DePaul soccer continues its historic run
The college basketball season is here, and No. 18 DePaul tipped off the action with perhaps the best opening night game in the country Friday in Lincoln Park with a game against No. 5 Texas A&M.
But before we can fully turn our attention to the hardwood, we should recap some of the great accomplishments of the fall sports teams in our state, starting with the DePaul women's soccer team.
Unbeaten Blue Demons:
It's been a historic season for the Blue Demons, who begin their NCAA Tournament run today in Madison, Wisconsin. They'll take on the No. 12 Badgers, who are 18-2-2 and won the Big Ten tournament.
DePaul is riding a 20-game winning streak, the longest in team history. At 16-0-4, the No. 7 Blue Demons and No. 1 UCLA are the nation's only undefeated teams. DePaul also earned its first Big East regular-season title, and first conference tournament title.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to go up to Wisconsin and show soccer fans what DePaul is all about," head coach Erin Chastain said.
"I couldn't be prouder of this team after winning the Big East championship. We'll go out, fight to the end and put ourselves in a position to win the game."
A DePaul victory would set up a second-round matchup with the winner of No. 14 Central Florida vs. Georgia.
Last year, the Blue Demons lost to Indiana in the first round, 1-0.
Illini killing it:
The Illinois volleyball team has become a giant-killer this season, winning eight of 12 matches against teams ranked in the Top 20. Among those wins was an emotional mid-October battle against Big Ten heavyweight Penn State. The Lady Lions were ranked fifth in the nation when No. 12 Illinois got a 3-1 victory.
According to strength of schedule rankings, Illinois has played the country's 15th-toughest schedule. Many of those were league games. The Big Ten boasts six teams in the Top 25, including No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 6 Penn State, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Illinois, No. 16 Purdue and No. 17 Ohio State.
Big moments:
Northwestern isn't one of the top volleyball teams in the country, or the Big Ten. The Wildcats, however, showed how much depth and talent is in the league when they scored a major upset last week in a 3-2 victory over Illinois.
"Emotions were definitely running high, but I think that's what makes this team strong," said Northwestern sophomore Kayla Morin, who had a double-double against the Illini with 15 kills and 18 digs.
Northwestern also handed No. 18 Minnesota a loss in Evanston on Oct. 5.
• Follow Patricia on Twitter@babcockmcgraw, and contact her by email at pbabcock@dailyherald.com.