March 2, 2006

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Women's lacrosse took one on the chin Wednesday night, falling to the La Salle Explorers 15-7 and dropping the Wildcats to 1-2 on the season. Villanova had some bright spots including a 4-0 rally during the end of the first half and beginning of second but it was not enough to get the win.

The first four minutes of the game were a foreshadowing to the shootout it would be with the teams scoring four goals in four minutes. The Explorers got on the board at 1:11 but Villanova answered a minute later when freshman Tayrn McKenna (Dix Hills, N.Y.) scored off of a free position shot. La Salle tallied two more goals before both teams hit a scoring drought.

Villanova came within one at 11:29 as attack Stevie McFadden (Reisterstown, Md.) took the ball in the crease from Tricia Magnuson (Annapolis, Md.) to convert making it 2-3. Unfortunately the celebration was short lived as La Salle went on a 4-0 run before Villanova could again find the back of the net.

When the Wildcats felt things were getting out of hand, junior captain Becky Gardner (Centerport, N.Y.) stepped up and scored two unassisted goals just 14 seconds apart making the halftime score 4-7. The spark carried over through the break and McFadden scored her second goal of the day off of a free position shot, while Alex Garvey (Summit, N.J.) added another to cap off a 4-0 run of their own.

La Salle then took control of the game scoring six straight goals which the Wildcats couldn't overcome. Garvey scored the final Villanova goal of the evening and the Explorers added two more to make the final 15-7.

Jessica Brozena took the loss with seven saves and Chantelle McCormick posted the win with five stops of her own. The Wildcats were out shot 30-22 and closely beaten in ground balls 22-21. The telling stat was turnovers, 17 for the Wildcats and only 13 for the Explorers.

Villanova looks to rebound at home this Saturday against Iona. The game will begin at 1:00 p.m.