Villanova Univeristy Athletics

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — The Villanova field hockey team cruised to a 7-0 road victory at the Proving Grounds in Conshohocken, Pa against LaSalle. 

The 'Cats wasted no time getting on the board, striking first just a minute into the contest. It was Molly Zimmerman who earned the penalty corner and later found Maeve Boston who set up Gemma Lysaght for a shot opportunity. Lysaght didn't miss her chance and buried the ball into the back of the net for her first goal of the season and opened up a 1-0 lead. Villanova kept the pressure on the Explorers, garnering nine shots in the opening quarter. As time winded down in the opening quarter, it was Ava Borkowski who drove into the defensive circle and scored her second goal of the season with just 24 seconds left in the first.
The second period was much of the same offensively for the 'Cats. The team put up nine shots, four penalty corners and a goal in the second frame. It was once again Zimmerman who earned the penalty corner deep in the LaSalle defensive circle. Esmee De Lange facilitated the offense and found Lysaght who cashed in on her second goal of the match. Both defenses held their respective nets down heading into halftime where the score read 3-0. 

Villanova kept up the momentum heading out of the break both offensively and defensively. Maddi Sears stopped all three shots that she faced in the quarter as well as the defense, limiting LaSalle to zero penalty corners throughout the third. Offensively, the Wildcats kept pushing the pace and added onto their scoring total with a goal by Lysaght, her third of the match. It was Boston who generated the opportunity and earned the assist. 

The fourth quarter was where Villanova broke the game wide open, scoring three goals on six shots. Lysaght tallied her fourth goal of the match midway through the fourth quarter from a pass by Erin Mitchell, who earned the assist. Just two minutes later, it was sophomore Shannon Arber who joined the fun and scored her first goal of the season to push the score to 6-0. Arber set up the initial action then it was Lysaght and Boston who each collected an assist. Immediately following the goal, it was Arber once again drove into the defense, where she found Lysaght who set up Emma Foscarini for her first goal of the season and the first in her young career. 

In goal, senior Maddi Sears picked up another win and her first shutout of the season. Sears now has four shutouts in her career and collects the 12th win in her career. 

Up Next: Villanova will travel up to State College, Pa., for a matchup against Penn State on Friday, Sept. 4, at 3:00 p.m.