March 11, 2007

Box Score

Villanova, Pa. - The Villanova women's lacrosse team improved their record to 2-2 with a 4-3 victory over Central Connecticut State University (1-3) at Villanova Stadium this afternoon. Four different Wildcats had a hand in scoring, while senior goalie, Jess Brozena was able to thwart the Blue Devil offense by collecting nine saves for the day.

Central Connecticut State's Abby Hayes opened the scoring when she converted a free position opportunity to put the Blue Devils ahead 1-0 only six minutes into the game. Over the following 15 minutes of play, neither team was able to register a goal. However, two yellow cards were issued, with one being awarded to each team. It wasn't until the 11:17 mark that Central Connecticut State's Julia Steier was able to sneak a shot past Brozena to give the Blue Devils a two goal lead. Villanova finally got on the board with just over two minutes left thanks to the efforts of sophomore Taylor Lucy. Despite the Blue Devil 2-1 lead, the Wildcats held the advantage in shots 12-11, groundballs 17-15, and draw controls 3-1.

With a fresh 30 minutes placed on the clock after halftime, Villanova wasted no time capitalizing on their opporuntities. The Wildcats scored three unanswered goals, with two of them coming within one minute of each other. Sophomore Taryn McKenna, who registered four shots for the day, maneuvered her way through the Blue Devil defense to notch an unassisted goal to tie the score at two. Less than one minute later, freshman Erica Rybinski took advantage of her free position opportunity slipping one past Central Connecticut State goalie Alice Lee to give the Wildcats a 3-2 edge. After taking five total shots, senior Christina Bahrs recorded the game-winning goal at the 16:13 mark.

Along with Brozena, the Villanova defensive unit halted Central Connecticut State's offense by only allowing the Blue Devils to get off six shots in the second half. One small defensive breakdown led to the third and final goal for Central Connecticut State's Courtney Mooney at the 12:51 mark. However, a 4-3 margin was as close as the Blue Devils would get. Villanova dominated the last few minutes of play by keeping possession of the ball in their offensive zone.

Villanova faces a quick turnaround this week as they face the Hawks of Saint Joseph's on Tuesday, March 13 at 4:30 p.m. in the Villanova Stadium.