BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After taking the lead in the second quarter, Villanova could not find an answer to a late Marist scoring burst, falling 9-6 at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center on Saturday.

Villanova (0-2) led by as many as two goals in the second quarter but went the remaining 17:59 of the contest without a goal. Marist (3-2) closed the day on a 5-0 scoring run, four of those goals coming in the second half.

Emily McKenzie scored the third hat trick of her career in the loss, connecting on three of her six shot attempts. She also added a block. Sara Withers led the team with a pair of assists.

Marist jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but Emily McKenzie cut the lead in half just under two minutes into the game. Ella Mattocks scored the first goal of her career with 1:02 remaining, making it a 4-3 score through the first eight minutes.

Emily McKenzie connected on a penalty shot at the 7:24 mark of the second quarter to tie the game. From there, the 'Cats took control of a 3-0 scoring run with goals from Amelia Baca and Adrienne Grimes to surge ahead to a 6-4 lead with two minutes left. Marist's Laina Hunt stopped the run with 28 seconds remaining the half, taking the sides into the break with Villanova leading 6-5.

The Red Foxes kept their foot on the pedal in the third, outscoring Villanova 3-0 in the frame to take an 8-6 lead into the fourth.

Marist continued its scoring streak in the fourth to five unanswered goals with Viktoria Orlova making it a 9-6 lead for the Red Foxes. Villanova had three shot attempts after the goal that all came up unsuccessful.

Villanova grabbed 10 steals as a group in the game and had eight blocks. It could not convert any of its eight powerplay chances in the loss.
Kaylee Brard connected on all three of her shooting attempts for Marist, also netting a hat trick. Ines Sanchez led the Red Foxes with nine blocks.

The Hoosier Invite continues tomorrow morning with Villanova kicking off the day against Harvard. That game is set to begin at 8 a.m.