Facing a No. 24 Villanova team that had shut out 15 of 19 opponents on the season and that featured the reigning Big East Goalkeeper of the Year, the Marquette women's soccer team was going to need something special to get on the scoreboard.

"That goalkeeper (junior Jillian Loyden) is hard to beat," head coach Markus Roeders said after Sunday's game. "And I think we beat her exactly the way you need to beat her. You have to beat her with something she can't stop: combination play."

Marquette's speed and precise passing repeatedly broke down the Wildcats' rearguard and led to the only goal in the Golden Eagles' 1-0 Big East quarterfinal win at Valley Fields.

"Every day in practice all we work on is playing to the forwards' feet," junior forward Allison Mallams said. The coaches have "talked to us about just being simple, not trying to do too much. We don't always have to get it and turn."

Sometimes, though, it works well.

Mallams twice used a subtle first touch to turn and beat a Villanova defender in the first 10 minutes of the game.

First, she turned to the outside and broke toward the goal on the right flank before her cross was cleared. Mallams later turned inside and released junior forward Christy Zwolski on the wing, but the Wildcat defense again recovered just in time.

So maybe out-running the Villanova defenders was not good enough.

Having exposed the dearth of speed in Villanova's flat back-four, Mallams continued to play through-balls behind the Wildcat defense searching for the diagonal run of Zwolski.

The duo have developed a potent rapport during the season as the team's leading scorers and inevitably combined for the game-winning goal Sunday.

But they needed a little help from their teammates.

They needed a perfectly choreographed combination to break down the staunch Wildcat defense and take its goalkeeper (Loyden) out of the play.

Mission accomplished.

"We can't wait to get back and watch (the goal) on tape," Mallams said. "It was textbook."

The Golden Eagles zigzagged their way down the field as junior Michelle Martin found senior Meghan Connelly in the middle, Connelly played it wide to Mallams and the junior's pace took the Villanova defense out of the play.

After that, Zwolski didn't have to think twice on where to set up about in the box to await Mallams' cross.

"I knew exactly where she was going," Zwolski said. "It was just automatic."

The cross eluded Loyden, and Zwolski rammed the ball into an empty net in the 23rd minute.

The goal forced the Wildcats to hurry their passes and left them vulnerable on Marquette counter-attacks in the second half.

"We just figured if we have the ball more than they do, they're not going to be able to play their game," Zwolski said.

Despite Villanova's late pressure – eventually Marquette conceded possession and dropped back to defend with 11 players behind the ball – the Wildcats looked better suited to protecting a lead rather than desperately fighting for an equalizer.

Marquette had rendered its opponent's well-laid plans flat-footed.