Nov. 5, 2007

VILLANOVA, Pa. - In Sunday afternoon's game against West Virginia, senior goalkeeper Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) broke into the career top-10 in NCAA Division I history by surpassing 7,500 career minutes. To date, Loyden has played 82 career games and a total of 7,542:04 minutes in the net, a total which places her 10th all-time.

Loyden took over as the starting goalkeeper for the Wildcats as a redshirt freshman in 2004 and her career statistics are staggering. She has surrendered a mere 57 goals to the opposition and owns a 0.68 career goals-against average. That mark ranks 17th all-time in the NCAA record book. In addition, Loyden has posted 37 shutouts while making 370 saves and compiling an .867 save percentage.

Already this season, Loyden has broken the Villanova career records for victories, shutouts and minutes played. She is the active leader in each of those categories among all current BIG EAST goalkeepers and currently sports a career record of 48-19-14.

While Loyden enjoyed a great deal of success in her first two seasons in goal for the Wildcats, her efforts over the past two years have set a new standard for success. Since the beginning of the 2006 campaign, Loyden has played 42 games and totaled 3902:23 minutes in goal. In that span she has permitted just 21 goals while posting 23 solo shutouts. Those numbers work out to a composite 0.48 goals-against mark and a 0.548 solo shutout percentage. It is no surprise that Villanova has gone 26-8-8 (.714) in that span.

Only one other BIG EAST goalkeeper ranks among the top-10 in the NCAA for career minutes. Jen Renola (Notre Dame) played 8,110:40 from 1993-96. Two other goalkeepers from current league members (Christy Hoffman of Cincinnati, Mo Bothwell of Marquette) are also in the top-10 but played before their respective schools joined the BIG EAST Conference.

In goals-against average, only Liz Wagner of Notre Dame (1998-01) ranks ahead of Loyden in the NCAA record book among the top-17. Loyden is a two-time BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year and a favorite to become the first player ever to win the award three times during her career.

The accomplishments for Loyden over the past four seasons have earned her a good deal of national recognition as well. In 2006, Loyden became the first player in program history to be named a first team All-American. This season, she was a preseason All-America selection by Soccer America and was named to the watch list for the prestigious M.A.C. Hermann Trophy. Loyden was also one of 20 initial candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.