Sept. 2, 2005

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Visiting Lehigh (3-0) scored the game's only goal in the 77th minute, and the Mountain Hawks defeated Villanova (1-2-1) 1-0 in a non-conference game Friday afternoon at Villanova stadium.

Lehigh netted the decisive goal with 13:29 remaining in the game when Megan Carner scored from the middle of the box on a rebound. The Mountain Hawks were awarded a corner kick with 14:03 remaining, and Melissa Montalvo sent the ball into the middle of the box. Gina Lewandowski took a hard shot that was saved by Wildcat goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.), but the rebound came to Carner. Carner touched the ball in a crowd and found the middle of the net for her first goal of the season.

For the fourth straight game this season, Villanova outshot the opposition, but failed to score a goal for the first time. The Wildcats had a 23-13 shot advantage and five corner kicks, but were shut out despite launching shots from long range and short range throughout the game. Sophomore midfielder Stacia Hartung (Rochester, N.Y.) had a team-high four shots, while three other players took three shots for Villanova. In the net for Lehigh, Julie Kafka had 11 saves along the way to posting her second shutout of the season. Loyden had four saves for Villanova, and the team tacked on two other team saves for a total of six stops on the defensive end.

Kafka made six of her saves in the critical second period, despite a 12-6 shot advantage for the Wildcats. The Mountain Hawks nearly opened the scoring in the middle of the half when Montalvo had a shot from the center of the box. Loyden, however, dove towards the shot and came up with a well-earned save to preserve the scoreless tie until the eventual game-winner in the 77th minute.

Villanova plays its fourth home game in 10 days on Sunday afternoon against Vermont at 1 p.m.