VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Villanova women's lacrosse team faced No. 23 Georgetown on Saturday, Apr. 13 at the Villanova Stadium where it came up short to the BIG EAST opponent, 12-8.

The Wildcats trailed by as many as five and got as close as one during the contest but could not prevail past the Hoyas.

Georgetown leaped out to a 5-0 run in the first seven minutes of play before Villanova could get on the board. Brittany Bruno started off the Nova run and eventually led the team with four goals.

During Villanova's 4-0 scoring run, Bruno scored two goals and Liz Trojan and Nicole Concannon scored the others.

The Hoyas answered back with 16:49 on the clock to separate themselves from the 'Cats, 6-4. Less than a minute later, Trojan scored on her second free-position goal to put her team back within one.

Play continued to go back and forth between the two opponents. Over the course of 14 minutes Villanova attempted three shots and Georgetown four, until on the seventh Taylor Gebhardt found her way past Moro on a free-position to take a 7-5 lead headed into halftime.

At the break, both teams were nearly tied in every category. The Wildcats led 14-13 in shots and 3-1 in FPS, the Hoyas led 10-8 in shots on goal, 7-5 in ground balls and the two were tied in saves (3) and turnovers (8).

To start the second frame, Bruno netted in two goals that were separated by a Georgetown goal. On her first goal, Bruno secured her fifth hattrick of the season and each goal of brought the 'Cats within one.

Following the sophomore attack's second goal, the Hoyas netted in two unanswered goals to take a 10-7 lead.

Trojan then went on to also grab her fifth hattrick of the season and cap off Villanova's scoring on the afternoon. Teammate Carlye Maita earned herself a free-position shot but passed it off to Trojan at the front of the net to bring Nova back within two with just under 13 minutes on the clock.

Georgetown kept the pressure on and although Villanova was able to get off four shots it was not strong enough to penetrate the Hoyas defense.

With eight and a half and four and a half minutes on the board, the visitors would net in two more goals to put the staple in their second conference game this season.

Statistically the second half was similar to the first. For the contest, Georgetown led 27-23 in shots, 19-15 in SOG and 13-9 in draw controls and Villanova led 17-14 in ground balls and 4-3 in free-position shots. The two were tied with seven saves apiece for goalkeepers Alexa Moro and Haelee Chomo.

Villanova now falls to 8-6, 2-1 on the season while Georgetown improves to 8-6, 2-1.

The Wildcats return to action for their last mid-week contest on Wednesday, Apr. 17. They will travel to Temple and play at 5 p.m. in their last non-conference game of the season.