Oct. 2, 2005

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QUEENS, N.Y. - Villanova (6-3-4, 2-0-3 Big East) and St. John's (5-6-2, 1-3-1 BE) combined to take 39 shots on Sunday afternoon, but neither team could come up with a goal in a scoreless tie at Belson Stadium. The tie is the second straight for the Wildcats, who deadlocked Syracuse 1-1 on Friday night.

Villanova took 14 of its 21 shots and five of its nine corner kicks after halftime, which is when the team has scored all but four of its goals this season. However, the Red Storm inserted Rebecca Capinera into goal to begin the second half, and she made five saves while playing the remainder of the game. Senior forward Lindsey Finnegan (Blackwood, N.J.) registered a team-high five shots for the Wildcats, while sophomores Nikki Mabery (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Melissa Murowski (Warren, N.J.) attempted four shots apiece.

The Wildcats defense was in its usual strong form along the way to shutting out the opposition for the sixth time in 13 games this season. Junior goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) posted her fifth solo shutout and made six saves in the net. The 18 shots allowed by Villanova matched a season high, but only seven of those shots were on goal as the Wildcats thwarted all of St. John's scoring opportunities.

Villanova and its opponent played a scoreless first half for the sixth time this season. The Red Storm came out firing at the beginning of the game, attempting eight shots in the first 15 minutes and outshooting the Wildcats 10-7 for the period. However, the Villanova defense limited St. John's to just two shots on goal, and the offense created chances of its own with four corner kicks in the half. The Wildcats had the ball deep in Red Storm territory in the closing two minutes of the period but could not manufacture the game's first score.

After playing seven of its last eight games on the road, the Wildcats return home to play their next four games. The homestand begins with two games next weekend. Villanova will host Cincinnati on Friday at 4 p.m. and then entertains Louisville on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both opponents are Division B rivals of the Wildcats in the Big East.

NOTES: Villanova is undefeated through its first five conference games for the first time ever ... The Wildcats last scoreless tie was against BYU in the Sweet 16 of the 2003 NCAA Tournament ... BYU advanced past Villanova on penalty kicks in that contest ... The Wildcats defense has allowed just two goals in the last 610 minutes of play during the last six games ... The squad also has a 0.35 goals-against average in conference play, having surrendered just two goals in five Big East games ... On the other end, however, Villanova has tallied just six scores in the past seven games since a 2-0 victory over Maryland on Sept. 8 ... The tie with St. John's marked the second time this season the team failed to score a goal ... Loyden improved her season marks to a 0.65 goals-against average and .873 save percentage.