Oct. 29, 2006

Box Score

MILWAUKEE, Wis.-Host Marquette (11-5-4) scored the game's only goal in the 23rd minute and eliminated Villanova (15-3-2) from the BIG EAST Tournament with a 1-0 victory in the quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at Valley Fields. The Wildcats now must await their NCAA Tournament status and hope for an at-large bid to the field of 64 teams. Tournament bids will be announced on Monday, November 6.

The teams battled to gain an advantage in the opening minutes and junior forward Nikki Mabery (Phoenix, Ariz.) brought the ball into the box on what turned out to be Villanova's best scoring chance of the afternoon. On a pass from the right side, Mabery turned past a defender and had space in the box. However, a hard shot directed towards the middle of the net was intercepted by Golden Eagles goalkeeper Laura Boyer.

Marquette got its goal just moments later and then held on to advance to the semifinals for the second straight season. Allison Mallams came up the right side with the ball and had room along the pack line. She passed to Christy Zwolski, who scored from the middle just in front of the net.

The Wildcats made a push late in the second half to find an equalizer, generating several corner kicks during an offensive series deep in Golden Eagles territory. Freshman Erin Byrnes (Sayville, N.Y.) had a shot with less than five minutes to play that was blocked by a Marquette defender but sophomore Nicole Coia (Simpsonville, S.C.) got a second touch and blasted the ball back towards the goal. However, that shot was saved by Boyer and Villanova was unable to manufacture any other scoring opportunities in the closing minutes.

Thus far on the season, the Wildcats have tied a program record with 15 victories. The team's only regular season losses came to opponents nationally ranked in the top 10, and Villanova has outscored its opponents by a hearty 34-8 margin.

Junior goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) and Boyer had two saves apiece for the afternoon. The Wildcats were outshot 7-5 and each team had four corner kicks.

NOTES: Marquette earned the #2 seed from the American Division during the season, while Villanova was the #3 seed from the National Division ... The Golden Eagles will take on Notre Dame in the semifinals on Friday evening at the University of Connecticut ... The other semifinal game pits West Virginia against Rutgers ... The Wildcats have not won a game in which they trailed at halftime since 2001.