Villanova University

Oct. 24, 2008

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CINCINNATI, Ohio - On a wet, turf field Friday evening at Gettler Stadium, host Cincinnati (9-5-3, 5-2-3 Big East) benefited from two bad hops off the slick surface to score a pair of goals in the first half and a furious offensive performance by Villanova (11-6-1, 4-5-1 Big East) was only able to cut the lead in half in a 2-1 loss that eliminated the Wildcats from contention for a berth in the BIG EAST Championship.

Junior Jessica Carnevale (Princeton, N.J.) scored her second goal of the season on a corner kick from senior Erin Hardiman (Galloway, N.J.) in the 71st minute but Villanova did not find an equalizer despite outshooting the Bearcats 7-2 in the second half. The assist for Hardiman was her 14th of the year and extended the single-season school record she set earlier this month.

In the opening period, Cincinnati got on the board in the 33rd minute when Kristin's May soft kick from 30 yards out took a sudden bad hop just in front of the net and away from Wildcat junior Molly Williams (Hinsdale, Ill.). In the 40th minute, May was positioned on the left corner of the box and a loose ball bounced away from the Villanova defense and right to her for a shot that found the right side of the net.

The teams finished even in the shot count at 9-9 with the Wildcats dominating the offensive chances following the intermission. Hardiman led all players with three shots taken in the game while Carnevale and freshman Kaitlin Ryan (Wayne, N.J.) each had two shots.

Ryan had back-to-back shots in the opening 15 minutes of the second half that were saved by Bearcat goalkeeper Andrea Kaminski and Villanova appeared to find their footing offensively after that. Hardiman had a pair of chances in the 67th minute before the Wildcats finally capitalized shortly thereafter for what wound up to be their lone goal of the game. Kaminski had five saves.

In addition to the wet playing surface, Cincinnati appeared to benefit from a physical-style game by each team. The Bearcats were whistled for 15 fouls compared to 11 by the Wildcats but their increased physical presence in the second half allowed the defense to thwart Villanova's chances at tying the game.

The Wildcats close the 2008 season on Sunday at Noon with a game at Louisville.

NOTES: The Wildcats will miss the eight-team BIG EAST Championship for the first time since 2000 ... Since that season Villanova had been 11-2 in games played during the final week of the regular season, with the only losses in that span coming against national power Notre Dame in 2005 and 2006 ... All seven games that the Wildcats have played against Cincinnati and Louisville since the pair of teams joined the Big East in 2005 have been decided by one goal ... This was the first loss for Villanova in the seven games.