After coming off a 16–11 win over Butler, Villanova was defeated by the University of Connecticut, 6–16, on the road in Storrs, CT on Wednesday, April 3. Villanova is now fifth in the Big East with a conference record of 1–2.
The Huskies won, 19-12 in their previous meeting with the Wildcats at Villanova Stadium on April 5, 2023. UConn sits at second in the Big East women’s lacrosse standings. The Wildcats currently have a 5–7 season record compared to UConn’s, 6–5.
The starting 12 for the ‘Cats included three freshmen: midfielder Mary Moore, attacker Emma Verhoest, and defender Cailin Harrington. Villanova also had five juniors on the field: attackers Sami Carey and Sydney Pappas, defenders Amelia Ricciuti and Maddy Stoddard, along with goalkeeper Cate Gallagher. Lastly, there were three starting seniors with Jenna Greason at midfield, Olivia Stoddard, and Mary Kate Conniff on defense, along with graduate attacker Cara Moreau.
Harrington won the initial draw control at Morrone Stadium. Moore was the first scorer for the ‘Cats in a free position goal at 6:47 in the first period. Sophomore midfielder Ashlyn Hickey scored Villanova’s second goal assisted by Carey. However, the Huskies managed to pull off scoring seven goals in the first period alone. Two of those goals were made by UConn’s senior midfielder Morgan Carter, who had three goals for the night.
Pappas has constantly been Villanova’s highest scorer, averaging 3.5 goals per game. However, she was only able to accomplish two against UConn this time around.
The Wildcats effort was no match for the Huskies’ stellar performance last week. Five UConn players managed to get two or more goals against the ‘Cats. Graduate attacker Kate Shaffer scored three goals and made four shots on goal. Graduate midfielder Madelyn George received nine draw controls for the Huskies. Verhoest and junior midfielder Caroline Keane tied each other for the most draw controls at two for the ‘Cats.
Both sides of the field fell into penalty trouble throughout the game. In the first half, three Wildcats received yellow cards consisting of Carey, Greason, and freshman midfielder Rose Christie. The only Villanova player to receive a green card was Harrington. As for the Huskies, they also had three players receive yellow cards and one player with a green card.
Although UConn scored more goals than the ‘Cats, Villanova managed to pull off more saves than the Huskies. Gallagher, the Wildcat goalkeeper, had nine saves compared to seven saves performed by George on the Husky side. Gallagher also had three ground balls and Christie had two for Villanova.
Villanova took 18 shots compared to UConn, which took 39 last Wednesday. The ‘Cats also had 13 shots on goal while the Huskies took 25.
To close out the matchup, Villanova only allowed the Huskies two goals during the fourth period. However, Nova was unable to score more than three goals in a single period. UConn had a strong defensive showing against Villanova’s top players.
With only three weeks left till the Big East Tournament, Villanova women’s lacrosse looks forward to the end of the season and the last two home games. The Wildcats will hold their Senior Day on Saturday April 13 at 12 p.m. at Villanova Stadium.
