After an intense back-and-forth offensive matchup between Villanova and Monmouth, the Wildcats fell to the Hawks 5-3 on Sunday afternoon.

Villanova fell behind 2-0 early in the match after the Hawks scored two goals in the first 11 minutes of play. The first goal was from Aylin Aufenacker and the second was from Annick van Lange.

The Wildcats rebounded quickly, with junior forward Emily Clarke scoring its first goal of the match in the 13^th minute to make it a 2-1 game. It was Clarke's second goal of the season.

Senior forward Abby Siana ended the first half by scoring the equalizer off an assist from senior forward Lydia Sydnor, tying the game at 2.

Monmouth regained the lead four minutes into the third quarter with a goal from Aylin Aufenacker, her second goal of the match. But Villanova didn't allow the Hawks to hold onto its lead for long, with senior back Christen Pennington scoring off a penalty corner, making the score 3 all.

Monmouth regained the lead for good after a goal in the 46^th minute from Josephine van der Hoop. Then, after a collision between Villanova goalkeeper Jordan McGinley and Monmouth midfielder Meg de Lange, de Lange was awarded a penalty stroke which she scored on That put the Hawks up 5-3 in the final scoring play of the match.

Although it was a losing outcome for the Wildcats, it was a highly contested and mostly evenly played match for most of the 60 minutes. Villanova had 5 saves, 4 penalty corners and had 11 shots, compared to Monmouth's 16 shots, 2 saves and 5 penalty corners.

"I was proud of how our team showed a lot of grit and determination. We made a few mistakes that Monmouth was strong to capitalize on, but I was happy with the overall play of our team," Villanova head coach Joanie Milhous said after the match.

The Wildcats look to get back on the winning side this Friday when it hosts Wagner at 6 p.m. at The Proving Grounds.