VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova scored eight straight goals early in a span of 7:30 in the first half and went on to post a convincing 20-8 victory over Butler in a BIG EAST game played Friday afternoon at Villanova Stadium on an overcast day.
 
After a Bulldogs goal was scored 3:42 into the contest, the Wildcats bounced right back with an unassisted tally by Katie Comerford. Comerford then assisted on a Haley Driscoll goal at 25:10 to give the 'Cats a lead they would never relinquish.
 
Consecutive goals by Brittany Bruno pushed the lead to 4-1 before Comerford's second of the day made it 5-1. Kayla Gulmi fed Jenna Pastore for Villanova's sixth goal of the day and that was followed by even strength goals by Gulmi and Alexa Tsahalis to stretch the margin to 8-1.
 
Butler (0-6 overall, 0-4 BIG EAST) got one back to stop the run but another Villanova score came from Libby McKenna to make it a 9-2 lead with 11:16 left in the first half. The Bulldogs netted the final two goals of the first 30 minutes to make it a 9-4 Nova advantage at halftime.
 
Any notions of a Butler comeback, however, were quickly turned away in the second half when the Wildcats scored four of the first five goals over a span of the opening 4:59 of the period. Comerford, Bruno, Sydney Frank, and Tsahalis were the Wildcats' goal scorers who expanded the lead to 13-5.
 
The Wildcats (4-7 overall, 2-3 BIG EAST) would go on to post the 20-8 triumph.
 
Comerford and Bruno set the scoring pace with four goals apiece while Tashalis added three. Goalie Alexa Moro made seven saves on the day to earn her third victory of the 2021 campaign.
 
These two teams will complete the weekend set on Sunday afternoon when they meet at noon at Villanova Stadium.