August 17, 2012
NO ODD COUPLE
Roomies give DePaul women first win

Ashleigh Goddard scored DePaul’s first goal just 11 seconds into the new season and Natasa Radosavljevic tallied the game-winner in the 14th minute of the Blue Demons’ 2-1 victory over Towson at Wish Field.

The pair, who are roommates, each assisted on the other’s goal.

“That was the quickest goal I have ever scored,” Goddard said. “I passed off to Natasa and she served it back to me. It was a one-two combination play that we’ve been working on in practice.”
Radosavljevic nodded her head.

“I like Ashleigh in a one-on-one situation,” she said. “After I passed it, I thought to myself: ‘Ashleigh is going to finish it.’”

Ready to pay back her roomie, Goddard got the chance just 13 minutes later. The junior forward struck a well-placed ball that set up Radosavljevic for a one-on-one opportunity against Towson goalkeeper Erin Quinn.

“I had a breakaway,” Radosavljevic said. “I couldn’t slow down too much because the defenders were trying to catch up. But I didn’t want to go too fast and miss the shot.

“I took what the goalkeeper gave me and scored.
“Ashleigh and I are going into our third year of playing together. We have a good feeling for each other’s playing style.”

DePaul’s defensive style held off the Towson attack until the 67th minute when the Tigers’ top attacker Cheyenne Skidmore broke behind the Blue Demon defenders and beat goalkeeper Megan Pyrz near post. Kat Sipes set it up with a long thru ball.

“We did a nice job setting the tone right away and executing on the first play,” said DePaul coach Erin Chastain. “After we led 2-0 at halftime, we should have closed the game off with a goal in the second half.

“There were some great chances, but we didn’t finish them off. It forced us to play a very tight game for the final 20 minutes.”

The Blue Demons were up to the task of protecting the one-goal lead.

“Sure, we are disappointed that we gave up the goal,” Goddard said. “But overall, this win today set us up for the season.

“It’s a good start, and we’re only going to build from here.”

DePaul takes on crosstown rival Loyola Chicago at 1 p.m. Sunday at Wish Field.