Walker