The women’s lacrosse team battled but eventually lost to nearby opponent Drexel University 9-5 on Saturday, March 14. The Wildcats fell to 2-4 for the season, while Drexel improved to 2-4. 

The rainy afternoon at Vidas Field reflected the early mood among the Wildcats as the Dragons scored two goals within the first six minutes of the game. Dragon sophomore midfielder Lacey Aghazarian started the action, scoring at 4:21. 

A minute later, junior midfielder Milan White scored her first goal of the season. However, Villanova answered soon after as junior attacker Kelsey Denihan found senior midfielder Hannah Goforth, who scored Nova’s first goal at 22:34. This was Goforth’s third goal of the season. 

Neither side was able to capitalize in the 20 minutes following Goforth’s goal. Villanova was finally able to even the scoreboard at 2-2 as junior midfielder Shannon Galvin scored. Freshman midfielder Kathleen O’Connor assisted on the goal. 

Both teams plated a fairly even defensive half. Each posted six draw controls and eight successful clears. The Wildcats led the half with ground balls by a 17 to 14 margin. 

The Dragons outshot the Wildcats 11-5. This proved key at the end of the first half as Wildcat junior goalkeeper Jaclyn Fraum was unable to stop the Dragon senior midfielder Joelle Hartke from scoring with one second remaining in the half. The momentum was on Drexel’s side at the final whistle of the half. 

Despite Drexel’s successful offensive play, Fraum had a solid half. Out of all 11 shots by Drexel, eight were on target. Fraum was able to come up with six saves. 

The Wildcats were not about to go away, which was proven within the first two minutes of the second half, as Denihan was able to score off a free position. 

Unfortunately, the 3-3 score would be the closest the Wildcats would come to their opponents for the rest of the meeting. 

The Dragons went on a 3-0 scoring spree soon after, extending their advantage to 6-3.

Galvin and sophomore midfielder Carolyn Dottino-Buenahora posted two more goals for Nova as the Wildcats tried to catch up to the Philadelphia-based team. These would be the last times the Drexel goalkeeper would be passed. The Dragons eventually pulled away.

Goforth had a good day off the bench, tallying a caused turnover and a team-high of three groundballs. Dottino scored one goal off one shot with one ground ball, one caused turnover, and two draw controls. Fraum finished the day with seven saves. 

Moving forward this season, eyes are on senior attacker and co-captain Jessica Mucci. She leads the Big East in assists per game with 2.00, which places her in the top 20 nationally. She is quickly approaching the all-time career assists leader Shannon O’Neil, who posted 84 assists between 1994 and 1997.