Oct. 30, 2005

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - In a game that featured more goals in the first nine minutes than these two teams had combined for in the past four meetings in the series, No. 3 seed West Virginia (11-4-3) exhibited a strong offensive attack and defeated No. 2 seed Villanova (10-5-4) 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Villanova Soccer Stadium in the quarterfinals of the Big East Championship.

The teams combined to score three goals in the first 8:12 of the contest, surpassing the two total goals (both by the Wildcats) that had been scored in the last four games between the two teams. The Mountaineers opened the scoring just 4:30 into the contest when Marisa Kanela scored her seventh goal of the season on a pass from the right side of the box.

Facing an early deficit against a team that had not scored against them in more than 449 minutes, Villanova refused to be held down. Sophomore forward Nikki Mabery (Phoenix, Ariz.) answered the early West Virginia goal with her team-high seventh tally of the season just at the 5:34 mark to tie the game. On a free kick from near midfield, senior defender Laura Koch (Blackwood, N.J.) chipped a ball over the defense to Mabery, who found the right corner of the net.

In what could have been the final game of her career - pending the Wildcats' status for the NCAA Tournament - Koch not only dished out an assist but also scored her first career goal. With Villanova trailing 3-1 early in the second half, Koch scored at the 51:37 mark to pull the deficit back to one goal.

The Wildcats were awarded their only corner kick of the game in the 52nd minute, and sophomore defender Kayce Blandford (Columbia, Md.) took the kick from left of the box. She sent a kick in to junior midfielder Valerie Grow (Cumberland, R.I.), who chipped the ball to Koch in a scramble to set up the goal.

With Villanova pressing to get back in the game, the Mountaineers scored their final goal at 68:10 to put the score out of reach. Kim Bonilla scored her third goal of the season on a pass from Ashley Banks, who also assisted on the first goal of the game.

West Virginia outshot their hosts 15-6 and accumulated 10 corner kicks, with nine of those attempts coming in the second half. Junior goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) made seven saves in the losing effort.

After tying the game at 1-1 early in the game, the Wildcats fell behind less than three minutes later when Rachael Minnich scored at the 8:12 mark, finishing a Mountaineers fast-break opportunity. West Virginia also scored at the 18:43 mark of the game and led 3-1 heading into halftime.

The loss marked the first time in four seasons that Villanova was eliminated from the conference tournament during the quarterfinals. The Wildcats won their only Big East title in 2003 and had advanced to the semifinals in 2002 and 2004.

Villanova will now await its NCAA Tournament status with the hopes that its seventh consecutive season with at least 10 victories will be enough to earn an at-large bid. The Wildcats have finished with at least a .500 record in each of the past nine seasons, and four of their wins this season have come against teams with a winning record. Among the five losses are setbacks to No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 18 West Virginia and a Lehigh squad that has raced to a 13-1-1 record this season.

Villanova is one of 28 teams that have been selected for the NCAA Tournament in each of the past four seasons. The Wildcats have gone 3-2-3 in the tournament in those four appearances, reaching at least the second round each season except for 2002. Of the 28 teams to appear in each of the last four tournaments, 18 have advanced to the second round at least three times. Four Big East schools are among those 28 teams, including Villanova, Connecticut, Notre Dame and West Virginia.

The pairings for the 2005 NCAA Championship will be announced on Monday, November 7. The tournament selections will air live on ESPN News that afternoon. Further information about those selections, and Villanova's status in the tournament, will be available when the date gets closer.

NOTES: West Virginia avenged a 1-0 loss to the Wildcats at its home field in the quarterfinals of the 2004 Big East Championship ... Villanova also advanced past the Mountaineers on penalty kicks in the semifinals of the 2003 conference tournament ... The all-time series between the two teams now stands at 4-4-4 ... Mabery has scored a goal in three of the past four games and leads the Wildcats with seven goals and 19 points for the season.