Sept. 7, 2006

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Practice had already ended for the Wildcats on Wednesday afternoon when two players were spotted still working on a drill on the practice field. The pair was none other than junior Jenna Gordon (White Plains, N.Y.) and sophomore Laura Sylvester (Broomall, Pa.), two of the three newcomers to the Villanova defensive line this season.

It seemed fitting to have players from the defensive end sticking out for the Wildcats. This is, after all, Villanova. It is a team that has posted 21 shutouts in its last 46 games. A team that in 2003 won a Big East title and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 by allowing just 12 goals on the season, less than half a goal per game. And, best of all, it is a team that has allowed just one goal in the first five games of 2006, the best start to any season in the team's 24-year history.

The back line this season, however, has a different look to it. Gordon and Sylvester are joined by freshman Kelly Eagan (St. James, N.Y.) as newcomers to the starting lineup. Through the first five games of the season they have teamed with junior Kayce Blandford (Columbia, Md.) on the right side and junior Jillian Loyden (Vineland, N.J.) in goal to give the defense an imposing look.

"In preseason we definitely spent some time working on the back line because we have some new faces back there," head coach Ann Clifton said. "They have gradually improved and the athleticism we have on defense right now is tremendous. The speed and ability to read the game of our back-line players is second to none and they will only get better. The nicest part is that the look we have now is exactly what we will be seeing next year too."

Sylvester was a central back during high school but also has experience at forward from her club team and from playing on the front line as a freshman at Villanova last season. For Gordon, however, this season marks the first time that she has ever played on the back line. Clifton noted her speed and athleticism as key factors for making the move to a different position, while Gordon cited her experience playing forward as one of the things that has helped her at a new position.

"It definitely makes it easier having played forward before," Gordon said. "It is always in the back of your mind that you would spin out to make a certain move as a forward. When you see someone else do exactly what you would have done, it is easier to get the ball away from them."

The work that the group did during the preseason shows on the field, and not just in the modest offensive numbers being put up by the opposition. The communication between the players on the field has been one of the strongest aspects of the defensive play, with Blandford deserving a great deal of credit in Clifton's opinion.

"Kayce is the returning leader of the group," Clifton said. "She has been a great leader and I can't say enough about the way she has played this season. Everything else feeds through her leadership and our communications. Kelly has been thrust into a lot of minutes and she warrants every minute of it because she has done a tremendous job. As newcomers to the defensive line, Jenna and Laura have been able to feed off the expertise of Kayce and the experience Kelly has at the international level."

To hear the players tell it, the process of coming together as a unit has gone smoothly since the beginning of preseason practice.

"Our success starts at practice," Sylvester said. "The beginning of preseason was when we first came together with Kelly in the back. We communicate well with each other on the field and in games it has been a matter of stepping up and helping each other out. Our goal every game is to not get scored on and so far we have done pretty well."

"We have come together really well," Gordon said. "We are all pretty young but we have had the opportunity to work through a lot of things. There is always room for improvement but the last two games we have done pretty well with two shutouts and have even been able to move into the offensive part of the game more than we have in the past."

Junior Jenna Gordon has flourished in her move to the defensive end of the field.

The challenges for Gordon and Sylvester have been two-fold. In addition to learning to play with a new group of players, they are also adjusting to starting full-time at a new position. Sylvester has adapted to the change, although she points out that her `forward mentality' on the field can be beneficial as well.

"Last year I didn't expect to play that much as a forward, but I did because the back four was already set. I used to play with more of a forward mentality and in some ways that makes it easier to play against a forward. This year I knew my role was to step up on defense. Jenna and I started working with Kayce in the spring and started building for what we have now."

While Gordon may be able to rely on her quickness as a calling card to be a top-notch defensive player, she is still taking the time to ensure that she makes all of the adjustments necessary to learn the mental side of playing defense.

"I approached the change to playing on defense with a lot of passion on every tackle," Gordon said. "For me it has been about knowing how to play the position and working as hard as you can to get back and beat the person coming to t he ball. It is a mental process. There are certain ways to approach different things on defense and I have tried to gradually go into it and work hard at it."

The success of the defensive unit thus far can be measured in the fact that the Wildcats have allowed just 5.4 shots on goal per game to this point in the season. Since being outshot 12-9 by La Salle in the season opener, Villanova has rolled up an 86-30 shot margin over four games, including allowing just 19 shots on goal.

"We get the ball in and out of our defensive third incredibly efficiently," Clifton said. "We have been able to get behind that midfield layer of defense and can make plays at higher areas. We are also composed enough that if we win a ball in the defensive third we can build in that area too. Those things enable us to start our offense from the back line, which is a really nice combination to have."

This weekend will take the Wildcats on their first road trip of the season, as Villanova will travel to the Navy Tournament. The competition there will be one of the tougher tests the defense has faced thus far. The Wildcats face Butler on Friday at 4 p.m. and LSU on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Friday's game against the Bulldogs will feature a team with a balanced scoring attack, while on Sunday Villanova will have to contend with at team that is averaging 3.5 goals per game on the season.

"Butler is a very good team that already has a nice win against Miami (Ohio) and has been very strong in the Great Lakes region. They are a tough opponent. LSU is going to present a lot of speed and fly at us up top. They do well attacking the flanks and that is going to be a good challenge for us."