Villanova Univeristy Athletics

Villanova women’s soccer was only in its third season as a varsity sport when Jean Hajjar arrived on campus in the Fall of 1985. She became one of several players who were instrumental in the growth of the program in its early years and was ranked third in school history in career goals and points at the time of her graduation. Hajjar played for Villanova from 1985-88 and was inducted to the Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2011.
 
Hajjar registered 36 goals, 16 assists and 88 points during her collegiate career. She is one of only two players in program history, along with Cathy Ford, who has scored at least 13 goals in a season twice. The first of those seasons came in her first year with the Wildcats when she had 13 goals, three assists and 29 points in 1985. She followed up the performance with a similarly strong 1986 campaign in which she tallied 10 goals and a career-high seven assists to amass 27 points. Hajjar had her best season in 1987 with 13 goals, six assists and 32 points while helping Villanova to an ECAC Tournament title.
 
When she graduated Hajjar held the Wildcats career record with 192 shots taken and was third in the record book with 10 career game-winning goals. Her single season record of 75 shots attempted in 1987 stood for 17 years until being broken in 2004. Hajjar is still tied for second in school history for game-winning goals in a season with six during her standout 1987 performance. She is tied for fourth in Villanova’s single season annals in points (32, 1987) and tied for fifth in goals scored (13, 1985 and 1987).
 
Playing for head coach Don Paxson in the days before the BIG EAST sponsored women’s soccer as a conference sport, the Wildcats tallied 10+ wins in each of Beirne’s first three seasons. That included Villanova going 10-5-1 her first year and improving that mark to 12-4-3 for the 1986 season. The 1987 team won 13 games (13-6-2), setting a program record for single-season victories which would last for 12 years. The memorable campaign included the first postseason tournament title for Villanova women’s soccer.
 
Hajjar scored two goals and had one assist for a total of five points during the ECAC Tournament in 1987. The tournament berth was the third appearance in five years for the Wildcats in ECAC Tournament play, and it turned out that the third time was a charm. After the 1983 and 1984 teams – Villanova’s first two varsity women’s soccer squads – went a combined 1-3 in the postseason, the 1987 edition of the tournament was hosted at Hartford and came down to a championship game between Villanova and the host Hawks after the Wildcats tallied a 3-0 win over Monmouth. Hajjar scored the game-winning goal against Monmouth to send Villanova into the championship game.
 
On November 7, 1987 the clash between the Wildcats and Hartford was an instant classic and the only triple overtime affair in Villanova history. The score was knotted at 2-2 following regulation and two overtime periods before Wildcats freshman Beth McMahon scored the latest game-winning goal in program history with a tally in the 121^st minute.