April 13, 2002

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - On Saturday, April 13 at Kessler Field, the Villanova University women's lacrosse team defeated Monmouth by the score of 14-12, behind four goals and two assists from senior Cecily Pierce. With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 7-5 overall on the season. The Hawks drop to 6-4 on the year with Saturday's loss.

Monmouth scored first 5:39 into the opening half on a goal by Meg Brown. Villanova tied the game on a Bess Hanley goal and went ahead for the first time, 2-1, on a Sarah DePeters' goal at the 8:05 mark. Trailing 4-3 at the 18:48 mark of the first half, the Wildcats outscored the Hawks 3-0 throughout the remainder of the half to take a 6-4 lead into intermission.

Hanley led Villanova with three goals in the first half of play, while DePeters, Katie Ardington and Meghan Carolan each chipped in one goal apiece.

Monmouth came out firing, scoring the first two goals of the second half to tie the contest at 6-6. The Wildcats went on yet another run, outscoring the Hawks 4-0 in the next 7:44 to reclaim the lead at 10-6. DePeters scored the go-ahead goal for the `Cats during that stretch.

With the score tied at 10-10 following four unanswered Monmouth goals, Villanova put its offense into high gear. The Wildcats scored four times during a three minute and 21 second stretch to seal the victory, 14-12. Pierce scored three consecutive goals for Villanova to help the `Cats earn their seventh win of the season.

On offense for the Wildcats, Pierce had four goals and two assists, while Hanley and Carolan each netted three goals. Winding down the goal scoring for Villanova was DePeters with two and Ardington and Katie Komlo each with one. In goal for the `Cats, Brandy Grenier led Villanova with a team-high seven saves.

For Monmouth, Brown and Beka Murphy led the team with three goals apiece. Stacy Makris tallied a game-high nine saves in goal for the Hawks.

The Wildcats will next play on Wednesday, April 17, traveling to Johns Hopkins to play at 7:00 p.m.