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Wildcats Welcome Unfamiliar Foes to Villanova Classic
Aug. 27, 2009
VILLANOVA, Pa.--After a week-long break following its season-opening 4-0 win over Temple last Friday, the Wildcats return to the field this weekend to host the Villanova Classic, which will feature visiting teams Lehigh, Nebraska and Virginia Tech. Villanova has played just 10 games combined against these three opponents, eight of which have come against Lehigh, the one opponent the Wildcats will not face in this weekend's tournament. The other two games came against Friday afternoon's draw - Virginia Tech - who Villanova posted a pair of wins against in 2001 and 2003 when the Hokies were a member of the BIG EAST.
Virginia Tech now plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and will be the first team from the ACC to play at the West Campus Soccer Complex. The Wildcats have not had a home game against an ACC foe since they defeated Maryland by a 5-1 score on September 26, 1991, one year before the team's current home facility opened. Villanova hasn't played any games against an ACC team since winning at Maryland, 2-0, on September 8, 2005. Overall, the Wildcats are 16-32-3 (.343) against the 12 teams that currently make up the ACC. However, those 51 games include 22 played against Boston College, Miami (Fla.) and Virginia Tech when those schools were BIG EAST opponents.
Taking out those 22 games played leaves Villanova with a 7-20-2 mark in its other games against ACC teams, though a mere three of those games have come in the last 11 years. In other words, this weekend's games against the Hokies and Cornhuskers (Nebraska is a member of the Big 12 Conference) are an opportunity for the Wildcats to match up against teams from two strong leagues in Division I women's soccer. The ACC was the top-rated conference last season as estimated by the website soccerratings.com, while the Big 12 came in at No. 6 and the BIG EAST at No. 7.
Playing in the BIG EAST assures the Wildcats of always having a strong strength of schedule, a key component of the RPI formula. A strong non-conference slate including this weekend's games will provide additional strength of schedule to a Villanova team that is riding high after winning its season opener for the ninth straight year against the Owls last week.
The Wildcats featured a bit of a different look from last season, as only four starters from the game against Temple were in the starting lineup in last season's opener against UMBC. The various combinations Villanova used against the Owls worked, as six different players registered at least one point and three different players scored goals. The scorers included freshman Heidi Sabatura (Lawrenceville, N.J.), who is this week's BIG EAST Rookie of the Week after a two-goal, one-assist collegiate debut.
About Virginia Tech: The Hokies scored early each half in a 2-0 win over High Point in their season opener at home last Sunday afternoon. Virginia Tech outshot their visitors by a 31-2 count, including a 9-0 edge in shots on goal. Kelly Conheeney and Emily Jukich each scored for the Hokies. Last season, Virginia Tech was 10-9-4 overall and 4-4-2 in regular season ACC play. The Hokies advanced to the NCAA Tournament and fell 2-0 to BY in the opening round.
Series History: Villanova scored a pair of goals in both its previous games against Virginia Tech, including a 2-0 victory on September 17, 2000 and a 2-1 win on September 14, 2003. The game in 2003 was the sixth contest in a seven-game winning streak to open the season for the Wildcats, who were ranked No. 21 in the nation at the time and would eventually reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Villanova scored first and last in the 2-1 win, breaking a 1-1 halftime tie early in the second half on a Regina Villari goal in the 47th minute.
Villanova Head Coach John Byford: 2nd Season at Villanova (12-7-1, .625); 7th Overall (60-46-9, .561)
Notes: Villanova is 16-5-1 (.750) in the month of August, including eight straight wins over the past three seasons ... The Wildcats have dominated their opposition during in-season tournaments in recent years ... Villanova has won 13 consecutive regular season tournament games since 2005 and owns a record of 18-3-1 (.841) in tournaments since 2003 ... The team's all-time tournament mark is 42-33-4 (.557).
On This Date: The Wildcats are 1-1 on August 28, with both prior games ending in a 2-1 score ... Villanova's march to an eventual ECAC title began with a season-opening win against Syracuse in 1999 ... Saint Joseph's defeated the Wildcats on this date in 2005.
Up Next: Villanova faces Nebraska at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the final game of this weekend's tournament. The Wildcats have faced a current member of the Big 12 just once before, back in 1990 when they played Texas A&M in the WAGS Tournament.
Today's Basics
Kickoff: 4:00 PM
Broadcast Information
Nova Nation All-Access Package: Live streaming audio and video during the game (visit www.villanova.com for complete details)
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