VILLANOVA, PA. - In its opening match of the 2010 Villanova Classic, the Monmouth University women's soccer team dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the host Wildcats, on Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Hawks, who are receiving votes for the third straight week in the NSCAA national poll, fall to 4-2 on the year.

"At times we played very well in the match," stated head coach Krissy Turner. "But we need to defend for 90 minutes as a tem as this is the second straight game we gave up two goals."

With the match knotted at 1-1 in overtime, Heidi Sabatura connected on the game-winner in the 97th minute, her second of the game off a feed from Katie Ryan, tapping a ball in just under the crossbar.

Monmouth got on the scoreboard first when freshman Dana Costello tallied her team-leading fifth score of the season, in the ninth minute, as senior Mary Wilks registered her team-best third assist.

The Hawks held the edge until the 64th minute when Sabatura knocked in a one-timer off a feed from Ryan, to knot the score at 1-1.
Lia Fierro made four saves in goal for the Hawks, while her counterpart, Jami Kranich made five stops for the Wildcats.

Villanova, which recently defeated No. 16 Wake Forest, held an 11-9 edge in shots during the match, while Monmouth had a 5-3 advantage in corner kick opportunities.

Monmouth returns to action in the Villanova Classic on Sunday, September 19, when the Hawks face Towson University at 1:30 p.m.