In its first road test of the season, Villanova defeated the University of Pennsylvania 3-2 on Sunday afternoon. The team snapped its three-game losing streak to the Quakers behind strong defense and timely scoring. The Wildcats now improve to 3-1 on the season, the best record through four games for the team since 2008.

The Quakers got on the board early in the first quarter from Madison Jiranek in the fourth minute. Two minutes later, senior forward Lydia Sydnor scored the equalizer off an assist from senior forward Megan Vermeil, evening the score to 1-1.

Tight defense by both teams kept the score at 1 going into the half. Jiranek put the Quakers ahead 2-1 in the third quarter with her second score of the game in what would be the last score of the game for Penn.

Lydia Sydnor scored her second goal of the game three minutes later. It was Sydnor's sixth goal in the last two games combined. Junior midfielder Riley Dolan, off an assist from senior back Christen Pennington, put the Wildcats up by 1 after a goal in the 41^st minute of play.

The Wildcats will play its second road game in a row when it travels to Georgetown on Friday for a 1 p.m. game. Villanova has won the last three matchups against the Hoyas.
 
Hear from the Wildcats:
"Being on the field today, you could just feel the all-out atmosphere, and everyone gave their everything. It's amazing to see all of our hard work finally result in some great wins." – Senior Forward Lydia Sydnor
 
"(I'm) very happy with how our team played today. They withstood a lot of strong Penn pressure, especially in the first quarter and did a great job of taking advantage of our opportunities. I love the determination our entire team showed." – Head Coach Joanie Milhous