April 28, 2011
Villanova Notes
Providence Notes
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VILLANOVA, Pa. - No. 10 Villanova (10-3, 2-2) will play their final regular season home game of the season against Providence College (3-10, 0-4) on Saturday afternoon. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Villanova Stadium.
The Wildcats are coming off a solid 12-7 victory over Rutgers on Tuesday evening, solidifying VU's 10th win of the season and their third-straight year with at least 10 victories.
Saturday's contest will mark only the third overall meeting between The Wildcats and Friars, with Villanova leading the all-time series, 2-0. VU posted a 9-5 victory over Providence on May 1st, 2010 at the Friar Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. VU's other win came during the 1988 season - nearly 23 years ago. Villanova This Season: The Wildcats enter Saturday's contest with a 10-3 record after defeating Rutgers, 12-7, on April 26th.
Villanova This Season: The Wildcats enter Saturday's contest with a 10-3 record after defeating Rutgers, 12-7, on April 26th.
Four of Villanova's ten wins have come against opponents ranked at the time of their meetings: the Wildcats topped No. 16 Drexel, 14-13, in a Philadelphia showdown, and also bested No. 9 Penn, 9-8 in VU's lone overtime game of the season. Against No. 11 Princeton, Villanova claimed their first-ever win against the Tigers, 10-9, in the Class of 1952 Stadium. VU also claimed a dominating 10-4 win over No. 17 Delaware.
Villanova's Last Outing: Led by the three point performances of Jack Rice, Nick Doherty and Max Hart, the 10th-ranked Villanova Wildcats posted a solid 12-7 victory over Rutgers (5-8, 0-4) on Tuesday evening. Eight different players posted points in the BIG EAST win.
Villanova saw perhaps their best effort at the face-off X for the season, with Thomas Croonquist and Nolan Vihlen winning 13 of 22 attempts against the top-ranked face-off man in the country in Rutgers' Christopher Mattes.
'Nova Offense: Villanova features 13 players contributing on offense and is highlighted by the offensive scoring from the sophomore and junior classes. Combined, the second and third years tally 200 out of 213 total team points.
Additionally, versus their opponents, the Wildcats average 10.15 goals per game compared to the 7.85 of their competition and claim a .636 shot on goal percentage over their competitors .553.
'Nova Defense: Netminder Billy Hurley has been the staple between the pipes for the season, totaling over 775 minutes while making 95 saves on the year.
Senior LSM Brian Karalunas continues to hold his spot atop the NCAA rankings in caused turnovers per game, averaging 4.50 takeaways per contest. For the season, Karalunas has 57 takeaways and 60 ground balls on the year, while the starting trio at close defense: juniors Chris Creighton, Ryan McDonagh, and senior Chris Ficke have combined for 84 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers through Villanova's 13 games.
Providence's Last Outing: For the second time in eight days the Providence College lacrosse team played the nation's top-ranked team and was outstanding in the first quarter, before falling. The Friars led 1-0 after one quarter, but fell to No. 1/1 Notre Dame, 14-3, in BIG EAST action at Lennon Family Field in Providence on Saturday, April 23. The Friars fell to 3-10 overall, 0-4 in BIG EAST action, while the Irish improved to 10-0, 5-0 in league play.
The Friars received goals from Andrew Barton, Steve Lydon and Jake Nolan while Sean Wright added an assist for PC. Jake Goodelman took the loss in the cage, falling to 1-6 on the season.
Providence this Season: Providence posts a 3-10 overall record and is 0-4 in the BIG EAST after falling to Georgetown (14-5), St. John's (9-6), Syracuse (13-3) and Notre Dame (14-3). Their last win occurred on April 2nd in an 8-6 defeat of Lafayette.
Friar Offense: The Friars average 6.23 goals per game and surrender 10.23 goals per game defensively. Junior Jake Nolan and freshman Andrew Barton lead the team with 22 points (13g, 9a and 8g 14a), while Sean Wright, Evan Helda and Daniel Textor have combined for 37 points on the season thus far.
Friar Defense: Christian Dzwilewski and Jake Goodelman have split the majority of time between the pipes for the year, being credited with a 2-4 and 1-6 record, respectively. In addition to Tyler Himes, the trio has made 144 saves while posting a .520 save percentage.
Last Time vs. Providence (5/1/10): No. 13/12 Villanova brought home another conference win on Saturday afternoon, downing Providence College, 9-5, at the Friar Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
Seniors Paul Webber and Mark Scioscia led the Wildcat offense, providing the team with four points each and combining for five goals. Junior LSM Brian Karalunas tallied six ground balls and five caused turnovers, while freshman goalie Billy Hurley captured 10 saves in the first half to lead the VU defensive effort.
