COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. — The Villanova field hockey team fell at home to No. 12 Liberty, 2-1, on Friday, October 30, in the team's regular-season finale. The 'Cats finished the regular season with a 10-7 overall record and a 3-3 conference record to punch their ticket to the BIG EAST Tournament.
Even with the loss, Villanova had a lot of positives and stayed in the game with the No. 12 team in the country and nearly pulled off the upset. Head coach Joanie Milhous talked about how impressed she was with her team as they head towards the postseason.
"I think he had the best game we've played against Liberty," said coach Milhous. "Overall, really proud of our girls. To only give them four corners was huge because it was a part of their game plan. Our defense did a really nice job of tackling outside the circle and not giving up on those corners. I thought we did great, and I think this could have gone either way."
In the contest, Ava Borkowski scored the lone goal for Villanova's offense. The goal marked the graduate student's 12th of the season. Erin Mitchell picked up the assist on the goal by Borkowski for her third of the season.
The 'Cats started fast in the first quarter, putting the pressure on early and catching the Lady Flames by surprise. VU outshot Liberty five to zero in addition to earning two penalty corners compared to Liberty's none. Just three minutes into the frame, Villanova had its first true chance with a penalty stroke called. The try couldn't be converted by Adie Minnella; however, the stop didn't deter the Wildcats as they earned the first penalty corner of the game just three minutes later. On the try, VU tallied two shots but were turned away on both before earning a second later in the quarter. On Villanova's final push of the quarter, Erin Mitchell found Ava Borkowski to open up the scoring 1-0. It was Borkowski's 12th goal while it was Mitchell's third assist to head into the second up one.
Liberty began to find its offense throughout the second and pushed back against VU's press offensively. The Lady Flames fired two quick shots in the first six minutes of the action. The first was sent high and the other saved by Maddi Sears. Following the two shots, Liberty earned its first penalty corner of the afternoon and garnered one shot that was blocked by Villanova's defense. The 'Cats went back on the attack following the stop and tallied its only two shots of the quarter by both Katharina Balks and Avery Ritt, but they were each turned away. Liberty fired one late shot in the quarter that was saved by Sears to head into halftime with Villanova up 1-0.
The Lady Flames continued to ride their momentum from the second quarter into the third and forced several chances in the frame. Liberty outshot Villanova five to one while earning two penalty corners to VU's one. The Lady Flames struck early in the quarter off a penalty corner, where it was Josefina Tomasi who scored off a feed from Alexia Guedouar to notch the game at 1-1. Liberty controlled the pace the rest of the game until it was a late penalty corner by Villanova that had Gemma Lysaght's shot saved by Diane Saint Martin to go into the fourth tied at one apiece.
Liberty once again started out hot in the fourth, tallying the first four shots of the quarter. Villanova's defense did stand tall until there was a penalty stroke awarded to Liberty midway through the quarter. On the try, Julieta Tornati converted to give the Lady Flames the 2-1 lead in the fourth. Even with the scoring deficit, Villanova continued to fight back and earned chances but could only garner one shot that was saved by Diane Saint Martin. As the clock hit zero, Liberty held on for the 2-1 win to end the regular season.
The 'Cats will now shift their focus to the BIG EAST Tournament starting next Friday at 1 p.m. from Temple. VU will enter the tournament as the No. 4 Seed and will take on the one-seeded UConn, who sits at No. 3 in the country.
"Super excited for these girls to experience the BIG EAST Tournament," said Milhous. "It's something that is so special, and I'm happy for this group because they've played great hockey all season. Our goal has been to win the BIG EAST Tournament, not just get there, and I am a firm believer we can do that."
