Oct. 1, 2010

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VILLANOVA, Pa. - Playing on a muddy and rain-soaked surface after more than six inches of rain fell overnight, Villanova (6-6, 1-3 Big East) fell by a 3-0 score to Marquette (7-3-2, 4-0 Big East) at the West Campus Soccer Complex on Friday afternoon. The loss was only the second in the last 17 home games for the Wildcats, who had also won four of five overall entering the day.

Despite the soft field, the first half was an active affair in which the Golden Eagles fired off 11 shots, with Villanova getting eight attempts at the net. The contest remained scoreless for nearly the entire period, however, before the tables turned when Marquette was awarded a penalty kick with only seven seconds to play before halftime.

Julia Victor converted the penalty kick to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead just before the break, and the visiting side used that momentum to get a second goal just over eight minutes into the second half. Ashley Bares netted her third goal of the season off a feed from Maegan Kelly which put the Wildcats up against an insurmountable deficit. The final score of the day was tacked on in the 77th minute.

The balance of play in the game was far more even than the final score would indicate, as Villanova was outshot just 19-13 for the game. The three tallies by Marquette were also the only difference in shots on goal, as the Wildcats put six of their shots on target. Senior midfielder Justine Wollner (Downingtown, Pa.) had a team-high three shots and six different players each recorded one shot on goal.

Villanova had four of its six shots on goal in the first half while the game remained scoreless before the Golden Eagles played superior defense the rest of the way. Both goalkeepers finished with six saves for the game, with Wildcat freshman Jami Kranich (Hamden, Conn.) making three stops in each half. Natalie Kulla had four of her six saves in the opening period for Marquette.

Members of the BIG EAST Conference since 2005, the Golden Eagles were making their first-ever visit to Villanova due to the annually rotating conference schedule. They nearly waited a little longer to play their first game at the West Campus Soccer Complex, as the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole flooded much of the area in the day leading up to the contest.

The rain persisted until the late morning hours before giving way to sunny skies and very windy conditions in the afternoon. The contest kicked off after a 30-minute delay and was played without interruption.

Next up for the Wildcats is a Sunday afternoon home game against USF, with kickoff at 1 p.m.

NOTES: Villanova had made three trips out to Marquette prior to today's visit by the Golden Eagles, including twice for BIG EAST Championship quarterfinal games ... Sunday's opponent, USF, has never played a regular season game at the West Campus Soccer Complex but was in town for a first round conference tournament game back in 2007, which was won by the Wildcats, 2-0.