Demons achieving record success
Williams key to DePaul's first-ever top 20 ranking
On Sunday afternoon, Williams scored the biggest goal of her life when she delivered the game winner in a 1-0 win over No. 11 Missouri. It was the Blue Demons' first victory over a ranked team in the program's 14 years. On Monday, the program achieved another first when it entered Soccer America's poll at No. 20. DePaul had never been nationally ranked before.
While all of DePaul's players celebrated their accomplishments over the two days, few understood as well as Williams the true significance of it all. What she had to compare it to were the 41 losses she and DePaul had endured over her first three seasons.
"Being here from the beginning and definitely working our way up, it's amazing to me the change that has taken place," said Williams, whose goal against Missouri moved her into seventh place all-time at DePaul. "The road was definitely worth it. We definitely needed everything. I'm glad to be a part of it. To be at this point, it is sweet."
The fact that Williams nearly wasn't able to play this season has made the success even sweeter. It wasn't until June she was granted a sixth year of eligibility.
"You never kind of know if a kid's going to get a sixth year," said DePaul coach Erin Chastain, whose sister-in-law is U.S. soccer star Brandi Chastain. "I felt she was absolutely deserving after what she went through at her junior college."
After graduating from Proviso West in 2004, Williams was recruited to play soccer at Triton College in River Grove, Ill. The school didn't have a women's program at the time, but Williams was guaranteed there would be one when she arrived. The program never materialized.
For two years, Williams gave her all to help assemble a team at Triton, but the attempts failed when there weren't enough players able to consistently make practices and games. Williams wanted to play soccer, but couldn't.
"I thought to myself, 'I can't give up on soccer, and I won't,'" she said. "'I know at some point something is going to work out. I don't know where and I don't know when.'"
DePaul provided those answers the following season. Williams earned a spot on the 2006 team under then-coach John Wilson. She held her own as a freshman and stepped in to a larger role when Chastain was hired the next season. Williams tallied seven goals and nine assists as a sophomore.
Last season could have been her final one. Her eligibility was up, and her only shot at a sixth year in college -- her fourth year to play -- was to apply to the NCAA. The process wasn't easy, as Williams had to explain in detail what had happened to her at Triton and why she deserved another year.
It didn't help that before she received an absolute answer from the NCAA she had her hopes built up and knocked down by a variety of rumors.
"I heard different sides," Williams said. "At first, I heard, 'You definitely can play.' Then it switched to, 'There's no way, sorry.' Honestly, I couldn't give up on it. I looked up everything. I wanted to fight. I couldn't see myself not playing for another year."
Finally in June, she received the good news. Williams was working on campus when Chastain called.
"I totally left the office because I didn't want to scream," Williams said. "It was beautiful and surreal."
Just as Sunday's goal was beautiful and surreal. Off a through-ball from teammate Morgan Celaya, Williams was set up with a one-on-one with Missouri's goalkeeper. The goalkeeper took a step forward, and Williams unleashed a shot.
"I shot to the left, I was on the right," Williams recalled. "I just watched it soar over the goalie from my angle. It was like slow-motion pause. It was amazing. It was amazing.
"I was thinking it was like what a player might feel like after scoring a goal in the World Cup."
Chastain was just as excited.
"It was awesome," Chastain said. "I couldn't have picked someone better to score that goal. I can't express enough how much she cares about this program. She's so excited. You read her quotes where she said it was like winning the World Cup. I laugh at her quote, but she really feels that. It's an honest experience to her."
Scott Powers covers high school and college sports for ESPNChicago.com and can be reached at spowers@espnchicago.com.
