Oct. 19, 2008
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Junior forward Grace Hawkins began this season as somewhat of an unknown quantity - not just to opposing teams but to her own as well. She had shown promise as a freshman in 2006, when she played in 20 games and scored a pair of goals during Villanova's record-breaking 16-win season.
Hawkins never had the chance to build on that promise last season however, as she sat out the year with an injury and will be eligible to apply for a redshirt to regain a year of eligibility. She returns to action this season to a team that looks quite different from just two years ago. With a new coaching staff and a relatively young team that has led the Wildcats to one of its best offensive seasons in recent memory, Hawkins abilities fit in better than ever before.
"I played so much soccer over the summer just trying to get ready for this year and I couldn't wait for the start of the season and to get back on the field," Hawkins said. "We have a pretty young team overall but there was a lot of excitement for this season."
Villanova has changed its formation this season to put three forwards up top and Hawkins began the year as one of the three starters on the front line. There was no rust factor after her missed season, as she scored her first goal of the year in the season's second game, against New Hampshire on August 29.
Just over two weeks after that game, the Wildcats found themselves in a 2-0 hole late in the second half against local rival La Salle. Villanova had not won a game it trailed at halftime in nearly seven years but with 27:42 remaining in the contest Hawkins scored her second goal of the season to make the score 2-1.
"After we got that first goal I felt like we were going to win," Hawkins said. "We were going forward and attacking like crazy the whole game and I think we had all of the momentum after scoring that goal. Getting the second goal and the game-winner was going to come; we just knew it."
Hawkins proved to be right, not just about that particular game but about the momentum part also. The Wildcats tied the game against La Salle late in the contest and then Hawkins scored the game-winner herself with exactly two minutes to play in a 3-2 victory. It marked the first of her two multi-goal games this season.
As for the momentum and confidence that game provided, the effects cannot be understated. The next game for Villanova was at Penn and the team rallied from a late 2-0 deficit to win for a second straight game. The team went on to seven consecutive victories before falling in the first two conference games of the season.
"We had eight non-conference games this season and our goal as a team was to win six of the eight," Hawkins said. "We reached and surpassed that by winning the first seven games of the season and that gave us a great deal of confidence going into Big East games."
The Wildcats recovered from what eventually became a three-game losing streak to run off four straight shutout victories that put Villanova right back in the middle of the playoff race in the Big East National Division.
Hawkins was again at the forefront of those games, beginning with scoring her second game-winning goal of the season in a 1-0 victory over Seton Hall on September 28. She had five shots in the contest while playing what was then a season-high 77 minutes but the goal came when she stole a rebound away from the Pirate goalkeeper to account for the lone goal on a rainy day when offense was hard to come by for both teams.
The fifth goal of the season for Hawkins came in a 3-0 win over Syracuse and by this point she was moving closer to the team lead in goals scored. Even better for Villanova is that its newly high-powered offense has produced multiple goals in 11 of the first 16 games this season, a total not reached since 2002.
"We are creating so many opportunities on the attack and we just know that we are going to get a goal when we need one," Hawkins said. "Players like Erin Hardiman are working so hard getting the ball into the attacking third and with three players up top there is a lot more movement off the ball. It has been working great so far."
It may not have been until after the Syracuse game that Hawkins showed her full potential. In a 3-0 win over DePaul on October 10, she scored the game's first goal just 31 seconds into the contest and then added a second tally with only 10 seconds left in the game.
Her contributions in the next game, against top-ranked and undefeated Notre Dame, may have been even more impressive. Villanova found itself in a somewhat familiar spot, trailing the Fighting Irish 2-0 less than eight minutes into the game. Notre Dame had never lost a game it led by such a score, going 293-0-1 in such games.
That streak wouldn't come to an end but the Wildcats still made a bold statement against the only unbeaten and untied team in the country. Hawkins was naturally at the forefront, scoring in the 51st minute to pull Villanova to within a goal. Then, with just 8:12 left in regulation, she recorded her first career assist as the Wildcats tied the game. Of the 295 times that Notre Dame held a 2-0 lead, this was only the fourth time that an opponent had so much as tied the game at any point.
Although the Fighting Irish went on to win in overtime, the game was still a meaningful one for Villanova. The team showed how dangerous it can be against any opponent and demonstrated that its offensive firepower can keep the Wildcats in any game at all times.
"We work so hard on pressing the other team's goalkeeper," Hawkins said. "Our goal is just to go at them and not stop and hopefully that becomes frustrating for them. That is why we haven't panicked when we get down in games. We know that if we step up and play our style of Villanova soccer then we always have a chance."
Through games of October 17, the Wildcats stood with an 11-4-1 record and 4-3-1 mark in BIG EAST play. Hawkins remained tied for the team lead with eight goals and is among the conference leaders in goals, points and game-winning goals.
