Conshohocken, Pa. - The Villanova Wildcats fought off an early deficit to turn away the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, courtesy of a late fourth quarter goal from freshman midfielder Emma Schwarz. The comeback victory marks the 10^th straight win against Lehigh.

"I thought we did a great job addressing things from first half to second," said head coach Joanie Milhous. "Lehigh is a very good team and they tested us early. I am really looking forward to working with this group of girls as the season goes along and we continue to improve," Milhous continued.

The visiting Mountain Hawks took an early 2-0 lead, with both goals coming in the first quarter, however the Wildcats would not back down. After the first quarter, Villanova out shot the opposition 11-6 and scored two goals in the second quarter. Junior forward Caitlin Van Goverden scored the team's first goal of the season 2:09 into the second quarter. Not long after, the Wildcats kept the momentum going, as Sabine De Ruijter found the back of the goal with assists from Schwarz and sophomore Amanda Middleman.

After a 2-2 draw in the first half, the Wildcats turned to freshman goalkeeper Emma Leppert. In her first collegiate action, she recorded her first career save in the third quarter. Leppert notched a second save off a Lehigh penalty corner with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter.

Just 0:24 into the fourth quarter, sophomore forward Meghan Mitchell scored her first goal of the season, off a pass from fellow classmate Jamie Pennington, to put the Wildcats up 3-2. Lehigh would quickly respond with a goal of their own a minute later, tying the score 3-3.

Schwarz was not done after notching her first collegiate point earlier in the match. After a shot from De Ruitjer was blocked and another from senior Katie Capalbo was saved, Capalbo found Schwarz open in front of the net to put Villanova up 4-3. In the final five minutes of the contest, the Wildcats defense stifled the Mountain Hawks, blocking their final two shots.

Villanova will travel to Lafayette College for their next match this Sunday, 8/29 at 3:00 PM.