Villanova, Pa.- The Villanova Wildcats (3-1) picked up their third straight win of the season Sunday afternoon when they defeated Lehigh (1-2) 4-0. This marks the first time since the 2011 season that the Wildcats have won three games in a row.
"We have played three games in a row with consistency," said head coach Chris McLain. "Some games, players have a great game and others have a bad one. All 22 players have been playing great. With each game, our players have grown in confidence in making this style of play their own. We may have created the backbone but they are the ones that have really dressed it up with the style and personality players we have."
Villanova came out strong scoring their first goal just six minutes in when
Kristen Vinciguerra passed the ball to
Chloe O'Neill at the top corner of the box. O'Neill was able to dribble to the middle and get her shot to fall just under the crossbar and just out of the reach of Lehigh keeper Miranda Royds.
Lehigh got their best chance to score just a few minutes later when Maggie Wadsworth ripped a high shot from the top of the box.
Hensley Hancuff was able to push the shot up and over the crossbar to keep the Mountain Hawks scoreless.
The second half was all Wildcats. Villanova had three different players score goals, starting with O'Neill setting up
Bri Austin in the 47
th minute. Austin got her cross shot from just inside the box to go out of the reach of Lehigh goalkeeper Lidia Breen.
It was 10 minutes later when
Conner Huggins passed the ball to the
Niki Molina, who shot it from the top of the box to go into the upper corner for the third goal of the game. Villanova's final goal came on a free kick just outside the box that was taken by freshman
Reagan Smith. Smith ripped her shot and it fell in for the final goal of the game in the 70
th minute.
McLain continued "Last season, JMU and Lehigh really outplayed us and made it tough for us to get things going. This season, the players are truly developing to be next level players, not just collegiate players. The environment from the training grounds, to the film rooms, to the rehab,... players are thriving in the environment with the resources here at Villanova."
"To beat teams teams like JMU and Lehigh the way we did... this program is going to be special. It may not be this year but in the near future. Trust me," said McLain.
The Wildcats will now hit the road for back-to-back games. First, they will travel to South Carolina to take on Clemson Friday night and then will got to Rhode Island to face off against Brown on Sunday.
