Villanova University

Aug. 28, 2005

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - A pair of first-half goals established early momentum for visiting St. Joseph's (1-1), and the Hawks withstood heavy pressure from host Villanova (1-1) in the second half to record a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Villanova Soccer Stadium.

St. Joseph's took the lead early in the game, scoring its first goal just 5:27 into the contest. During an unsettled scramble in front of the net, Kimmy Leigh found the ball in a crowd and tipped it to teammate Nancy Cook. Cook's ensuing shot went past a Wildcat defender and dribbled into the right side of the net.

Villanova increased the pressure on the offensive end throughout the remainder of the opening period, but could not manufacture a goal despite holding an 11-4 shot advantage in the half. The Hawks added their second goal in the 28th minute, as Alisha Paine scored at the 27:08 mark. St. Joseph's created a fast-break chance near midfield, and Paine quickly moved downfield. Once in the box, she took Wildcat junior goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) one-on-one and placed the ball into the middle of the net.

The Wildcats scored their only goal with just under a minute remaining in the game. After a series of offensive attacks by Villanova, senior defender Kristin Anderson (Annapolis, Md.) lofted a long shot from well outside the box. Her shot went just over the fingertips of St. Joseph's goalkeeper Nicole DiEnna and found the very top of the net.

The Hawks made efficient use of the offensive chances they had, as they went on to the victory despite being outshot by a 21-7 margin for the game. Villanova had the majority of offensive opportunities in both periods, and attacked several times deep in St. Joseph's territory. The Wildcats' offensive pressure created 14 corner kick opportunities, but DiEnna came up with nine saves to preserve the Hawks lead.

Villanova opens Big East regular season play this Wednesday against Georgetown at 3 p.m. The Wildcats will travel to Washington, D.C. for the matchup with the Hoyas, who played Villanova to a 1-1 tie last season.

NOTES: The loss marked the first time since the 2001 season that Villanova lost a game in which it scored at least one goal ... The Wildcats had been shutout in each of their past 17 losses ... Villanova had not lost a game in which a non-conference opponent scored multiple goals since a 3-0 setback to then top-ranked North Carolina on Sept. 28, 2003 ... The Wildcats had won 11 straight games against in-state opponents since a loss to Penn State in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament ... Villanova entered the game with an all-time record of 32-1-4 against the other four schools from the Philadelphia area (La Salle, Penn, St. Joseph's and Temple).