CLAREMONT, Calif. – Villanova spent most of its first game in the Convergence Tournament trailing by one or two goals but could never find a lead, falling to #25 CSUN, 10-9, on Friday.

Freshman Emily McKenzie scored the first hat trick of her Villanova (8-8) career in the loss, leading all Wildcats with three goals. The Wildcats were within one by the halftime break but were held without a goal in the third quarter, marking just the third time that has happened this season. Villanova outscored CSUN (6-6) 3-1 in the fourth but it was not enough.

CSUN jumped out to a 2-0 lead nearly halfway into the first period before McKenzie cut into the lead with a look to the back left of the goal on a one-on-one with Matadors' goalie Meghan Lopez. The game stood at 2-1 in favor of CSUN by the end of the first period.

The Matadors started the second with a 2-0 run to push their advantage to the largest of the day at 4-1. Villanova answered with a run of its own, starting with a powerful goal from Stella Byles on a powerplay at the 4:55 mark. McKenzie and Emily Morrissey tacked on a pair of goals to even the contest, 4-4. CSUN grabbed a hold of another two-goal run that Allie Hansen and Amanda Rice retaliated on for the second even score of the game, 6-6.
A Carly Bockstahler goal as the clock expired gave CSUN a 7-6 lead at the break.

It took until over five minutes into the third period for either side to make a break as CSUN netted back-to-back looks nearly 30 seconds apart from Jessica Matkovich and Dorottya Telek. Villanova was held without a goal in the third period, attempting five shots. It marked the third time this season that the Wildcats were held scoreless in a quarter of action.

McKenzie solidified her hat trick at the 6:38 mark of the fourth. Nearly four minutes later, Morrissey punched in her second goal of the outing after a quick pass from Rice on the powerplay, getting Villanova back within one at 9-8. The Matadors' Valeria Martinez deposited a chance with one a minute to play, making it a two-goal deficit for the 'Cats yet again until Byles scored with 58-seconds remaining for the final 10-9 mark.

McKenzie scored on three of her four shot attempts in the contest. Kaysie Stuba delivered the most shots of all players at six. McKenzie, Stuba and Rice all logged three-point days; Stuba's came from three assists while Rice added two assists to her goal. In net, Abigail Shelby made 11 saves, two of those during CSUN powerplays, while the 'Cats forced Lopez to make 10 saves of her own. Shelby also recorded a steal

The Wildcats get back into the Haldeman Pool at 6 p.m. EST to face Chapman.