Sept. 13, 2009

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Freshman forward Heidi Sabatura (Lawrenceville, N.J.) tallied a goal in the first half and sophomore forward Katie Ryan (Wayne, N.J.) added a score in the second half to pace Villanova (6-0-1) to a 2-0 victory over Delaware (2-1-1) on Sunday afternoon under sunny skies at the West Campus Soccer Complex. The victory kept the Wildcats - the only remaining BIG EAST team without a loss - undefeated through their first seven games for the fourth consecutive year.

"We were undefeated after seven games last year as well but hopefully the rest of the season won't also be like last year," Villanova head coach John Byford said. "We lost too many games the second half of last season but right now the team is playing well. We competed well for all 90 minutes today the way we did against Vermont on Friday and we could have had more than the two goals we got today."

Back on its home field for the first time in two weeks, Villanova started and finished strong in each half to post its second shutout win of the season. The Wildcats owned an 18-13 edge in shots for the game, though there were stretches in the middle of both periods where the Blue Hens mounted formidable attacks in Villanova territory.

As they have done in every game this season, however, the Wildcats got on the board first when Sabatura got around Delaware goalkeeper Annie Bevan and scored with exactly 15 minutes remaining in the first half. Sabatura dribbled into the box and beat Bevan just in front of the net before putting away her fourth goal of the season.

In the second half, Ryan capitalized on a scoring chance that came about quickly when senior defender Samantha Moskal (Chantilly, Va.) slid a through-ball from the middle to the right side. Ryan used her speed to get in front of the net and score to the bottom left corner for her team-high seventh goal of the year.

Moskal has started the last two games as the left outside back for Villanova and made the most of her opportunity to play every minute in each of those contests. In addition to recording her first career point in today's game, Moskal also had a key team save on a Blue Hens shot in the 65th minute. Caitlyn Germain had a ball that Wildcat senior goalkeeper Molly Williams (Hinsdale, Ill.) initially knocked away in front of the left side of the net, but Germain wound up getting a solid shot off anyway and Moskal kicked it away to prevent Delaware from tying the game.

"During the first half Delaware changed the way they were playing - basically they took out their fourth midfielder and Sam had a lot of space on the left side," Byford said. "We told her that at halftime, that the rest of the game she was going to have a lot of room to start plays with unchallenged space in front of her. She made a nice pass to Katie for the second goal but she hit some other good shots of her own too."

Williams registered her first shutout of the season with four saves on the afternoon. All four of her stops came while Villanova was nursing a 1-0 lead, including two saves late in the first half and two more early in the second half. After the second Wildcat goal in the 70th minute, the Blue Hens managed just one shot the rest of the game.

"We have changed the way we defend and the team is still learning that a bit," Byford said.

Bevan made five saves in goal for Delaware, including a couple of kick saves to knock away shots where Ryan was racing in towards the net with a great deal of momentum.

Villanova's second-year forward scored for the sixth time in seven games this season and has had at least one point in each of the seven games. Sabatura continues to show her potential as well for a balanced Wildcat front line.

"Katie is so fast that she is always going to get opportunities to score during the course of a game," Byford said. "If the opponent makes a mistake even for a second she can get herself into great position. Heidi has done a great job of picking her spots and knowing when she can get past a player and put the ball into the net."

For the fifth straight season, Villanova will play its opening BIG EAST Conference game against Georgetown when the two teams meet this coming Friday at 3 p.m. on North Kehoe Field in Washington, D.C. The Wildcats suffered their first loss of the 2008 season to the Hoyas last year at the West Campus Soccer Complex by a 3-0 count.

"Playing Georgetown will be tough, especially on the road," Byford said. "They came in here last year and beat us pretty easily. It is going to be a good game. We expect a close game that is probably going to be decided by one goal and could go either way."

NOTES: Villanova's other shutout this season was a 4-0 decision against Temple in the season opener last month ... Williams played 82 scoreless minutes in goal in a 4-1 win over Davidson on September 4 and has a 0.93 goals-against average in six starts ... The Wildcats are outscoring their opposition by a 9-0 margin in the first half ... Villanova has scored goals in 13 of the 14 halves it has played this year, with the only exception being the first half against Vermont on Friday.