LYNCHBURG, Va.—Freshman forward Meghan Mitchell (Villanova, Pa.) scored her first collegiate goal and Villanova (0-2) continued its strong goalkeeping despite a 7-1 loss to Liberty (3-0) at the LU Field Hockey Field on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Claire Borman (West Chester, Pa.) and junior Jordan McGinley (Morristown, N.J.) combined for 13 saves while facing 20 shots on goal.
 
The storyline of the weekend for the Wildcats was the combined play of Borman and McGinley in the cage. Borman started both games and played three of the four halves against the Flames on the weekend, making 18 saves while facing a total of 42 shots. She had a career-high 11 stops in the season opener on Saturday afternoon and then made seven more in the opening 30 minutes on Sunday. McGinley entered the game to start the second half and had six saves of her won while yielding three goals.
 
Middleman got Villanova on the board with 7:01 to play in the third quarter after Liberty had opened a 4-0 halftime lead. Junior midfielder Katie Capalbo (Wallingford, Pa.) sent a pass into the circle and Middleman was just able to redirect the ball with a tip shot towards the goal. The first-year member of the Wildcats offense started both games this weekend.
 
Villanova did a better job of gaining possessions and creating offensive opportunities than in Saturday's opening contest when the Wildcats were playing full field on a dedicated field hockey surface for only the second time this spring. After not taking a penalty corner in the opening game, Villanova was awarded its first corner of the season just 1:18 into Sunday's game.
 
Senior forward Emily Clarke (Garden City, N.Y.) took the game's first shot on goal and the Wildcats finished the day with seven shots, four shots on goal and a pair of penalty corners. Clarke and Mitchell finished the game with two shots each, while freshman back Sabine de Ruijter (Huizen, Netherlands), sophomore forward Caitlin Van Goeverden (Newton Park, South Africa) and freshman forward Amanda Middleman (Berlin, N.J.) each had one attempt at the goal.
 
The 13 combined saves by Borman and Mcginley in Sunday's game are the most stops for Villanova since the team had 17 saves against Old Dominion on October 20, 2017. In all the Wildcats had 25 saves for the weekend. In addition to the goalkeepers, de Ruijter was credited with a defensive save in Saturday's game.
 
Villanova will now turn its attention to another weekend series on the road when it visits Old Dominion this coming Friday and Saturday. Game times are set for 12 p.m. on Friday afternoon and 4 p.m. on Saturday in Norfolk, Va.