On Thursday, May 1, Villanova women’s lacrosse advanced to its first-ever Big East Championship after a decisive 16-10 victory over the University of Connecticut.
The No. 2 seeded Wildcats will now host No. 1 seeded University of Denver in the championship game on Saturday (11 a.m., FS2).
“We have been looking forward to being able to host this tournament for a few years now,” head coach Jill Batcheller said. “Having the opportunity to host is so exciting.”
Sophomore attacker Jillian Vaught led the way in scoring with three goals. Senior attacker Sydney Pappas, freshman midfielder Leslie Irorio, senior attacker Sami Carey and redshirt sophomore attacker Elena Torres netted two each. Senior goalie Cate Gallagher had six saves and six ground balls, while sophomore midfielder Emma Verhoust won six draws.
The Wildcats opened the game with a high-energy offensive burst. After causing a turnover on UConn’s first possession, Torres ran it down and scored a goal for Villanova within just 48 seconds of gameplay. Two minutes later, Vaught netted the second goal of the game, assisted by Carey.
The Huskies answered with an eight-meter free possession goal at 12:08. Carey then scored an unassisted goal with 10:53 on the clock. Vaught then added another goal to finish the quarter ahead, 4-3.
Villanova did not let up in the second period. Verhoust won the draw and got it down the field for an Iorio goal with 14:16 on the clock. Midfielder Rose Christier got the assist. The defense also showed up, and forced multiple turnovers for UConn, along with stopped shots right in front of the cage. The Wildcats finished the second half up two, with a score of 7-5.
The ‘Cats scored in the opening minute of the third period, with Vaught netting a goal just 19 seconds after the whistle. Following a UConn turnover, redshirt sophomore midfielder Bella Piselli rocketed a shot from the eight-meter for Villanova’s ninth goal of the game with 10:34 left in the quarter.
Things began to get physical on both ends, as UConn received two yellow cards and Villanova received one in the second half. The ‘Cats put three more on the board before the end of the third, with goals from Carey, Pappas and Torres.
“I told them in order to win, we need to maintain our toughness and support our teammates,” Batcheller said. “I was really proud of the way they handled that.”
They headed into the fourth period up, 12-6.
Villanova kept up the momentum in the beginning of the fourth. Iorio opened up the period with a well-placed shovel shot at 13:36. From there, the ‘Cats scored three more goals. Christie got the final goal of the game with 4:21 remaining.
UConn also added three more goals before time expired, but was unable to equalize.
The Wildcats will now face the Pioneers in the Big East championship game at Villanova Stadium. The Pioneers are coming off a 20-9 rout of No. 4 seeded Georgetown in Thursday’s semifinal.
In their previous matchup on April 26, Denver soundly defeated Villanova, 17-7.
“Our mindset heading in is that we have nothing to lose,” said Coach Batcheller. “We want our team to just go out, and play their game, and keep it simple, and enjoy the moment, and have fun.”
