Philadelphia, Pa. - Three first half goals proved to be enough for the Villanova field hockey team, as they defeated the Drexel Dragons by a score of 3-2 on Sunday afternoon. All five goals in the match were scored in the first half. Villanova improves to 5-7 overall on the season with the non-conference win, while Drexel falls to 4-8.
Jamie Pennington got the first half scoring started, after being awarded a penalty corner early in the first quarter. Pennington sent the corner in to the striking circle and the ball made it's way back to the sophomore midfielder close to the net. She fired off an initial shot that was saved by the Dragons goalkeeper, however she corralled the ball that rebounded back to her and fired it to the back of the cage.
Villanova held their 1-0 lead late into the period, until Drexel worked the ball around the circle and converted for their first goal of the match at 13:50.
Drexel kept their momentum going into the second quarter, scoring 1:34 into the frame. After the Villanova defense turned away two shots from the Dragons, the home team was awarded a penalty stroke. Villanova now faced a 1-2 deficit early in the second half.
The 'Cats would strike back quickly, as the team's leading scorer
Meghan Mitchell scored the equalizer. Villanova was awarded another corner, one of their 11 in the match, that was sent in by
Anne Drabbe. A set play for
Sabine de Ruijter allowed her to get off a shot, which was saved. Mitchell was able to stop the rebounding ball and fire off a shot to put tie the score at 2-2 at the 18:12 mark.
Building off the momentum from the equalizer, Villanova put the pressure on the Drexel back line. After drawing another foul in the striking circle, the Wildcats were awarded another penalty corner late in the second period. After firing off a few shots,Mitchell found her self able to get off another shot that was deflected in by
Amanda Middleman, to give Villanova a 3-2 lead before halftime.
The three goals in the first half marks a season high for the Wildcats.
Stifling defense was the key in the second half, as neither team was able to get off a good scoring chance. For Villanova,
Claire Borman took over in goal at halftime and recorded a clean sheet for her two periods.
The Wildcats will travel to Lynchburg, Virginia to face Liberty on Friday afternoon. This will be their only contest of the week, with a start time of 3 PM.
