CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. – The Villanova University field hockey team extended its winning streak to four games on Friday afternoon (Sept. 27) with a 4-2 win over Quinnipiac at the Conshohocken Proving Grounds. Fifth year forward
Meghan Mitchell scored two goals in the win.
The four-game spurt is the longest for Villanova since 2018, when the Wildcats won four straight games from Oct. 14 to Oct. 26.
The Bobcats (2-7, 0-2 BIG EAST) struck first with a goal by Lauren Keyte just under three minutes into the game. However, Mitchell responded with her first goal of the game less than 30 seconds later to even the score at 1-1 early in the first quarter.
Just over three minutes into the second quarter, sophomore back
Gemma Lysaght scored her second goal of the season to give the Wildcats (6-3, 2-0 BIG EAST) a 2-1 lead. The goal came from a penalty corner with assists to
Raina Smolij and
Emma Schwarz. Despite outshooting Quinnipiac 8-0 in the second period, Villanova could not score again, taking its 2-1 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Mitchell received the ball from Lysaght and
Maeve Boston on a well-designed penalty corner set and fired a shot into the back of the net for her second goal of the game. The goal gave the Blue and White a 3-1 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter, and secured Mitchell's first multi-goal game of the season and the ninth of her career.
Later in the third quarter, Quinnipiac answered with a goal by Francisca Eschoyez to cut the VU advantage to 3-2. Villanova responded by putting six shots on goal in the fourth quarter, including a shot off a rebound by
Alexandria Lavelle that found the back of the net for her second goal of the season. The shot gave the Wildcats a 4-2 lead which they would hold down the stretch to seal the win.
Goalkeeper
Maddi Sears improved to 6-3 after making four saves, while Quinnipiac goalie Cristina Torres was credited with the loss despite making 11 saves.
"Today was a good BIG EAST win for us. I was impressed with how quickly we responded to Quinnipiac's early goal," said head coach
Joanie Milhous. "We created some excellent scoring opportunities, and I give credit to their goalie (Torres) for making some tough saves. We are really looking forward to the opportunity of taking on No. 7 Iowa on Sunday."
The Wildcats will face the seventh-ranked Hawkeyes at noon on Sunday (Sept. 29) at the Conshohocken Proving Grounds. The game will be streamed live on FloSports.
