This past weekend, Villanova’s field hockey team went 0-2, losing to Temple, 4-0, in Big East play and Drexel, 4-1, in a non-conference matchup.
On Friday, the Wildcats traveled to Howarth Field for a conference matchup against the Owls. The game had an exciting start, with three shots on goal within the first three minutes, and Temple got on the board early in the first period.
Following a slew of fouls called on both teams, Villanova had its first shot attempt around the 10-minute mark with a penalty corner by junior midfield forward Anne Drabbe. The shot was blocked, however, and back to back fouls were called on Villanova immediately following.
Temple continued to out-shoot Villanova, 4-0, and with just 10 seconds before the end of the first period, Temple junior midfielder Alizé Maes put another goal in for the Owls. Villanova ended the first quarter down, 2-0, and with no attempts in the second period, the Wildcats headed into the locker room down, 3-0, at the half.
The second half began with a goalie change for Villanova with freshman Maddi Sears stepping in for junior Emma Leppert.
Despite Villanova having three more shots before the end of the third period, a goal from Temple’s Tess Muller at the 36-minute mark solidified the Owls’ win.
A quiet 4th period saw a penalty corner by Muller and a blocked shot by Olivia Vaccari with only three minutes remaining in the game. This brought the Wildcats’ first game of the weekend to a close, as they fell to the Owls, 4-0.
“I think we just made some mistakes as far as valuing our position game,” head coach Joanie Milhous said. “We kinda turned the ball over too much. I would say the possession game was our biggest struggle, but we’ll be sure to work on that this week and turn that around.”
Sunday afternoon’s matchup at Buckley Field against Drexel resulted in a 4-1 loss for the ‘Cats.
With the Dragons’ first goal coming only a minute and a half into the game, and the second only two minutes later, the Wildcats had to fight to keep up.
Back-to-back shots by freshman back Genna Lysaght in the 10th minute looked promising to put a goal on the board for the Wildcats. However, the Dragon’s defense blocked both attempts.
The first half ended, 2-0, and Sears again replaced Leppert to start the second half in goal for the Wildcats.
Senior forward Amanda Middleman put Villanova on the scoreboard four minutes into the third period with an assist from Drabbe, and Villanova was able to hold off the Dragons’ offense for most of the third period.
Villanova did not have any shots on goal in the final 15 minutes. It was not able to hold the Dragons off from sneaking in a final shot with three minutes remaining on the clock; as Drexel solidified its win with its fourth goal of the game.
“[I] definitely think it’s that point in the season where we kind of get a little flat,” Milhous said. “But I think that this is just a hiccup for us and we’re going to get right back after it and tweak some things and be ready to go strong for Friday.”
Villanova will play against Providence at home on Friday, Oct. 27. Not only is this the Wildcats’ last game of the regular season, but the result of this game will determine whether they will advance to the conference tournament in November.
“We’ve got a lot to play for,” Milhouse said. “A lot of exciting games [are] still ahead of us. The coaches, we are doing everything we can to come up with a great game plan, but…everybody’s gonna get totally zoned in and focused and turn around what happened this past weekend. We know we’ve got talent, we know we’ve got the ability so we’re just gonna keep positive and keep working hard. Hard work’s gonna make the difference.”
