Villanova University

Oct. 8, 2009

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova field hockey team (7-3, 1-1 BIG EAST) is riding high after their 10-1 victory over the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks earlier this week, but their focus is geared towards the weekend ahead as they take on BIG EAST rival No.15 Louisville (6-5, 1-2 BIG EAST) at Villanova Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 10th and city rival La Salle (4-8) at DeVincent Field on Sunday, Oct. 11th.

The University of Louisville Cardinals are coming back from nearly a week off after suffering a tough 2-1 overtime loss to No. 8 Michigan State. Just a day earlier, the Cardinals had a 6-1 conference win over Rutgers to earn their first BIG EAST win of the season. Senior forward Kayla May was recognized by the conference office earlier this week and was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for her performances.

The Cardinals will be guided on offense by Hayley Turner (7 goals, 9 assists, 23 points), Nicole Youman (4 goals, 9 assists, 17 points) Nikki Auker (5 goals, 2 assists, 12 points) and May (5 goals, 10 points). Louisville will be anchored in cage by senior Heather Bustanoby, who has earned over 755 minutes in cage for the Cardinals and carries a .714 save percentage. Bustanoby also boasts a 1.66 GAA.

On Sunday, the Wildcats make the short trek to La Salle's DeVincent Field to compete against the Explorers in a non-conference matchup. La Salle is coming off a 4-0 loss to No. 14 Stanford; prior to the Villanova contest on Sunday, the Explorers will take on A-10 rival West Chester in a home game on Friday, Oct. 9th at 3 p.m.

The Explorers are led by Rebecca Chylack (7 goals, 3 assists, 17 points), Beth Carey (4 goals, 7 assists, 15 points) and Haley Froshour (1 goal, 5 assists, 7 points). Goalie Emma Ruth has played 864 minutes in cage for La Salle and has a .761 save percentage.

Villanova has plenty of statistics to boast of their own. The Wildcats will be led by the offensive firepower of junior Meredith Sabatini (12 goals, 4 assists, 28 points), junior Lauren Wuzzardo (8 goals, 7 assists, 23 points), junior Meg Ryan (6 goals, 8 assists, 20 points) redshirt junior Dana Ramsden (7 goals, 5 assists, 19 points) and senior captain Emily Donaldson (2 goals, 8 assists, 12 points).

Earlier this week, sophomore goalie Megan Goelz (Yardley, Pa.) earned her third consecutive BIG EAST Honor Roll accolade of the 2009 season. For the year, Goelz has compiled over 477 minutes in cage for the Wildcats and boasts a .784 save percentage, placing her tied for 8th place amongst NCAA Division I goalies. She has faced a total of 96 shots while making 40 saves.