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VILLANOVA, Pa. - On a day that honored junior midfield Kathleen O'Connor before the game, the Villanova Wildcats (3-6, 1-1 BIG EAST) put up a season-high 16 goals and took down the Cincinnati Bearcats (4-6, 0-2 BIG EAST) 16-10 on Sunday afternoon. Freshman Katie Comerford (5 goals, 1 assist), sophomore Jillian Swikart (4 goals, 1 assist) and senior Catherine Bendinelli (3 goals) all tallied at least a hat trick in the win.

Junior goalkeeper Julia Michaels recorded 14 saves, with an even seven in both halves. In her last two games, the Mount Sinai, N.Y. native has made 30 saves while only allowing 21 goals for a .588 save percentage.

The Wildcats dominated the first half of play, as senior attack Catherine Bendinelli netted her first career hat trick on Villanova's first three goals of the game within seven minutes of the opening draw. Comerford also registered three goals in the opening half, while Swikart added two scores as Villanova led 9-3 at the break.

Kim McDonough opened the scoring with her first of two goals after the intermission on a free position shot to increase Villanova's lead to 10-3. The Wildcats and Bearcats would trade goals until an unassisted goal from Devon Brown sparked a 4-0 run as Villanova led 16-6 with 10:35 remaining.

The Bearcats regrouped and put together a 4-0 run to cut the Villanova advantage to 16-10, but ran out of time as Villanova picked up its first conference and home win of the season.

"There was a lot of emotion today," said Villanova head coach Julie Young. "In the locker room before the game, I gave everyone a rock to symbolize the strength that Kathleen has showed us this season. When something unexpected comes your way, you have to have that inner strength and courage to know you can battle. We had that mindset and we wanted to win for each other and win for Kathleen. I'm really glad we got this win for Kathleen. I'm really proud of all of them."

The game marked Villanova's annual HEADstrong Foundation game. The team sold `One Team. One Family. One Fight' t-shirts with proceeds going to the local organization that helps improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their families through providing essential services. T-shirts can still be purchased online here.

The women's lacrosse team honored Kathleen O'Connor before the game, as both Tara DeAngelo and O'Connor spoke to the crowd about Kathleen's fight against cancer. For more information on Kathleen's journey, click here.

The Wildcats are idle until they head to Marquette next Saturday for their first BIG EAST road game of the season. First draw is set for 12:00 p.m. EST.

NOTES: The Wildcats' 16 goals outburst today marks the most goals scored in a game since Villanova netted 18 against the Bearcats on April 4, 2015... The Villanova offense has now scored a season-high in goals in each its last three games and four of its last five (11 vs. Monmouth on 3/4, 12 vs. Vanderbilt on 3/18, 13 vs. Lafayette on 3/22, and 16 vs. Cincinnati today). In a battle of two of some of the most prominent freshmen attackers in the nation, both Villanova's Comerford and Cincinnati's Monica Borzilla led their team with five goals each... Comerford has found the back of net at least once in every game this season and has tallied at least two points in each contest... Comerford's five goal performance matches her season-performance against Saint Joseph's on March 1, while her six-point outing also matches her season-high against Monmouth (3 goals, 3 assists) on March 4... Through nine games in her career she is averaging 3.56 points per game and has scored on over half of her shots (23 goals on 41 shots, .561 Shot percentage)... In her last two games, Jillian Swikart has logged eight goals, two assists, six ground balls, and has caused three turnovers.