Golf

After a close match, the men’s golf team placed third last weekend at the annual Lehigh Kelly Gutshall Invitational at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. The tournament, hosted by Lehigh University, included nine teams and took place on the club’s Weyhill Course.

Despite soggy conditions, Villanova got off to a strong start in the first round, as three team members finished in the top seven on Saturday. Sophomore Bret McGaughey led the way with a 73, one stroke above par. Junior Brendan Kelly and sophomore Brian Colbert, with a 74 and 75 respectively, were not far behind.

Heading into Sunday, the Wildcats were tied with Drexel University for first place. Both teams had a total of 300 and had been aided by outstanding individual performances. While Villanova had several top scorers, Drexel relied heavily on senior Kyle Davis, who was tied for first place at the end of play on Saturday.

In the second round, Kelly, who posted a 77 and finished in fifth, helped keep Villanova near the top of the team standings. While junior Colin List also shot a 77, McGaughey and Colbert fell behind with scores of 82 and 81, respectively. Freshman Steve Skurla finished the round with a score of 80.

While Villanova outplayed Drexel in the Big Five Classic the previous weekend, the Wildcats found the Dragons to be too much to handle at the Lehigh Invitational. While Kelly and List were both only one stroke away from Drexel’s Davis in the second round, Davis’ total score of 148, which was four above par, made him individual champion of the tournament. The leader for the Wildcats, Kelly, posted a 151.

Villanova not only battled Drexel for a top spot, but also faced a comeback from the Bucknell University team, which finished with three golfers in the top six. On Sunday, Bucknell senior Andrew Cohen posted an impressive 74, the second-best score of the final round.

Although the Wildcats were not able to catch either Drexel (609) or Bucknell (611), the team held on to third place with a final score of 615. Lehigh and Colgate finished behind Villanova.

Field Hockey

It was a battle of the City Six Sunday afternoon as the women’s field hockey team traveled into the city to meet Drexel University at Buckley Field. After a tough first half, the girls ultimately fell to the No. 12 Dragons (13-2) with a score of 5-2.

It was a three-minute fury of goals 16 minutes in as the junior forward Meredith Sabatini found the net with a breakaway goal and junior forward Dana Ramsden assist. But the lead was short-lived. Two minutes later, Drexel senior forward Jordan Freese answered to tie up the game off of a corner attempt. A mere 50 seconds later, Ramsden capitalized on senior midfielder Emily Donaldson’s pass from outside the circle to tally her own goal and regain a 2-1 lead. Things calmed down until Drexel senior back Jennifer Bolger connected on a Freese assist at the 31-minute mark.

The Dragons rounded out the half with one additional goal; a last-second rebound by junior forward Christina Mastropaolo gave Drexel the 3-2 edge going into the half. The goal earnedMastropaolo the Drexel season record for points and game winning goals.

The Wildcats never recovered in the second half. Drexel maintained shot advantage 9-3 and corner advantage by 5-3.

Sabatini found one more attempt on goal, but was thwarted by Drexel freshman goalie Jenna Philips to account for her single save of the game. Dragon freshman middle Amanda Fleishut quickly found the net off an unassisted play to increase Drexel lead 2-4. At the 45 minute mark, junior Maura McCormick replaced sophomore Megan Goelz (six saves) as goalie and accounted for two additional saves.

It was not enough to stop Drexel from scoring one last time as junior forward Susan Ciufo connected off a center pass from senior middle Carolina Gibernau.

The ‘Cats had difficultly penetrating a tough Dragon defense totaling only nine shots total (three on goal).

The Wildcats take the field tomorrow at 7 p.m. kicking off Homecoming weekend against Big East rival Syracuse. -C.S.