PHILADELPHIA – After facing a 3-1 deficit through the opening period, Villanova made a comeback bid in the third but faced a tough fourth quarter, falling to La Salle 12-9 on Sunday at the Kirk Pool on La Salle's campus.
Villanova (18-15, 7-7 MAAC) was outscored 5-2 in the final period as it saw its comeback chances slip away. La Salle (21-12, 8-6 MAAC) had a three-goal scoring run in the frame to create the distance it needed.
Allie Hansen was the leading scorer for Villanova for a second consecutive game, collecting four points on two goals and two assists, adding a steal.
Lauren Picard and
Kaysie Stuba each had two goal days, as well. Defensively,
Stella Byles led the team with three steals.
Stuba netted Villanova's first goal to cut the deficit in half with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter before Francesca Co' put La Salle back up by two at 3-1 by the end of the first. Hansen and Stuba sandwiched a Co' five-meter goal after a penalty whistle was blown toward
Amanda Rice with goals of their own. Hansen brought the game even 4-4 with 1:42 left in the half. Half a minute later, Kali Hyham put the Explorers back out by one but
Lauren Picard leveled it yet again with under a minute left. Hyham dented the twine again with 38 seconds remaining to give La Salle a slim 6-5 lead at the break.
Isabel Herbst and
Amelia Baca added goals to their stat lines in the third period, bookending Hyham's hat trick to leave the score tied 7-7 with one frame left.
The two sides swapped chances with a hat trick from Co' and a goal for Rice to keep it knotted, 8-8. La Salle gained ground with a 3-0 scoring run for the cushion it needed. Hyham started the run at the 5:21 mark before Co' tacked on a couple more including a penalty shot after another penalty was given to Rice. Picard got the 'Cats within two at 11-9 with 1:48 remaining but another net-mover by Hyham 30 seconds later ended it.
Sarah Shaw had 10 saves in the 32 minutes of action with one of those being a penalty save.
The matchup turns around on Friday as Villanova plays host to La Salle at 5 p.m. from the Villanova Swim Complex to open the final weekend of the regular season.
