Nov. 5, 2004

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Just three weeks after the two teams met in Washington, D.C., the Villanova Wildcats and Georgetown Hoyas are set to square off in a Big East quarterfinal match on Saturday afternoon at the Villanova Soccer Complex at 1:00 p.m. This marks the first time in the history of the men's soccer program that it has hosted a Big East Tournament contest.

Villanova (7-5-5 overall, 5-3-2 Big East) will be making its sixth appearance all-time in the tournament. The `Cats are 0-5 all-time in Big East Tournament play. Last season, Villanova pushed eventual NCAA Finalist St. John's to overtime before falling 2-1 in a match played in Jamaica, N.Y.

Georgetown wrapped up its spot in the Big East Tournament with an impressive 4-0 victory over Seton Hall last weekend. The Hoyas (11-7-1, 5-4-1) are the No. 5 seed and bring a 7-11-1 all-time record in the Big East Tournament into Saturday's match.

The most recent meeting between Georgetown and Villanova came on Oct. 16. Jeff Curtin staked the Hoyas to a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute when his header went past `Cat goalkeeper Craig Bald (Edgewater, Md.). But Villanova responded with goals from Charlie Rowan (Livingston, N.J.) and Pat Gallagher (Harrisburg, Pa.) to gain a 2-1 lead by halftime. Neither club scored in the second half.

The Wildcats will be without freshman defender Jon Wells (Montclair, N.J.), who has started 13 games this season. Wells received a pair of yellow cards in Wednesday's 1-1 tie with Penn State, resulting in an automatic suspension for the next game.

Villanova is led in scoring by freshman Dan DeMasters (Littiz, Pa.) who closed out the regular season with four goals and two assists. As it was in 2003, solid defense was the cornerstone of the Wildcats' success in 2004. In 17 games, Villanova surrendered just 19 goals, an average of 1.12 per game.

Admission to the game on Villanova's West Campus is free. The game will also be available on internet radio at villanova.com with Nick Mantegna handling the play-by-play.