Over the weekend, Villanova’s field hockey team won two contests. It traveled to Towson, Maryland, to open Big East play for the season on Friday against Georgetown, winning, 4-1. Villanova then returned home to face St. Francis on Sunday, winning, 2-1. The ‘Cats now stand at 4-3 overall, 1-0 in Big East play.
Villanova entered Friday’s game as the clear favorite against a struggling Georgetown team. The Hoyas were still winless on the season entering what would be the first in-conference game for both teams.
“Georgetown-Villanova is a big rivalry,” head coach Joanie Milhous said. “Anytime we play Georgetown, they give us a competitive game, and we knew it would be a battle. We knew that since it was our first Big East game for both teams it was going to be a hard-fought game.”
Villanova’s offense remained steady and productive throughout the game, as senior back Sabine de Ruijter scored the first goal of the game right before the end of the first quarter. She was followed by senior forward Amanda Middleman who scored a minute into the third quarter, beating the keeper to the right side. Georgetown responded with its first and only goal of the game, but Villanova continued to press through the weak Hoya defense, resulting in two goals from senior forward Meghan Mitchell and de Ruijter, both in the fourth quarter.
“[de Ruijter] is definitely a leader and captain on the team,” Milhous said. “We’ve made some changes for Sabine, she scores goals for us but usually from corners and strokes. We’ve changed her position a little bit and she’s gotten more opportunities to score goals in the open field. She’s a great addition to the talent we have on our forward line.”
Milhous emphasized the importance of the team playing well together after Friday’s win.
“I’m really excited about our overall performance with our forwards, midfielders and backs,” she said. “I thought we had a really great team game.”
Sunday’s game against Saint Francis proved to be much closer. The Wildcats offense started out hot, with Mitchell scoring off a corner eight minutes into the game. Mitchell, the team’s leading scorer, now has six goals and 14 points on the season, and is currently leading the Big East in goals, game-winning goals and points. She is quickly proving to not only be one of the best players on Villanova’s offense, but one of the best players in the conference.
Villanova extended its lead halfway through the second quarter, with Middleman scoring off yet another corner shot. Saint Francis was still very much in the game, and scored halfway through the fourth. But the effort proved to be too little too late, as Villanova would ultimately win, 2-1.
“St. Francis played a great game,” Milhous said. “I think we had some attacking opportunities we need to take advantage of and capitalize upon. We gave up way too many shots and corners against us. I’d like to see better production from our attacking 25s and defensive 25s.”
While Villanova’s offense started off hot, it was made evident that it needed to remain hot, efficient and make the most of every opportunity if the team is to elevate its game and make the Big East tournament.
The Wildcats aim to reach their offensive potential and improve upon their winning streak as they head into next week, with Big East play continuing as they travel to Quinnipiac on Sept. 22 followed by a non-conference game at Fairfield on Sept. 24.
