INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Villanova women's lacrosse team takes its last regular season road trip of the year to Indianapolis, Ind. The Wildcats will face BIG EAST opponent Butler in their second to last game of the 2019 season. Villanova is currently 9-6, 2-1 and is tied for the most wins in a season. Butler will head into the competition 3-12 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
The Wildcats will also look to clinch their second berth to the BIG EAST Championships with a win over the Bulldogs.
Last Game
In last season's matchup between the two opponents, Villanova defeated Butler 20-4 at home. Eleven individuals scored for the Wildcats while three scored for the Bulldogs. Villanova dominated the game on the field and led by a large margin in most statistical categories.
Villanova
For a majority of the season, Villanova has been led by
Katie Comerford and
Ashley Lynch in points and assists. Comerford has racked up 27 assists and 44 points and Lynch has tallied 24 assists and 41 points; both individuals have scored 17 goals. More recently,
Brittany Bruno and
Liz Trojan have moved to the top of the standings in goals scored for the team. The sophomore attack leads with 29 goals and the junior attack follows behind with 28.
Devin Hassinger still has strong control over the draw controls with 109 and
Grainger Rosati sits closest behind with 43 of her own.
Defensively,
Sydney Frank has been leading the pack in caused turnovers.
Julia Arrix,
Kelsey Mentzer and
Maggie O'Neill have also been strong defensive factors for the Wildcats. Frank has recorded 26 caused turnovers while closest behind her is midfield pair Hassinger (17) and Rosati (15). The defensive trio, Arrix, Mentzer and O'Neill have a combined 34 turnovers caused.
Freshman goalkeeper,
Alexa Moro has continued her strong play throughout the entire season. She currently has 126 saves on 359 shots faced and a save percentage of .457.
Butler
The Bulldogs are currently receiving their strongest play from Ashley Guerra and Haley Hallenbeck, Christina Soderquist, Carley Hewitt and Haley Rayburn.
Offensively, Guerra and Hallenbeck lead the team in goals and points. Both individuals have 21 goals, but Guerra has a team high 12 assists for 33 points and Hallenbeck has 4 assists for 25 points as well as 22 draw controls which. Soderquist has contributed 18 goals this season but has made the biggest impact in getting the ball in Butlers possession with her team high 78 draw controls. Two others have also scored goals in the double digits.
On the defensive side of things Carly Hewitt leads the team in caused turnovers with 19 and is tied for first with 19 ground balls. Mary Davide, Jordan Fischbach and Nora Byrne have also helped the Bulldogs on the defensive end.
Haley Rayburn had been the primary figure for the Bulldogs in the net this season, but they have also seen time from Amanda Rumsey. Rayburn has played in all 17 games, racking up 577 minutes of action. During this time, she has recorded 109 saves on 345 shots faced and has an overall saver percentage of .405.
Coming Up
After the matchup between the Wildcats and Bulldogs, Villanova will return home for its last game of the season on Friday, Apr. 26 at 7 p.m. against Denver. Senior day for the Class of 2019 will also take place that evening prior to the start of the game.
