Aug. 27, 2006

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On Sunday afternoon the Wildcats posted an impressive 4-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in their home opener for the 2006 season. Villanova scored two goals in each half and won its first home game for the 10th straight season since the arrival of head coach Ann Clifton. Below are some notes from the game.

Home Opener Success: Sunday afternoon's victory improved the Wildcats to 17-7 all-time in their home openers, including 11-1 (.916) when the home opener is not their first game of the season. In addition, Villanova remained undefeated (10-0) in home openers since the arrival of head coach Ann Clifton.

Adding to the List: Junior midfielder Melissa Murowski (Warren, N.J.) scored the first goal of the game in the 22nd minute. It was the second career goal for Murowski, whose previous tally came in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament in 2004 against Connecticut. Today's goal was Murowski's first career game-winning goal. She became the 68th different Wildcats since the team became a varsity sport in 1983 to score a game-winning goal.

Debuts for Four: Four different players made their collegiate debut in the game against the Knights. The first was freshman forward Samantha Moskal (Chantilly, Va.), who earned the start and played most of the game on the back line. Freshman midfielder Jessica Carnevale (Princeton, N.J.) entered the game in the first half and freshman defender Heidi Boersma (Englewood, Colo.) came into the game in the second half. In goal, redshirt freshman Leann Kania (Pittsburgh, Pa.) played the final 24 minutes to share the shutout with Jillian Loyden.

Another Blanking: Junior goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) made her 42nd career start on Sunday afternoon and did not allow a goal for the 19th time. The Wildcats have a shutout percentage of 0.452 since Loyden began her career in 2004. Loyden has 15 career solo shutouts and has played 156:36 of scoreless soccer in the net so far this season. For her career, Loyden owns marks of a 0.85 GAA and .845 save percentage.

Fast Start for Forwards: Senior forward Lindsey Finnegan (Blackwood, N.J.) and her junior counterpart Nikki Mabery (Phoenix, Ariz.) were the team's top two scorers last season, combining for 13 goals and nine assists during the season. So far this season, the pair is tied for the team lead with three points apiece (one goal, one assist for each player). They have combined for six of the team's 15 points in two games. Last season, the two players had just one combined point (an assist by Finnegan) through the first four team games.

Early Tallies: The Wildcats have netted at least one first half goal in each of their first two games this season. Last season Villanova scored in the first half just seven times in 19 outings and scored more than 71 percent of its goals after halftime. However, the Wildcats were 6-1 (.857) last year when they did score a goal in the first half, making this season's first two games a promising sign for the remainder of the year.

Youth Movement: Today's starting lineup included freshmen Erin Byrnes (Sayville, N.Y.), Kelly Eagan (St. James, N.Y.) and Samantha Moskal (Chantilly, Va.). The young players in the lineup continued a trend that began when Byrnes and Eagan each started the season opener against La Salle. It marked the first time since 1999 that as many as two true freshmen were in the starting lineup for the opening game of the season. That year, Julie Battista, Jennifer Carrigan and Kristin Dunst were all in the lineup for the season opener, a 2-1 victory over Syracuse.