Oct. 10, 2008

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VILLANOVA, Pa. - Goals in the opening and closing minutes of play bookended a 3-0 victory for Villanova (11-3, 4-2 Big East) on Friday afternoon against DePaul (2-12, 0-6 Big East) at the West Campus Soccer Complex. The Wildcats scored 31 seconds into the contest and with 10 seconds remaining on a day when senior Erin Hardiman (Galloway, N.J.) set a single-season program record with her 11th and 12th assists of the year.

The Wildcats struck on their very first offensive rush of the game after claiming possession after the opening kickoff by the Blue Demons. Junior Grace Hawkins (Northport, N.Y.) scored her sixth goal of the season when she shot a ball past charging goalkeeper Kelsey Hoinkes. Sophomore Rachel Schuyler (Cheshire, Conn.) was able to keep possession at midfield and passed the ball ahead for her fifth assist of the year.

Hardiman's 11th assist of the season was the record breaker and came in the 34th minute on the team-high eighth goal of the campaign scored by freshman Kaitlin Ryan (Wayne, N.J.). The play was set up on a pass from the right side by sophomore Amy Greco (Media, Pa.) and Hardiman then found Ryan open in front of the goal. Ryan's shot from right to left went into the bottom corner of the net and marked the fourth time this year Hardiman has assisted on one of Ryan's goals.

Villanova eventually withstood a charge by DePaul to get on the board during the second half and closed the scoring on Hawkins' second goal of the contest with just 10 seconds to play. Hardiman added to her new record with a pass across the top of the box to Ryan, who fired a ball from the right side towards the net that Hawkins neatly finished for the game's third goal.

This afternoon's win was the fourth straight shutout for the Wildcats, who have not allowed a goal in the last 381:04 of play. Junior Molly Williams (Hinsdale, Ill.) made four saves to pick up her sixth shutout of the season and extended her own personal shutout streak to 382:53 without being scored on.

Although it controlled the game in the midfield and on the scoreboard, Villanova did have to work hard to keep the Blue Demons from interrupting the scoreless defensive streak. After owning a 12-4 shot advantage in the first period, the Wildcats were actually outshot, 8-7, after the break. Morgan Celaya led the team with four attempts and two of her shots were stopped by Williams.

There was plenty of action both ways when the ball was in the attacking third and the teams combined for 18 corner kicks in the game, with Villanova taking 10 and DePaul being awarded eight. Hawkins' late goal came after senior Nicole Coia (Simpsonville, S.C.) quickly took the final corner kick of the day with under 30 seconds remaining and went short with a pass to Hardiman.

Kelsey Hoinkes saved six shots for the Blue Demons.

The Wildcats have played the first four games of a five-game homestand and have outscored their opponents 10-0 in this stretch. Next up for the squad is a Senior Day game against top-ranked Notre Dame on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game is the final regular season home contest for Villanova and the team will honor the five members of its senior class in a ceremony prior to the start of the game.

NOTES: Hardiman had tied the previous record of 10 assists in a season last Sunday against Syracuse ... She shared the record with three other players before moving into the top spot today ... Hardiman has had at least one assist in eight out of 14 games this season and has now had at least one helper in three straight contests ... Ryan's eight goals this year match the most by a Villanova freshman since Laura Johnson scored eight times back in 2001 ... Hawkins' early goal marked the first time the Wildcats have scored in the opening minute of play since a first round NCAA Tournament game against Yale on November 12, 2004 ... In that game, Laura Johnson scored 39 seconds after the opening kickoff and later broke a 1-1 tie with a game-winning goal in the second half ... The closest Villanova had come to a goal in the first minute since then was in a 1-0 win over Connecticut on September 29, 2006 ... Nikki Mabery scored the game's only goal just 1:18 into that contest ... The Wildcats are now guaranteed to finish the season with more than 10 wins and a winning record for the 10th straight season ... Villanova has matched last season's win total with five regular season games remaining and has surpassed by two (35-33) its scoring output from a year ago ... Hardiman and Ryan are once again tied for the team lead in points with 20 ... Hardiman has four goals and 12 assists, while Ryan has eight goals and four assists.