Oct. 8, 2006

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio - Sophomore Erin Hardiman (Galloway, N.J.) scored her first goal of the season just 40 seconds into the second half and Villanova (13-0-2, 5-0-2 Big East) recorded a 1-0 victory over Cincinnati (6-5-2, 2-3-1) on Sunday afternoon at Gettler Stadium.

After a scoreless opening period junior Nikki Mabery (Phoenix, Ariz.) crossed a ball into the box from the left side, sliding it past the Bearcats goalkeeper to give the Wildcats an opportunity in front of an open net. Hardiman then followed through with her second career goal to give Villanova the lead.

Cincinnati had several chances offensively in the second half and outshot the Wildcats 8-4 in the period. None of those opportunities resulted in an equalizer however, and Villanova went on to post its 13th shutout of the season.

The win, coupled with Notre Dame's victory over Rutgers, moved the Wildcats into second place in the BIG EAST National Division. Villanova now has 17 points in conference play while the Fighting Irish (6-0-0) have 18 points. Rutgers (5-1-1) falls to third place with 16 points.

Junior goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) had two saves in the game and posted her 10th solo shutout of the season and fourth in a row. The Wildcats vaunted defense limited the Bearcats to just two shots on goal out of their 13 shots for the game. Villanova was outshot 13-8 on the day but won its second straight game on this weekend's road trip despite allowing the opposition more shots in each game.

The Wildcats are now 84-0-5 since 1999 when they score the first goal of a game. Villanova has netted the first goal in 14 of its 15 games this season, with the only exception being a scoreless tie against Providence. The Wildcats own a 27-2 scoring margin over their opponents and have allowed just one goal in the last 1186:53 of play.

Villanova will be back on the road for a pair of games next weekend, beginning with a battle against West Virginia this coming Friday at 7 p.m. The Mountaineers were ranked seventh in the nation in this week's NSCAA Top 25 poll.

NOTES: Since the beginning of last season the Wildcats are 12-0 in games decided by a 1-0 score ... Villanova has outscored its opponents just 3-0 over the last four games ... The Wildcats scoreless defensive streak is currently at 417:01 ... The NCAA released the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on Friday ... In the measure of a team's overall strength, Villanova was ranked 12th overall among the 310 Division I programs ... Notre Dame (No. 1) and Louisville (No. 11) were the only BIG EAST programs ahead of the Wildcats ... Villanova defeated Louisville 1-0 on the road Friday night just hours after the RPI release.