VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova women's lacrosse defeated Towson 15-6 in the season opener on Monday afternoon at Villanova Stadium.
Bella Piselli and Kathryn Monaco, who scored her first career points in the game, both led with a hat trick for Villanova (1-0), while Madison Freeman, Leslie Iorio and Elena Torres (two goals, two assists) all picked up a pair of goals in the contest.
Kate O'Neill tied a program single-game record in her debut collegiate game with six caused turnovers in addition to six ground balls, and redshirt sophomore Cailin Harrington also had four caused turnovers against the Tigers.
Rose Christie put up a career-best four assists out of the midfield as Emma Verhoest totaled nine draw controls on the day, more than the entire Towson team.
Monaco passed to Christie who netted the first goal of the day and season for the Wildcats. Then Freeman found the back of the net for her first time this game before Monaco scored her first two goals in the opening quarter surrounding Towson's first goal of the game.
Jillian Vaught started off strong in the second quarter netting a pass from Christie. With a minute remaining in the half, Freeman scored her second goal off of an assist from Vaught to put the 'Cats up 6-1, with the Wildcat defense pitching a shutout in the quarter.
Iorio scored a quick goal to start the third with help from Sophia Corretjer. Towson then went on a three-goal scoring run, closing the gap to 7-4. Corretjer caught a pass from Christie and buried one, giving momentum back to Villanova. Monaco scored her third goal unassisted, followed by a goal for Piselli off of an assist from Torres that gave the Wildcats an 11-4 advantage heading into the last quarter of play.
Torres opened the fourth quarter by scoring her second goal of the game and Iorio followed shortly after, converting on a free-position attempt. At the 10-minute mark, Piselli tallied her second goal with a behind-the-back finish off an assist from Christie, then struck again moments later by finishing a feed from Torres to give Villanova a 15-5 lead. The Tigers scored the final goal of the contest, making it a 15-6 VU win to open up the year.
This marks the first victory for Villanova against Towson in just the second time these teams have met.
UP NEXT: Villanova travels to Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday to take on No. 10 Navy. Action is set to begin at 11 a.m. from Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.
