VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Villanova women's lacrosse team heads into a new week and gears up to face Holy Cross at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 6 and Drexel University on Saturday, Mar. 9 also at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats are looking to get their season headed back in the right direction after suffering two tough losses this past week to then No.17/18 Navy and Saint Joseph's. Villanova currently sits 2-3 early in the season with 12 more games to get the team where it needs to be.

Villanova
During this weekend's tough matchups, both the Midshipmen and Hawks were able to contain many of Villanova's key players. Fortunately, many individuals stepped up in their teammates' place to help the 'Cats in their conquest.

Despite being contained throughout the last two contests, Katie Comerford, Ashley Lynch and Devin Hassinger still lead the team in points, goals, assists and draw controls.
Comerford still sits at No. 1 on the team in points (15) and assists (9) and is tied with Brittany Bruno for second with six goals. Lynch is second on the team in both assists (7) and points (12) and has five goals. Hassinger has led the team for most of the season with goals and has led in draw controls from game No. 1 against Duke. The midfielder has scored 10 goals for 10 points and has tallied 30 draw controls in five games, averaging six per game.

Junior Grainger Rosati follow behinds Hassinger with 12 draw controls as well as four goals and two assists for six points on the season. The Wildcats have also received goals from nine others so far this season and have a team total of 48 goals and 29 assists.

On defense, Maggie O'Neill and Sydney Frank have been the most aggressive for Villanova. Frank leads the team with 10 caused turnovers and 10 ground balls as a freshman and O'Neill has tallied six caused turnovers and seven ground balls as a senior.

Alexa Moro continues to be a prime feature in the net as a freshman. She has now started in three of the Wildcats five games and leads her fellow keepers in all statistics. Moro has recorded 51 saves on 139 shots faced and has an overall save percentage of .472. Against Siena and St. Joe's she reached double figures in saves with 16 and 14 respectively on a combined 59 shots between the two contests.

Last Matchup
The Wildcats and Crusaders last faced each other during the 2018 season when the 'Cats took a trip to Worcester, Mass. on Feb. 26. Villanova returned home with a 10-7 win capturing their second of three games at that point in the season.

That evening, Jillian Swikart led the team with four goals while Liz Trojan added two. Carlye Maita, Comerford, Rosati, and Devin Brown each added a goal of their own to have a hand in the victory.

Holy Cross received goals from five players in their defeat to the 'Cats. Kerianne Moran and Baker Earl netted in two apiece while Keely Connors, Riley Bergholtz, and Bryn Carroll added one each to the seven-point total.

Julia Michaels and Khaia Baranowski split equal time in the goal for Villanova. Michaels recorded six saves in 30 minutes of play and Baranowski added four. Julia Maloney stood in the net for the Crusaders as a senior and recorded 10 saves in the loss.

Of those who made an impact for Holy Cross in last year's competition, Earl, Connors, Bergholtz and Carrol will have a chance at redemption over Villanova.
For the competition, Villanova led in shots, shots on goal, successful clears and ground balls. However, the two opponents were tied in saves and free position shots and Holy Cross led 13-6 in draw controls.

Holy Cross
The Crusaders are 1-4 headed into Wednesday's matchup and are recently coming off a loss to Siena at home. Their only win this season has been a 20-3 victory over Central Connecticut.

Leading Holy Cross this season is Connors who has racked up 14 goals and one assist for a team high 15 points. Behind her sits Izzy Grant with eight goals. Carroll holds the top spot on the team for draw controls with 11 and Audrey Mandaro leads the team with seven caused turnovers and 11 ground balls.

Two goalkeepers have seen time in the net this season for Holy Cross. Sophie Ochs has seen the most time of the two making three starts and playing in 186 of the 300 minutes. In five games she has recorded 29 saves on 83 shots faced and has a save percentage of .492. Juliana Kubler has made two of the five starts and has played in 113 minutes. Of the four games she has seen action in, she has recorded 15 saves on 45 shots faced and her save percentage sits at .405.

Looking Ahead
Upon the conclusion of the matchup between the Wildcats and Crusaders, Villanova will return to action for a weekend competition against Drexel on Saturday, Mar. 9 at 1 p.m. at Vidas Field in Philadelphia, Pa.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast on Nova Nation All-Access and live stats will be available on StatBroadcast.