A slow start against the visiting Loyola Ramblers saw DePaul women’s soccer succumb to a 1-0 defeat in the Red Line Rivalry Sunday on Tricia Stonebraker’s volley from 12 yards out.

Stonebraker’s goal for Loyola (1-0-0) came in the 20th minute of play off a cross from midfielder Maggie Olsen. The Ramblers’ No. 10 chested the ball down before putting her laces through a half-volley that dipped over the diving Megan Pyrz.

That goal was enough to see off the Blue Demons (1-1-0), who came out slow after Friday’s 2-1 win over Towson in which Ashleigh Goddard and Natasa Radosavljevic each netted in the first 13 minutes of the match.

The slow start is ultimately what cost DePaul the match, head coach Erin Chastain said.

“This game for us was all about the start, and it obviously didn’t go well for us,” she said. “We didn’t have energy at the start and didn’t strengthen until 20 minutes, but by then we had dug ourselves a hole. That’s the disappointing part.”

Loyola enjoyed large spells of possession in the first 20 minutes, camping out in DePaul’s half of the pitch for the majority of the period. The Ramblers took six shots in the half, forcing Pyrz to make three saves (six total) including a low diving effort midway through the first.

DePaul’s sluggish start resulted in only three shots on keeper Monica Gonyo’s goal in the first, forcing the sophomore to make just one save in the half.

“It’s always harder to be ready for the Sunday game when you’re not fresh,” Chastain said. “You can tell they didn’t play on Friday. We just weren’t ready (to start the game). That’s something we’ll be working on.”

Once DePaul did find its legs, however, they had better control of the game, putting more shots on target and forcing Loyola into conceding corners.

Two good opportunities for the Blue Demons came at the brink of halftime. An interception by Rebekah Roller fed Radosavljevic in a wide position on the right. The junior cut inside getting by one defender, but she couldn’t get a shot off on her favored left foot. Another opportunity fell to Goddard on the edge of the six yard box just minutes later, but her effort whizzed by the far post.

“We did some good things today and created chances, but we just didn’t finish,” Chastain said of the team’s second half that forced Gonyo into five total saves.

DePaul was outshot in the match 12 to 10. Pyrz’s six saves – including one from point-blank range on Sally Tashjian – helped keep the Blue Demons in the match.

Ultimately, however, the best chance of the match fell to Stonebraker, who made no mistake on her volley.

“Credit to them. I thought they had one good chance to score and they did,” Chastain said.

Next up for the women’s soccer team is a visit from Ohio on Friday, Aug. 24 at Wish Field. The match starts at 4 p.m. following the men’s season opener vs UIC at 1 p.m.
ξ