Aug. 25, 2006

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Two familiar opponents will square off in the women's soccer season opener on Friday night, as Villanova and La Salle meet at McCarthy Field in Philadelphia. The game will mark the first evening season opener in team history for the Wildcats, who are beginning their 24th season of varsity competition. The Explorers, meanwhile, will be playing for the first time under the lights on their new turf field. La Salle student radio will broadcast the game live over the Internet. The broadcast can be accessed by clicking here.

Kickoff on Friday is at 7 p.m. and fans interested in attending the game can obtain driving directions by clicking here. There is no admission charge for tonight's game. Villanova returns home on Sunday afternoon to host Fairleigh Dickinson at 4 p.m. in its home opener.

The Wildcats and La Salle have met 14 times previously, including seven times at La Salle and twice in season opening games. Villanova leads the all-time series by a 13-1 margin, though the Explorers lone victory did come in a season opener played at McCarthy Field (1-0 in the 2000 season). The last three games in the series have each been decided by a 1-0 score, with the Wildcats claiming wins at home in 2002 and 2005. The game last season was also the season opener, and a goal in the 73rd minute lifted Villanova to the win.

Entering tonight's game, the Wildcats have an all-time record of 10-11-2 in season openers. Recent history has been good to Villanova in this regard, however, as the team has won their past five openers and six of the last nine since the arrival of 10th-year head coach Ann Clifton. The Wildcats all-time record in season openers on the road is 3-5-2.

The Explorers are the only Philadelphia Big 5 team that Villanova faces this season. The Wildcats are 32-2-4 all-time against their city rivals, including unbeaten marks in games against Penn (14-0-2) and Temple (3-0-2). Last week at the West Campus Soccer Complex, Villanova blanked Saint Joseph's in its only preseason exhibition game.

Although playing a game less than 20 miles from campus hardly constitutes a road trip, playing games away from home has been a good thing for the Wildcats over the past two seasons. Villanova owns a record of 12-3-3 (.750) on the road since the beginning of the 2004 season. The team will try to continue that streak of success this evening and win for the seventh time in eight tries at La Salle.

Statistics and a full recap of tonight's game will be available on www.villanova.com following the contest, and fans can also call the Villanova Athletics Scoring Hotline at 888-400-NOVA (6682) for the score and highlights of the game.