Box Score
VILLANOVA, Pa. - Junior Kelsey Haycook scored in the 16th minute to provide the only offense the La Salle women's soccer team would need in a 1-0 win at Villanova on Thursday afternoon. Redshirt sophomore Jessica Wiggins stopped five shots to record her second shutout of the season. The Explorers improved to 5-1 with the victory and have won three straight games. 

"I'm very pleased for our program to get this win considering its been so many years since our last win [versus Villanova]," head coach Paul Royal said. "I felt we were outplayed by a very talented and well coached Villanova team for most of the match, but our girls stuck together."

Haycook took a pass from freshman Deja Davis inside the 18 and beat the Wildcat keeper to the far post for the game's first and only goal. Haycook now leads the Atlantic 10 in goals (five) and points (12). She also moved into fourth place on La Salle's all-time goals list with 30 and fifth on the all-time points list with 70.

The Wildcats held a 23-5 advantage in shots for the contest, but Wiggins held strong as the last line of defense. In the final 12 minutes of game time, Villanova (2-3-2) had three corner kicks and a chance in the 88th minute but Wiggins made a point-blank save from the left side at close range.

"I was impressed how well our backline and Jessie did in goal," Royal said. "They made some key plays that held Nova off the score sheet. It's funny how the game is sometimes. I thought we were the better team in our game last year but we lost, 3-2. This year, they were the better side but we were able to get the result."

Jami Kranich made one save for VU.

"It shows that we have a lot of work ahead of us if we're going to defend our A-10 title," Royal concluded.

The Explorers return to the pitch on Sunday when they host Loyola (Md.) at 1 PM at McCarthy Stadium. Live stats and live streaming video will be available for the contest via GoExplorers.com.