There wasn’t much doubt about this result just two minutes into the match. After taking an early lead over the Army Black Knights (2-3-0), the No. 20 DePaul women’s soccer team (4-0-1) cruised to a 3-0 win.
The Blue Demons were in control from the opening whistle and dominated possession throughout the match. The quick start was rewarded with a goal after Alexa Ben found herself open in the box and slotted it home in the second minute. Head coach Erin Chastain credited the fast start for the win.
“We got off to a great start, so that was nice,” Chastain said. “We brought a ton of energy and created some nice chances and put in some really good performances.”
DePaul would strike again in the 39th minute when Madeline Frick doubled the lead, then again in the dying moments of the match when Franny Cerny scored off a corner kick in the 90th minute to cap off the 3-0 victory.
The trio of goals brings DePaul’s goal tally this season to 17 while only conceding one – impressive considering they only scored in four of the five matches played. While the goals have solely come from the midfielders and forwards, Ben credits this goal-fest to an unlikely candidate: the defense.
“It starts with our backline and goalie. (They) do a wonderful job and coming from them, it helps our offense get together,” Ben said. “Without them, we would have no offense and no momentum building up. They’ve been really solid and just our rock this season.”
For Chastain, it was a tough win to celebrate. Army’s head coach, Marcia McDermott, gave the DePaul coach her first shot at collegiate coaching.
“She’s the reason I got into coaching,” Chastain said. “She was the head coach at Northwestern and hired me as an assistant. She gave me my first job and really helped me get the rest of my jobs being a great reference.”
It’s never easy facing off against friends in the coaching world, and even harder when your opponent is your mentor. It was a game that meant a lot to Chastain and she was happy to get the win.
“Obviously you want your friends to do well. When we scheduled the game, it seemed like a good idea,” Chastain said. “Then as it got closer, I thought, why did we schedule this again?”
“It was a big game for me because I want her to be proud of what I’m doing because she’s a big mentor for me.”
McDermott should be very proud of what her former apprentice is doing with the Blue Demons. They certainly earned the win and made it apparent the home draw against Utah was just a minor bump in the road.
“Utah was a good test for us. Playing against them really showed us we have to get better,” Ben said. “The games after that we wanted to prove why we are ranked and why we had such a good season last year and why we want to have another great season this year.”
“Utah was that starting point for us,” Ben added.