On Saturday, Feb. 15, Villanova women’s lacrosse hosted No. 16 Navy in its third game of the regular season. The Wildcats lost a tough one, 17-16.
“I think our team made a lot of great plays, but I think we just failed to carry through consistently,” head coach Jill Batcheller said.
Sophomore attacker Emma Verhoest tied her own program record on the draw, as the 5’11” sophomore won 16 of the team’s 24 draw controls. Redshirt sophomore attacker Elena Torres led the way with four goals and six total points.
Senior attacker Sydney Pappas and redshirt sophomore midfielder Bella Piselli netted three goals each. Freshman midfielder Leslie Iorio and sophomore attacker Jillian Vaught scored two goals apiece, and senior attacker Sami Carey and freshman midfielder Madison Freeman had one.
The ‘Cats were coming off a 14-10 win over Saint Joseph’s University on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Eight players scored goals against the Hawks, as Iorio led the way with four. Sami Carey ended the day with six points total, and sophomore Emma Verhoest had eight draw controls.
The weather conditions of the day did not make it easy for Villanova and Navy, as snow caused slippage on the turf. Slippery sticks created more difficulty when catching and throwing.
“I think as with any outdoor sport, you know, there’s some adjustments that you need to make for the weather,” Batcheller said.
Villanova grabbed the first goal of the game, scored by Torres on a man-up opportunity. Navy answered quickly with back-to-back goals.
The first quarter ended with the teams tied, 4-4, as Navy netted a goal in the final three seconds.
Navy kept its momentum going with another goal in the first minute of the second quarter.
Villanova then netted its fifth goal, capitalizing on another man-up opportunity, as Navy was awarded a green card just a minute prior.
The Midshipmen answered with two more goals. Villanova ended the quarter down two, 11-9.
Piselli earned her hat trick in the second half of the game. Torres and Vaught also put in second-half goals.
The teams continued to go goal-for-goal, as Villanova ended the third quarter behind, 15-13.
The Wildcats managed to get within one goal of Navy multiple times throughout the fourth quarter, but could not pull through.
Torres scored to put Villanova behind by just one with two minutes and four seconds on the clock.
Navy then called a timeout, and managed to run the clock down while keeping the ball out of Villanova’s sticks.
“I was really excited for her, you know, she made a lot of big plays in big moments,” Batcheller said in regards to Torres’s performance.
The ‘Cats will return to Villanova Stadium this Wednesday, Feb. 19 against Stony Brook at 1 p.m. They head to Lewisburg, PA on Saturday, Feb. 22 to face Bucknell (time TBA).
