BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Turnovers proved to be costly for Villanova, falling to No. 23 LIU 16-11 at the LIU Pool on Saturday morning in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action.
Villanova (13-10, 2-2 MAAC) suffered 21 turnovers in the defeat. It faced a four-goal LIU (13-4, 2-0 MAAC) lead by the halftime break and could not battle back. Two Wildcats left the game with hat tricks as
Joia McKinney and
Stella Byles netted three goals each. Byles led the team in scoring however, adding an assist to her tally for a four-point day.
"Too many turnovers," head coach
Larry Sanders said. "We struggled to control the ball on offense and had breakdowns on defense."
Kaysie Stuba got Villanova on the board first nearly two minutes in before
Emily McKenzie made it a 2-1 Wildcat lead with 4:38 left in the opening period. The Sharks jumped on a 2-0 scoring run down the stretch, netting a shot with three seconds left, making it a 3-2 game after one.
McKenzie ended the run at the 4:47 mark of the second, cutting the LIU lead to 4-3. A three-goal sprint by the Sharks created space until McKinney logged her first goal of the game with just over three minutes left in the half. The Sharks added on back-to-back goals with Byles connecting on a look in the final minute, cutting into the Sharks' lead with a 9-5 score at the break.
Three of the first five goals in the second half belonged to LIU, two of those belonging to Byles and the other from McKinney to make it a three-goal deficit at 11-8 with just over six minutes remaining in the third. LIU tacked on two more in the final two minutes with one of those coming as time expired for a 13-8 scoring heading into the final frame.
Stuba grabbed a goal with 6:38 remaining to cut into the lead, 16-9. The Wildcats answered back-to-back LIU goals with two of their own in the last two minutes thanks to McKinney and
Lauren Picard.
Abigail Shelby and
Sarah Shaw shared time in net during the contest. Shelby allowed nine goals in the first half with three saves and a steal. Shaw's second half came with seven goals allowed, saving 10 attempts with a pair of steals.
Villanova heads over to St. Francis Brooklyn for a 4 p.m. match this afternoon.
