No. 4 Villanova men’s lacrosse narrowly missed its first-ever Big East championship, falling in overtime to No. 2 Georgetown, 11–10.
The championship game took place on May 4 at Villanova Stadium, in front of nearly 1,000 fans through rainy weather.
The Wildcats had a thrilling run in the conference tournament, which Villanova hosted for the first time since 2018. It started with a 10–9 upset of No. 1 Denver in the semifinal on Thursday, May 2.
The ‘Cats then moved onto the championship game against the Hoyas, seeking redemption after losing, 12–4, on April 26, the last game of the regular season.
Georgetown’s offense bombarded Villanova from the start. The Hoyas scored four straight goals in the opening seven minutes.
Redshirt freshman attacker Lucas Newton was the first to respond for the Wildcats, scoring with 8:07 left in the first quarter. He was assisted by graduate attacker Thomas McIntire.
Georgetown topped off the first quarter with two more goals, and opened the second with another pair of goals.
The Wildcats found the spark they needed to work out of the 8–1 deficit in the second quarter.
They held the Hoyas without scoring throughout the second and third quarters, forcing 14 turnovers. The defense was highlighted by five saves from redshirt freshman goalkeeper Anthony Wilson.
Meanwhile, Villanova’s offensive momentum continued to build off the energy it found in the second quarter.
Senior midfielder Lucas Kopecky started off the second quarter’s seven-goal streak. Six other Wildcats also scored in the second quarter, with redshirt freshman attacker Colin Michener contributing both a goal and an assist.
In the final seconds of the second quarter, senior attacker Matt Licata found the back of the net to make it an even 8–8 game.
The only goal of the intense third quarter came from freshman midfielder Nicholas Lucchesi, assisted by Licata, to put Villanova up by one. It was Lucchesi’s second goal of the game.
With another goal from junior attacker Dan Martin, assisted by McIntire, the Wildcats’ nine consecutive goals carried them to a 10–8 advantage.
However, the lead was precarious, as Georgetown soon tied the game with two more goals in the fourth quarter. Neither team could notch the game-winner in the last four minutes remaining in regulation, while Wilson made two deft saves.
Kopecky claimed the opening faceoff for Villanova, but junior attacker Luke Raymond’s long-range shot attempt was blocked.
Georgetown’s sophomore attacker Patrick Crogan launched the game-winning shot past Wilson with just over a minute remaining in the overtime period.
Despite the disappointing end to the championship game, Wilson, Licata and graduate long stick midfielder Stephen Zupicich finished the season with spots on the Big East All-Tournament team.
