Men’s lax ends three-game skid, defeating Lafayette

Meghan Kotula

The men’s lacrosse team came ready to play on Tuesday against Lafayette.

The Wildcats had a decisive 18-6 victory, ending a three-game losing streak. The victory came after a tough 10-8 loss to No. 16 Towson University, a game that was close throughout.

“In a game that close, every possession counted and the ball bounced Towson’s way unfortunately,” senior defender Chris Bowman said.

Seeing how close Villanova played Towson proved to Lafayette that they had a struggle ahead of them.

Although Lafayette came out and scored a fast goal in the beginning of the first quarter, Villanova’s defense settled down and wouldn’t allow another goal until the second quarter.

“We didn’t let up defensively,” Bowman said. “We made defensive stops and shut down their offense.” Sophomore goalie Sean Philbin had seven saves on the day in 45 minutes of work, adding to Lafayette’s offensive problems.

Due to the tough defense, Lafayette was forced to shoot away from the crease and was unable to connect to the cage.

However, when they managed to get near the crease the offensive woes continued, as Lafayette was only able to connect on six goals out of 27 shots.

‘Nova’s offense came ready to play with senior Mike Holloway leading the Wildcat offense with four goals.

Freshman attackman Marc Creegan had three goals for the match contributing to the offensive surge by Villanova. Holloway scored Villanova’s first four goals and divided Lafayette’s defense, finding holes so that he could hit the cage.

The quarter ended with Villanova leading 4-1.

The second quarter proved to be a defensive breakdown for Lafayette with the Wildcats scoring seven quick goals in the first five minutes of the half. Lafayette ended the scoring streak finally with 9:43 remaining in the quarter.

However, Scott McMullan responded, scoring to end the quarter with a little over a minute left.

“We had an 11-goal scoring run,” Holloway said. “We were patient and waited to find the holes in the defense.”

Continuing to pressure the defense, Villanova scored six more goals in the third and fourth quarters, alleviating any possible threat of a Lafayette come-back. Lafayette scored four more goals throughout the second half, but could not crack the defensive pressure.

“We came in settled down and played solid defense,” Bowman said.

Due to the large lead, the Wildcats were able to play more freshmen.

“They have taken a huge step forward since the St. Joseph’s game,” Holloway noted.

Villanova looks to improve its record tomorrow against powerhouse Loyola, a Colonial Athletic Association opponent.

“We had a good close game against Towson, and hopefully we’ll play well against Loyola,” Holloway said.

The Wildcats will need the offensive surge and defensive pressure they played with against Lafayette on Tuesday, when they face Loyola, who is currently ranked No. 10 in the nation.