Oct. 6, 2006

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Junior goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) had a season-high nine saves and Villanova (12-0-2, 4-0-2 Big East) claimed its biggest victory of the season, 1-0 over No. 19 Louisville (9-2-1, 4-2-0 BE) on Friday evening at Cardinal Park. The Wildcats netted the lone goal of the game in the 10th minute and posted their 12th shutout of the season.

Loyden surpassed her previous season-high of seven saves in the first half, making eight stops to keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard. Her effort in the 15th minute typified the game she had. Louisville's Lindsey Fox intercepted a clearing attempt at the top of the box and fired a hard shot that Loyden dove for and saved in front of the goal.

The efforts of Loyden supported the lone score of the game, which came in the 10th minute when freshman Erin Byrnes (Sayville, N.Y.) netted her third goal of the season. After a long punt by Loyden into Cardinal territory, junior Nikki Mabery (Phoenix, Ariz.) passed the ball to Byrnes on the right side of the box. Byrnes had little time to get off a shot with Louisville goalkeeper Joanna Haig charging forward to intercept the ball, but she put the ball into the left side of the net at the 9:22 mark.

Villanova has scored the game's first goal 13 times in 14 outings this season, with the lone exception being a scoreless tie against Providence last Sunday. The Wildcats have not allowed a first-half goal this season and are outscoring their opposition by a 26-2 margin.

Despite the 1-0 margin, the Cardinals showcased their offensive prowess throughout the game and outshot Villanova 17-5 for the evening. The Wildcats previous season low for shots was nine and the team had not allowed as many as 17 shots all season long.

The discrepancy in those numbers wasn't enough to throw off the nation's top defense, however, as Villanova posted its 12th shutout in 14 games. The Wildcats have surrendered just one goal in the last 1096:53 of play over its last 12 games.

Louisville also generated nine corner kicks to Villanova's two, including seven in the first half. The Wildcats have not allowed a goal off a corner kick in the last 56 attempts by their opponents, a streak dating back to last season.

Villanova will play the second of four consecutive road games on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Cincinnati.

NOTES: Tonight's win was the first for the Wildcats over a ranked opponent since Villanova defeated No. 22 West Virginia on October 31, 2004 ... The last time the team beat a team ranked higher than the Cardinals #19 was also against West Virginia ... The Mountaineers were ranked No. 9 when the Wildcats scored a win over WVU on September 24, 2004 ... The Wildcats have won 11 consecutive games that have been decided by a 1-0 score ... Loyden's career high for saves is 10, which she has accomplished on two occasions ... Villanova snapped a scoreless streak of 208:04 with the goal in the first half ... It was the longest such stretch since the Wildcats were scoreless for 256:33 over three games late last season ... Villanova moved back into third place in the BIG EAST National Division with tonight's victory, passing Louisville ... Rutgers leads the division with 16 points, while Notre Dame has 15, the Wildcats have 14 and the Cardinals have 12.