Oct. 22, 2005

Box Score

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The last undefeated team in Big East play was finally given a setback on Friday evening, as seventh-ranked Notre Dame (15-2-0, 9-1-0 Big East) scored three goals in the final 32 minutes to defeat Villanova (9-4-4, 5-1-3 BE) 4-0 at Alumni Field.

The Wildcats lost for the first time in nearly six weeks and saw their nine-game unbeaten streak (6-0-3) come to an end at the hands of the conference-leading Fighting Irish. The last seven games of the undefeated stretch were against conference opponents and Villanova was the last team in the conference to lose in league play. Notre Dame clinched first place in Division B with the victory while the Wildcats fell into a tie for second place with Louisville.

The tone of the game was set early on as the Fighting Irish outshot Villanova 15-1 in the opening period. However, defense was a team effort for the Wildcats, who got three saves from junior goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) and many other shots were blocked by Villanova defenders.

Notre Dame finally got on the scoreboard in the 58th minute on an unassisted goal by Jill Krivacek. Senior defender Laura Koch (Blackwood, N.J.) blocked a shot on the right side of the box but the Wildcats were slow in clearing the ball out of their own territory. Krivacek intercepted the clearing attempt and fired a hard shot towards the upper-left corner of the net. Loyden leaped but could not deflect the high shot that accounted for the game's first goal.

Villanova's only scoring chance came just over two minutes into the contest when junior forward Megan Farmer (Middle Island, N.Y.) went one-on-one with Fighting Irish goalie Erika Bohn at the top of the box. The Wildcats brought the ball into Notre Dame territory and Bohn came out of the net to try and collect the loose ball. However, Farmer came to the top of the box with a chance to shoot into a completely empty net. Bohn got to the ball just in time, though, and got a touch on Farmer's shot that deflected just left of the net.

Although the Fighting Irish had controlled play offensively throughout the game, their midfield defense had also taken away any potential offensive chances for Villanova. That trend continued following Krivacek's goal, and Notre Dame added an insurance tally with 16:44 remaining when Brittany Bock headed in a corner kick by Katie Thorlakson. Candice Chapman tacked on a goal with 9:48 remaining on a rebound and Maggie Manning delivered the game's final blow with 50 seconds left.

Villanova finishes its weekend road trip against DePaul on Sunday at 1 p.m. Central time.

NOTES: The Wildcats can clinch second place in their division with a win over DePaul on Sunday ... Villanova can only finish second or third in the standings ... A second-place finish would guarantee the team a home game on Sunday, October 30 in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals ... The Fighting Irish are undefeated in their last 64 home games against Big East opponents (63-0-1) ... That streak began during the 1995 season and is currently the longest of its kind in the nation ... The Wildcats were held without a corner kick for the first time this season ... Villanova ranks second in the conference in that category and had managed at least three corners in every game ... Loyden finished with a season-high 10 saves.