Following two overtime wins last weekend, Villanova field hockey fell to Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon, 4-0, and to Lehigh, 2-1, in overtime on Monday night. With the losses, the Wildcats are now 7-4 on the season and have a 1-2 in conference record. 

The ODU game was originally scheduled for Friday, Sept. 30, but due to unplayable field conditions as a result of the rain, the matchup was rescheduled for Saturday, Oct. 1. 

Head coach Joanie Milhous said how the Wildcats made the most out of the rain delay, despite the field being flooded. 

“We actually used their volleyball court instead,” she said. “We played some volleyball. It was fun — our players loved it, our staff got involved…everyone was positive about the delay.” 

The women carried this positivity into game day, getting two shots on goal in the first quarter, but they came out of the first 15 minutes of play scoreless. 

However, ODU stepped up their game in the second quarter, scoring three minutes into the corner and then scoring again less than a minute later to give themselves a 2-0 lead heading into halftime. 

Milhous noted that the goals “weren’t a downfall” for the team. 

“One was a straight shot that was really well placed, and the other was a rebound off a straight shot,” she explained. “They just took advantage of good opportunities.”

ODU continued to take advantage of the offensive chances it was given in the second half as well, scoring two more goals in the third quarter to solidify its 4-0 win. 

Reflecting on the game, Milhous said how the coaching staff was “disappointed because [they] were expecting to see more out of them.” 

“The difference is that they took advantage of opportunities and we didn’t,” she said. “We know we have a lot more play in us, and we just need to consistently show that for four quarters in every game.” 

On Monday, Oct. 3, the women took on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.

“I feel good,” Milhous said on Monday morning. “We took a lot of good takeaways from our short Sunday practice, which I think shows their focus, their dedication, the fact that they wanna be better, and that they wanna commit to our higher standards.” 

The Wildcats played a scoreless first quarter before Lehigh was awarded a penalty stroke, when it scored to take a one goal lead on Villanova.

Heading into the second half, the Wildcats continued their high press and good defense, keeping it to a one goal game. With about 14 minutes remaining, junior forward Meghan Mitchell scored the tying goal for Villanova, sending the women into another overtime match. 

As the overtime period started, and just shy of 10 minutes into the quarter, Lehigh capitalized on its offensive press, with Guusje Hogdendoorn scoring and handing the Wildcats their second defeat in three days. 

After the Mountain Hawks, the Wildcats will head back to home turf to take on the 7-4 Liberty Eagles on Friday, Oct. 7. The Eagles are currently 3-0 in the Big East, but for ‘Nova, a win over Liberty would bring it back to being a .500 team in conference, which Milhous is excited about. 

“I’m glad we have them at home,” Milhous said. “Liberty is always legit, so what we need to do is basically take advantage of any opportunity we get in that game, and continue to minimize their opportunities by playing some really strong defense.” 

The Wildcats will then close out their week of play by heading to Maryland for another non-conference matchup against the 4-6 Towson Tigers, which is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 9.