VILLANOVA, Pa. — Villanova field hockey opens BIG EAST play with a road contest against UConn on Friday, September 18 at 3 p.m. from the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex. The Wildcats will then return home to battle Drexel on Sunday, September 20 at 12 p.m. from Snell Field at Ursinus.
The 'Cats are coming off a weekend where the team went 2-0, collecting shutout wins over Queens University of Charlotte (9-0) and over Lehigh (2-0). The win on Friday saw Ava Borkowski score four goals for her third career hat trick and set a new career high for goals in a game. The performance landed Borkowski on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Additionally, freshman Sophie Wenk added her first career goal while Colleen Finnan collected six points, two goals and two assists.
Gemma Lysaght got the scoring starting on Sunday with her sixth goal of the season to push her total points to 16. Freshman Adie Minnella came up big late in the action, converting a penalty stroke for her second goal of the season and to extend VU's lead to 2-0 and give the Wildcats the eventual win. Maddi Sears and the defense was perfect in both matchups, allowing a total of four shots and zero goals.
Friday's action against UConn marks the beginning of BIG EAST conference play for the Wildcats. The team finished 3-4 in conference match ups last season while making it to the BIG EAST tournament where they lost to Liberty.
The Huskies enter the contest with a 4-1 overall record following a road win over Rutgers in a shutout. The team has also collected wins over New Hampshire, then-No.20 St. Joseph's, and Brown while its sole loss was against then-No. 3 Harvard.
Villanova and UConn have matched up a total of 45 times across their two histories with UConn holding the series record, 7-38. UConn has won each of the last two faceoffs, however, VU collected a 2-1 win at home in 2023.
Offensively, UConn is led by freshman forward Lucy Zich who leads the team in goals with four and in points with nine. The freshman has tallied a .688 shot on goal percentage with a 11-19 mark. Additionally, eight other Huskies have tallied at least one goal on the season to provide a balanced attack offensively.
In net, senior goalkeeper Natalie McKenna has played every minute of action for UConn and finished with a 4-1 record. She garners a .91 goals against average and a .722 save percentage.
The Dragons enter the contest with a 4-2 overall record following a loss to Lafayette but have collected wins over James Madison, LIU, Saint Joseph's and Wagner. Their other loss came against then No. 13 Maryland, 3-0.
Drexel and Villanova had matched up a total of 37 times across their program's histories with Villanova holding the series record 21-15-1. The Dragons have won each of the last three match ups including a 2-1 win last season.
Offensively, sophomore Fleur Hamers leads the way with seven goals on the season while earning 17 total points. She is followed behind by Pili Lemoine and Valentine van Hellemont each with five goals on the season.
In goal, Halle Geiger has started every game for the Dragons this season with 4-2 record. She earns a 2.04 goals against average and a .750 save percentage. Alana Poole and Sanne Smits have each seen action.
Friday's contest will be streamed on ESPN+ while Sunday's game will be on Villanova Athletic's YouTube.
