Villanova, Pa. – The Wildcats welcomed the Holy Cross Crusaders for a midweek matchup on Wednesday, Mar. 6. Villanova was victorious and defeated the Worcester, Mass. visitors 17–5 on the frigid afternoon.

Holy Cross was first on the board four minutes into the first half. Catherine Guanci netted in a goal on a man-up possession after receiving a pass from Jolie Creo.
The Crusaders' first goal was all the Wildcats needed to get their fire going. A minute later Liz Trojan found her way past Juliana Kubler in the net and ignited her team's five-goal scoring run.

Trojan's goal was followed by four other goals within the span of five minutes. Kim McDonough, Alexa Tsahalis and Devin Hassinger each scored their first goal of the game and Trojan scored her second after McDonough's. The 'Cats would have held a 5-1 lead but just 20 seconds after Hassinger's goal, Margaret Mitchell of the Crusaders blasted one in and cut Villanova's lead to 5-2 only 10 minutes into the contest.

Villanova went on another scoring run this time sending four goals to the back of the net. Maggie Jennings scored the first and last of the run and Trojan scored two back-to-back goals in between. Both of Jennings goals were unassisted but Trojan received passes on hers from first Katie Comerford and then Ashley Lynch.

Holy Cross scored the final goal of the frame with 6:43 left to play and cut Villanova's lead down to 9-3.

Although the temperature was a generous 10 degrees below freezing, it did not stop the Wildcats from coming out hot after the break.

At the start of the second half, Villanova went on another 5-0 run starting from the first 30 seconds of play to the 11:44 mark. Devon Brown started off the scoring succession netting her first goal of the contest. Ashley Lynch found her second point of the game in a goal shortly after, giving the 'Cats an 11-3 lead.

Jennings added two more goals of her own to finish the game tied with Trojan for a team high four goals. Jennings goals were separated by another goal from Tsahalis.
The Crusaders broke up Villanova's goal after Earl Baker cut around a few Wildcat defenders and slipped the ball past Alexa Moro in the net.

Grainger Rosati and Christine Graziano extended Villanova's lead to 16-4 after scoring two unassisted goals.

Keely Connors, Holy Cross's leading scorer, capped off her teams goals for the afternoon. She hit the back of the net and scored her 15^th goal of the season with 2:08 left in the contest.

With no time left on the possession clock, the Wildcats had the last possession and were able to make the most of it. The offense nearly used all of the 1:21 they had left in the contest to hold possession of the ball and score with just five seconds left in the game. Taylor Lucey found a cutting Devin Hassinger who was able to score with the limited time and put the 'Cats up 17-5 for the win.

Villanova ended the contest with 36 shots, 25 of which were on goal, 18 of 22 successful clears, 22 ground balls and 13 draw controls.

Moro was in the net throughout the entire contest and recorded all 11 saves on the 21 shots she faced. Hassinger recorded eight of the teams 13 draw controls and moved up in the all-time ranks again this season.

Hassinger won her 139^th career draw control which put her ahead of Jackie Froccaro who previously held the record with 138 for her career during the 2012-16 seasons. Hassinger now has 143 draw controls and is 15 away from breaking the record of 158 which is held by Shawna Giust.

Holy Cross finished the afternoon with 21 shots, 16 on goal, eight saves between two keepers, 16 ground balls and nine draw controls. Kubler and Sophie Ochs shared time in the net for the Crusaders. Kubler recorded six saves and Ochs tallied two.

The Wildcats are now 3-3 on the season and the Crusaders fall to 1-5 overall.

Villanova returns to action Saturday, Mar. 9 for a 1 p.m. game against Drexel University at Vidas Field in Philadelphia, Pa.