Many games were cancelled this weekend due to the excessive amount of rain that fell on Villanova. However, the women’s lacrosse team played through the torrential downpour and salvaged a huge win against Howard University, 18-5. The game was called due to the amount of rain with 11:40 left in the game to play, pushing Villanova’s record to 5-6.

In the first six minutes of the game, Villanova scored four unanswered goals, two from freshman Erica Rybinski. Howard then responded with two goals to make the score 4-2, until junior Stevie McFadden scored ‘Nova’s fifth goal of the game off an assist from freshman Meredith Kolmer. However, Howard answered with another scoring attempt and kept the lead at only two.

“Our coach called a time out when Howard made some quick, easy goals on us,” junior Lauren Latchford said. “He reminded us about how far we have come this season and the weather should not be a factor in playing down to Howard’s level. We knew, as a team, that if we let down our guard now, we’d be in for a long day.”

Rybinski started a Villanova rally as the offense scored six goals in the last 11 minutes of the half, making the lead 12-4 at halftime.

“We went back out there and worked through the rain,” Latchford said. “We capitalized on Howard’s dropped balls and mistakes. We played well through transition and had faith in each other that each player would get the job done regardless of the weather.”

Sophomore Taryn McKenna scored two goals to start the half, both assisted by sophomore Taylor Lucy. With the score at 14-4 with 25:13 left in the half, Howard put another goal on the board. The Wildcats scored four more goals to increase their total to 18, and that completed the Wildcat beating as the referees called the game early due to the rain, since the majority of the game had already been played.

“This year has been different than the past years I have been on the team,” Latchford said. “This year our team has trusted each player, knowing that they will execute the tasks given to them on the field. The faith we have in each other this season has given us the confidence to beat teams that we never believed we could beat. It has been at least four years since ‘Nova lax has had a record of 5-6, and we believe that we will end the season with a record over .500.”