The Wildcats improved their record to 4-2 on Saturday by beating previous CAA conference rival Delaware 11-8 in front of 2,215 fans at Delaware Stadium.  Sophomore attackman Matt Bell had two goals and two assists, and freshman Jack Rice followed with three goals in Villanova’s win.

The first quarter ended with 2-1 on the scoreboard in favor of the Wildcats.

One minute into the first quarter, Delaware evened the score when attackman and nationwide leader in points Curtis Dickson scored for the Blue Hens. Villanova answered with goals from sophomore midfielder Mike Vigilante and Bell off an assist from freshman attackman Will Casertano.  

At the end of the first half, Villanova had four goals to UDel’s three.

Villanova scoring picked up after halftime as Casertano, senior midfielder Paul Webber, junior midfielder Mike Brennan and freshman attackman Nick Doherty all netted the ball.  

Delaware was able to end the third quarter with five points to Villanova’s eight, with goals from Nick Elsmo and Kaleikau.

Once again, the Blue Hens took control in the beginning of the half, this time with a goal from Chris Hichborn, assisted by Mark Steverson.  

But Villanova was able to answer with two goals in two minutes both by Rice off assists from sophomore midfielder Kevin Cunningham. With just under three minutes to play, Casertano put another one away off an assist from junior midfielder T.J. O’Donnell.  The last quarter ended with goals from Delaware’s Martin Cahill and John Austin.

Villanova was able to win 13 out of 22 attempts in faceoffs and continue their streak of defending on man-down defense. Delaware had 40 shots to Villanova’s 28 but had a more difficult time finding the back of the net.

Villanova freshman goalie Billy Hurley made 12 saves in his first appearance, while UDel goalie Noah Fossner made 11 saves in the Blue Hen loss.

Delaware’s Dickson came into the game as the national leader in total goals, 33, and points per game, an average of six. 

The Wildcats were able to hold this offensive force to only one goal by controlling the Blue Hen offense and extra-man opportunities with their defense.  

Dickson is a National Player of the Year candidate who has been able to score eight goals against Albany, seven against UMBC and six against Stony Brook and has only netted one goal in a game one other time this year.  

Dickson was still able to break the Delaware school record of consecutive games scoring at least one point, which was last held by Anthony DiMarzo, a 1995 Delaware graduate.

This was his 17th straight game with a goal and the nation’s second longest active point-scoring streak of 48 games.

The Wildcats’ next game is at Syracuse on March 29, where they take on the Orange, a nationally-ranked opponent, at 3 p.m.