Men’s Lacrosse

Continuing their scorching start to the season, the Villanova men’s lacrosse team held off a rapid attack in the final seconds to defeat the Blue Hens of Delaware 5-4 on Saturday night. The thrilling victory was their first in the Colonial Athletic Association, pushing their overall record to a strong 6-1.

The Wildcats got off to a fast start, scoring the first three goals in the contest. Sophomore Chris Aitkin of Haverford, Pa., scored two of the three, bringing his scoring total to five. Senior Tim Driscoll of Montville, N.J., added the third, brining his scoring total to an impressive fourteen, which currently leads the team. Senior Chris MacDonald of Westfield, N.J., was credited with the assist. However, the Blue Hens scored a goal of their own with 3:18 remaining in the first half, giving the Wildcats only a two goal advantage at the break.

With fewer than 13 minutes remaining in the third quarter, senior Matthew Fritts of Dallas, Texas added his ninth goal of the season, cushioning the Wildcat lead. However, Delaware struck back with a goal at the 7:26 mark on Curtis Dickson’s shot. By scoring, Dickson brought his record for consecutive points in a game to 32. But, the Wildcats responded quickly, with senior Tim Langan scoring with 3:09 remaining in the third, the final goal before entering the fourth quarter.

However, the Blue Hens would not go away quietly. With 14 minutes remaining, Delaware scored to decrease the deficit to two. While the defense was able to hold out for a while, Delaware scored again with 3:55 remaining, bringing the score to 5-4. But, in the last few minutes of the game, the Wildcat defense was able to hold back a vicious Blue Hen attack to secure the victory.

While the Wildcats had more shots on goal for the game at a mark of 33-29, Delaware had a much higher mark for the final period at 12-5.

Senior goalkeeper Andrew DiLoreto anchored the defense with 10 saves. He recorded his sixth victory.

This win was special for the Wildcats, as the team lost its previous three contests to Delaware. It also gave them a slight 5-4 edge over the Blue Hens in the series. The team has now won impressive victories over Delaware, Lehigh and Binghamton, with their only loss coming against the tough Nittany Lions of Penn State. The Wildcats hope to continue their winning ways when they travel to Sacred Heart on March 28. -D.R.

Women’s Lacrosse

A strong start consisting of six unanswered goals propelled the women’s lacrosse team past Wagner in a 17-9 win last Sunday.

Just 16 seconds after the opening draw, senior Katie Stone scored an unassisted goal. Not much later, redshirt sophomore Erica Rybinski scored her own unassisted goal. With less than four minutes gone by, senior Taylor Lucy scored off a pass from senior Taryn McKenna to put Villanova up 3-0. The Wildcats then went 6-0 in the next seven minutes from unassisted goals from Stone, Lucy and McKenna. Villanova went into halftime with an 11-4 lead.

Villanova scored three goals early in the second half. The Wildcats’ domination came from Stone, McKenna and Rybinski, who all scored four goals apiece. Rybinski also had two assists. Lucy scored two goals for Villanova, and sophomores Carly Miller and Kim Wisniewski added one each. The last goal came from sophomore Julie Shelman off an assist by fellow sophomore Nora Wallace.

Senior Cara Gonzalez scored two of Wagner’s nine goals, both in the first half. She also recorded an assist. Freshman Carolyn Clark also scored a goal for Wagner and had one assist.

Villanova sophomore Maggie Langan had five saves in over 53 minutes of play. She let in six of Wagner’s goals and recorded the win, while junior Cassie Eure played the rest of game, giving up three goals and blocking one. Wagner’s goalies, junior Alex Johnston and senior Amy Jones, split time by the half, with Johnston receiving the loss. They totaled 16 saves together.

Villanova outshot Wagner 33-19 and had 14 more shots in its explosive first half. The Wildcats turned the ball over 11 times, and Wagner gave it up 16 times. Villanova also had two penalties, with Miller and sophomore Mia Naccarato both receiving yellow cards.

The Wildcats hope to turn their season around and avoid their seventh losing season in a row, including five seasons with no more than four wins. They head to Syracuse, N.Y., to play Le Moyne on Sunday.

The team then comes back home for five straight home games. -D.M.