On Wednesday, March 13, Villanova defeated Lafayette, 8–7, on the road in Easton, PA in its last non-conference game of the regular season, thanks to a goal by senior attacker Kayla Gulmi with 1:59 remaining in the game.
The ‘Cats have a 4-5 record, which is second-best in the Big East. Lafayette is part of the Patriot League conference, where it sits at sixth.
Freshman attacker Emma Verhoest won the initial draw and managed to achieve two others the remainder of the game. Not far behind was freshman goalie Cailin Harrington, who acquired two draw controls against Lafayette. Harrington also accounted for 11 saves.
Comparatively, the Lafayette goalie, senior Lexie Coldiron, made 13 saves against Villanova.
The highest scorer of the game was junior attacker Sami Carey. Carey’s two goals were both assisted by freshman attacker Sophia Corretjer. Gulmi scored one goal and forced a turnover, along with picking up two ground balls.
Graduate attacker Cara Moreau took four shots, scoring one, which was assisted by Carey. Carey had five assists.
Wildcat freshmen continued to put on a strong showing on the field. Corretjer scored a goal with the help of Carey, and forced two turnovers from the Lions. Midfielder Mary Moore picked up four ground balls and scored the first goal of the game, assisted by Corretjer.
Freshman midfielder Rose Christie got two ground balls and a turnover. Christie scored the first goal of the fourth period.
For Lafayette, senior midfielder Clare Culligan scored an unassisted goal, and another which was assisted by junior attacker Sara Rogers. Junior defender Lindsay Geiger and sophomore midfielder Katie Marrs both received five draw controls on Wednesday.
‘Nova didn’t score the entire first period, until Moore finally overpowered Lafayette with 5:08 remaining until halftime.
After a rocky first half, the Wildcats rallied in the second by scoring three goals in the third period and four goals in the fourth. With less than four minutes remaining, Moreau tied the score, 7–7. At 1:59, Gulmi scored the game-winning goal to close out Villanova’s last non-conference game.
“I’m really proud of this team for finding a way to finish the game today on the backs of a lot of upperclassmen leadership,” head coach Jill Batcheller said. “Cathy [Gallagher] had a phenomenal game in cage, Sami [Carey] led our offensive unit, and it was great to see another game winner from a senior, Kayla [Gulmi]. I thought Lafayette played their best game against us, a great defensive game and in-cage. We are looking forward to using this time ahead of us to fine-tune our skills as we kick off Big East play. We’re excited for the road ahead.”
The Wildcats will have their first Big East game of the season, against Georgetown, on Saturday, March 23 at 1 p.m. at Villanova Stadium.
