PHILADELPHIA – In a back-and-forth thriller that saw Villanova hold just two leads throughout a contest with numerous ties, a late sequence of back-to-back goals gave Villanova a 9-8 win over La Salle on Sunday afternoon at the Kirk Pool.
Villanova (13-13, 3-3 MAAC) scored the opening goal in the contest and did not see another lead until the final two minutes. It fell into a two-goal hole early in the third before battling back to tie the contest halfway through the period. From there, the game saw three more ties before Villanova took its final lead over La Salle (11-12, 1-4 MAAC).
Emily McKenzie led the scoring effort for the 'Cats, netting a hat trick in the win and drawing eight exclusions.
Emily Morrissey was also a force to be reckoned with on the offensive side of the ball, scoring two goals on seven attempts, adding four assists for six points. She also had a steal and drew an exclusion.
Freshman goalie
Gracin Kerry was victorious in goal, moving to 8-4 on the season. She made 12 saves in the win including on one a La Salle powerplay.
McKenzie started the day with a behind-the-back goal with a La Salle defender covering her, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead in the first 19 seconds. La Salle built out a 3-0 scoring run to take a two-goal lead, but
Allie Hansen sent a goal in with one second on the clock, closing the first facing a 3-2 deficit.
Neither side could find the back of the net in the second quarter until
Isabel Foley scored with 2:09 remaining in the first half, sending a look in directly in front of the net to make it a 3-3 game that stood through the rest of the half.
Shanna Zuanich scored a pair of goals in the first minute and a half of the third quarter, giving La Salle a 5-3 lead. With six minutes on the clock,
Emily Morrissey pushed a look past the outstretched arm of an Explorer's arm, getting Villanova back within one.
Stella Byles had the tying goal at the 4:40 mark that leveled the game at 5-5 and started the strand of back-and-forth goal scoring that took up the rest of the game.
La Salle outscored Villanova 2-1 in the final four minutes of the third. McKenzie's second goal of the day came on another around-the-back look that tied the game at six-all with 1:07 left in the frame. La Salle scored again in the final minute, sending the game into the fourth with the Explorers up 7-6.
Morrissey scored a tying goal at the 7:11 mark for a 7-7 game. McKenzie answered another lead-taking goal for La Salle with a hat trick with 5:32 remaining, tying it at 8-8.
Allie Hansen had the deciding goal with 1:41 to play to give Villanova its first lead since the first quarter, holding a 9-8 advantage. La Salle got the ball back as time expired with Hannah Woren taking a long shot that bounced off the water in front of Kerry and sailed left of the goal as the horn sounded.
Next weekend brings three more conference games for the 'Cats as they hit the road to Lexington, Va. They are set to face Marist and Iona on April 1 before facing St. Francis Brooklyn on April 2, all from the Clark King Pool at VMI.
