Villanova men’s lacrosse suffered a 16-5 defeat to Colgate on Saturday, Feb. 22.
The lopsided defeat comes one week after Villanova (1-2) took down No. 9 Yale, 13-11, for its first win of the season.
“We had 33 turnovers in the game,” head coach Mike Corrado said. “I can’t remember the last time we even got close to that. Their 10 men gave us a problem, and we failed to clear 13 to 14 times…That doesn’t give you an opportunity to win against a team that’s hot right now.”
Saturday’s game was originally scheduled to be held at Colgate, but the location was switched to Villanova Stadium due the weather in New York.
The Wildcats started off strong, scoring two early goals in the first three minutes.
“I thought the first 10 minutes of the game, we did a nice job offensively,” Corrado said. “We only scored two, but I thought we could’ve had a couple more.”
After starting off 2-0, the Wildcats began to commit costly turnovers. The sloppy play led to two goals from Colgate, which tied the game with 7:20 to play in the first quarter.
The two goals would ultimately spark a scoring spree from Colgate. After tying the game at 2-2 and then taking a 3-2 lead, the Raiders never trailed.
Colgate dominated the second quarter and took a three-goal lead which then grew to an eight goal lead with 5:41 to play before the half.
The Wildcats conceded eight unanswered goals, and at halftime, Colgate led, 10-2.
Coming out of the half, Corrado made a goalie change. Freshman Denis Fargione replaced redshirt freshman Anthony Wilson, who has started the last three games in the net.
“Colgate went on a 10 goal streak, and a lot of them shot really high-percentage shots,” Corrado said. “I thought [Wilson] played fine, but the really high-percentage shots made me think to switch it up a little bit and give [Fargione] an opportunity.
Fargione recorded 11 saves, but also conceded six more goals.
“Everyone was so supportive since I was put in,” Fargione said. “They always had my back after every single goal, or every single save, and were cheering me on and keeping my spirits high.”
At 6-foot-2, Fargione’s height was an advantage and despite the loss, Fargione’s collegiate debut left him with a boost of confidence.
“I’m gonna keep working,” Fargione said. “Everyday at the end of my warmup, I get inside shots and finishing from [senior attacker] Luke Raymond and [senior midfielder] Tyler Boes, and this helped me in the game. It’s a very great experience that [Corrado] trusts me enough to put me in during that type of situation.”
Despite Fargione’s saves, the Wildcats struggled with clearances. The Raiders opened the scoring after just three minutes of second half play, while the Wildcats only managed to score one goal in the third quarter.
The Raiders defense forced multiple turnovers from the Wildcats that turned into multiple goal attempts and ground balls.
With two minutes to play, the Wildcats were down by 11, their biggest deficit of the game.
“We have to cut down on turnovers,” Corrado said. “Offensively, we have to shoot better, as well as try to concentrate on shooting. Our shooting percentage was low, so it’s mainly reducing turnovers and shooting a little bit better.”
The focus now turns to Lehigh (0-4) on Friday, Feb. 28. The Mountain Hawks’ losses have included Fairfield and No. 11 Cornell. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Villanova Stadium.
