CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.-The Villanova Wildcats played a very competitive game and came out with a 3-1 win over the visiting Stags of Fairfield University.
 
Not only did the Wildcats face off against the Stags but head coach Joanie Milhous faced off against her daughter #11 Madison Milhous who plays for Fairfield. Before the game Milhous reflected on the fun face off commenting on her experience coaching against her daughter.
 
"This is one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in all my years of coaching, playing against my daughter. I couldn't be more proud of her and am just really excited for this game. Of course, we want to win, but win or lose, it's an awesome day," Milhous explained.
 
The Stags took an early lead in the first quarter with a goal by Julianna Kratz that forced the Wildcats to adjust their strategy. The Wildcats struck back with a powerful goal from junior Sabine de Ruijter which tied the score and closed out the quarter.
 
Junior Amanda Middleman had standout performances in both opening weekend games scoring both game winning goals against both the LIU Sharks and Fairfield Stags. Middleman scored in the second quarter versus the Stags off a great feed from junior Meghan Mitchell to give her 4 goals on the season.
 
The Wildcats were more dominant in controlling the pace of the game and the field in the second half of the game. Mitchell scored in the middle of the fourth quarter off a corner which sealed the win for the Wildcats.
 
Senior goalie Claire Borman earned another win under her belt for the Wildcats with two saves. Villanova owned a 19-8 advantage in shots and a 15-3 advantage in corners.
 
Milhous reflected on the competitiveness of the game and the work her girls put in against a strong team.
 
"I was really excited about how we played today. I think Fairfield is such a competitive team and they really pushed us, and they defended our corners like crazy. We obviously had 15 penalty corners and did not convert on many of them, but I'm really excited by how we're playing." Milhous reflected. "I think our culture is so awesome right now, and I love the work rate that all of our girls are giving us. They're playing with a new confidence that you can see on the field"
 
Middleman touched upon the changes in the team and how those changes have impacted their ability to produce goals this season.
 
"I've thought, we really came together as a team and just made it work. From last year to this year, we've just grown so much," Middleman said. "And as forwards specifically, we've worked our butts off, just making sure we get in front of our defenders for tips, we've practiced that a lot over the spring. I think it's shown based off the scores on our last two games."
 
De Ruijter spoke about the improvements made on the defensive end for the team and what they have done to strengthen the back's performances.
 
"I think looking back at last season, our defensive play has improved a lot. We made a couple of mistakes last year, and I think during the spring we really tried to fix them," De Ruijter said. "I think it has a lot to do with working as a defensive unit, it's not about only one player but the defense as a whole. We made a shift from just playing with three defenders to playing the defense as a whole team."
 
Mitchell, who netted her first goal of the season against the Stags, explained the process the team has gone through to put themselves in scoring positions and the work put in to yield the first two wins of the season.
 
"I'm really excited about this game. I think it showed all the hard work and dedication we put in through the summer and during preseason. And it really culminated in a great effort by the team this game," said Mitchell. "We had a lot of opportunities and I think going forward, we're just going to continue to get more opportunities to capitalize on in order to put some more goals in the net, but it was a great opening weekend by the team."
 
Villanova returns to action on Friday Sep. 2 when the Hofstra Pride visit the Proving Grounds. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
 
 
Game Recap By Quarters
 
1^st Quarter
- Fairfield goal scored early in the quarter by #2 Julianna Kratz (12:24) assisted by #18 Nora Amme and #27 Carmel Van Dijk
- #14 Sabine de Ruijter scored a goal (1:33) assisted by #25 Raina Smolij and #10 Anne Drabbe
- Shots on goal 2-1 (VU-FU)
-Corners 4-1 (VU-FU)
- FU goalie #88 Payton Rahn had 1 save
 
2^nd Quarter
- Goal scored by #17 Amanda Middleman (10:25) assisted by #11 Meghan Mitchell
- Shots on goal 1-1 (VU-FU)
-Corners 3-1 (VU-FU)
- VU goalie #9 Claire Borman had 1 save
 
3^rd Quarter
- Shots on goal 3-0 (VU-FU)
- Corners 3-0 (VU-FU)
- FU goalie #88 Payton Rahn had 2 save
- FU #20 Madison Hoskins had 1 defensive save
 
4^th Quarter
-Goal scored by #11 Meghan Mitchell (11:46) off a corner assisted by #22 Makenna Maguire and #10 Anne Drabbe
- Shots on goal 3-1 (VU-FU)
-Corners 5-1 (VU-FU)
- VU goalie #9 Claire Borman had 1 save
- FU goalie #88 Payton Rahn had 2 save