HIGHLANDERS HOST VILLANOVA IN HOME OPENER ON FRIDAY

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Radford women's soccer welcomes Villanova on Friday, August 29 for its 2014 home opener. Both squads are looking to rebound for season-opening one-goal defeats as the Highlanders and Wildcats kick off at 7:00 p.m. from Dedmon Center Field.

LAST TIME OUT: Freshman Jordan Lundin tallied two second half goals, but Radford's comeback bid fell short as the Highlanders were edged by ETSU, 3-2 in their season opener last Friday (box score)… Lundin's strikes in the 46th and 78th minutes cut RU's deficit to one each time, but the Highlanders were unable to capitalize on some late equalizing chances, including a ball that rang off the post just two minutes after the second goal… Lundin led all players with four shots… Freshman Tori Donahue assisted on the first goal… Freshman keeper Katie McCormick made three saves, including a penalty kick denial in the second half.

A LOOK AT YOUR HIGHLANDERS: Lundin became the first freshman to debut with a multi-goal game since Sahar Aflaki (3) and Julie Ruh'e (2) did so in 2010 against Southern Virginia (box score)… RU enters Friday on a 19-game (17-0-2) home undefeated streak and has not dropped a home contest over the last two seasons… Against ETSU, six freshmen made their collegiate debuts and a total of seven Highlanders donned the red and white for the first time.

AT HOME: Following a 2-1 victory over Towson in 2013, RU has won its last five home openers and is undefeated in the last six (5-0-1)… Overall, Radford is 21-8-4 in home openers, 16 thanks to clean sheets.

Friday's match will be the first at Dedmon Center Field since the conclusion of the 2001 season (Oct. 31 vs. Elon)… RU's last home opener at DC Field was on Sept. 7, 2001… The Highlanders used a 79th minute strike by Kelly Bertwell to earn a draw with Towson (box score)… The Highlanders are 14-3-4 in home openers on DC Field.

THE WILDCATS: Villanova was edged, 2-1, by Drexel in its season and home opener last Friday… Victoria Gersh scored the Wildcats first goal of the season on a second-half penalty kick… Emma Meyer made four saves in goal… Nova is under first-year head coach Fran Kulas, who served as the program's associate head coach the previous two seasons… Four freshmen started the game for Villanova while five first-years saw time on the pitch in their first games as a Wildcat.

THE SERIES: This is the third meeting with both contests ending in 1-1 draws, including last year's season opener (box score) in Villanova… Sahar Aflaki gave RU a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute before Villanova evened the contest just 94 seconds into the second stanza… The Highlanders are hosting a BIG EAST program for the first time since 2004 when West Virginia stepped on the pitch in Radford.

UP NEXT: Radford travels north for a two-game road swing at Howard and Towson… The Highlanders take on the Bison on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 2:00 p.m. and the Tigers on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 4:00 p.m.

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