Nov. 18, 2001

STATE COLLEGE, PA. - In the second round of the 2001 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament on Sunday, Nov. 18, at Jeffrey Field, in State College, Pa., the Villanova Wildcats were defeated by the No. 7 nationally ranked Penn State Lady Lions by the score of 3-0. The Wildcats end the season with a 13-6-3 overall record, having made their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and recording their first-ever NCAA victory, 2-0 over the University of Pennsylvania in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

"We gained a wealth of experience for our younger players," said Villanova head coach Ann Clifton. "They take over a legacy which our seniors have left, and they know what they have to live up to. Our seniors are the players that got us here. We are very happy to have made the NCAA's, but we are not satisfied with where we are. We want to continue to get better and better."

Penn State scored just 10:30 into regulation, as Heidi Drummond headed in a rebound off a Christie Welsh shot to give the Lady Lions a 1-0 advantage. State added to its lead 5:41 later when Welsh took a touch pass from Stephanie Smith and beat Villanova senior goalkeeper Janel Schillig to increase the Lady Lions' lead to 2-0.

Penn State continued its offensive dominance later in the first half, as Drummond struck again. She headed a cross by Welsh past Schillig to give the Lady Lions a 3-0 advantage at intermission.

The Wildcats came out fighting in the second half, keeping the Penn State offense off track and making a number of opportunities for themselves on the offensive end. Despite several chances on net by freshman forward Laura Johnson, the Lady Lion defense and goalkeeper Emily Oleksiak kept Villanova from finding the back of the net. Penn State would out-shoot the Wildcats 17-7 in the game, and went on to a 3-0 victory.

Oleksiak got the victory in goal for State, saving five shots and combining on the shutout with fellow goalkeeper Jamie Stich. Schillig saved a game-high seven saves for Villanova in the loss.

It was the last career game for Schillig along with five other Wildcat seniors - Jill DiBerardino, Meghan Frawley, Dyane Noonan, Jessica Painchaud and Angela Scialdone. Together, they accounted for 47 victories in their four years, three-straight double-digit win seasons, a school record 14 victories and an ECAC title in 1999 and the team's first-ever NCAA appearance and tournament win in 2001.

With the victory, the Lady Lions advance to the next round of the NCAA Tournament to take on the University of Connecticut next weekend in Storrs, Conn.