On Saturday, March 28, Villanova women’s lacrosse achieved its biggest upset in program history, taking down No.2 ranked Stanford, 9-8, at Villanova Stadium.
It is Villanova’s first top five win in program history, and the teams fourth ever win over a top 25 team.
The opening period was slow, as neither team scored until there was 11 minutes remaining in the quarter. Stanford found the back of the net on a free-position opportunity for the first goal. They added one more to go up 2-0 in the first quarter.
Redshirt sophomore Mary Moore got things going for Villanova with a goal assisted by junior midfielder Rose Christie. Stanford added one more, but the ‘Cats responded quickly with another goal, this time from senior attacker Ashlyn Hickey, assisted by redshirt junior midfielder Bella Piselli. They made the score 3-2.
Stanford answered with another, then Piselli found the back of the net to make it 4-3. Freshman midfielder Kathryn Monaco tied things up at 4-4 heading into halftime.
Sophomore midfielder Leslie Ioiro gave Villanova its first lead at 5-4 in the opening minutes of the third quarter. The Wildcats managed to extend their lead to 7-4. Then, the Cardinal answered back with three goals in a row to tie things up. Villanova managed to regain the lead again when Moore scored her third goal, recording a hat trick.
Villanova scored again to go up 9-7 at the start of the fourth. With 7:34, the Cardinal netted one final goal, but it was not enough. For the remainder of the game, Villanova’s defense managed to keep the number two team at bay and secure the 9-8 win.
Junior midfielder Emma Verhoest broke the program’s all-time record for draw controls. With three total on the day, she now has 384 on her career.
Moore led the way in goals for Villanova. Freshman defender Kate O’Neil had four caused turnovers, and Moore and redshirt sophomore Cailin Harrington each had three ground balls.
Next up, the Wildcats will head to The University of Connecticut on April 1 to take on the Huskies. The first draw is set for 3 p.m.
