MILWAUKEE, W.I. – The Villanova women's lacrosse team secured a spot in the BIG EAST Women's Lacrosse Championship earlier in the season with wins over three conference opponents. The Denver Pioneers will be entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed and face No. 4 seed Villanova. No. 2 seed Marquette will compete against Georgetown in the No. 3 spot. Semifinal action is set for Thursday, May 2 starting with the Wildcats and Pioneers battling at 4 p.m. followed by the Golden Eagles and Hoyas at 7 p.m.
The 2019 BIG EAST Conference Championship presented by Jeep will be hosted by Marquette University in Milwaukee, W.I. at Valley Fields.
Villanova will face Denver for the second time in a week and fourth time in program history. The Pioneers hold a 3-0 record over the Wildcats and have not faced them in post season play yet.
2019 Matchup
On Friday, Apr. 26 Villanova welcomed Denver in the last regular season contest of the year and were defeated 14-8. In a game that started on a slow note without any goals scored in the first 10 minutes, the Pioneers picked up the pace and dominated the 'Cats in many categories. The visitors outshot the Wildcats 39-24, picked up more ground balls (19-15), won more draw controls (14-10) and committed seven less turnovers.
Liz Trojan led the way for Villanova with three goals which sits her at No. 1 on the team in goals and third in points for the season. In the contest
Maggie Jennings also dished out two assists while
Grainger Rosati won a team high five draw controls. In the net,
Alexa Moro and
Olivia Gonsalves each recorded five saves apiece.
Denver's Quintin Hoch-Bullen and Eliza Radochonski led the Pioneers with three goals each while Kendra Lanuza and Hannah Liddy dished out three assists. Lanuza also added two goals and Hoch-Bullen dished out a single assist. In the center circle, draw specialist, Maddie Baum won a game high seven draw controls and Molly Little added four to the team's 14 total. Goalkeeper Carson Gregg recorded seven shots and allowed eight goals in her win.
Leading the Way
Offensively, junior attacks
Katie Comerford and
Ashley Lynch finished the regular season leading the team in points and assists. Comerford finished with 22 goals, 27 assists and 49 points across the board while Lynch posted 17 goals, a team high 28 assists and 45 points. Taking charge in goals for the 'Cats is attack duo
Liz Trojan and
Brittany Bruno. Trojan has tallied 33 goals while Bruno has scored 31.
In the draw controls category,
Devin Hassinger holds charge with 125 this season and Rosati follows with 50. The pair has also caused 18 and 16 turnovers respectively while on the defensive side of the ball.
Defensively,
Sydney Frank holds a team high 30 turnovers caused and has also collected 27 ground balls as a freshman.
Julia Arrix,
Kelsey Mentzer and
Maggie O'Neill have also been vital components to head coach
Julie Young's defense. The trio has a combined 35 caused turnovers and 77 ground balls.
Rookie goalkeeper,
Alexa Moro takes charge in the net for Villanova. While in the net, she has faced 385 shots, has recorded 132 saves and has an overall .454 save percentage. These numbers rank her second in saves per game and third in save percentage.
Denver
Hoch-Bullen is at the top of the ladder with 45 goals and 11 assists for 56 points. She continues to sit at third in the BIG EAST in goals per game and is second in points per game. Hannah Liddy has dished out a team high 38 assists and is third on the team in points with 51.
Draw specialist Maddie Baum, leads the Pioneers with 81 this season which ranks her third in the conference with her per game average.
Defensively, senior Katherine Fischer has caused a team high 27 caused turnovers and is tied for first on the team with 31 ground balls.
Carson Gregg is Denver's starting keeper and has faced 241 shots making 74 saves with a .468 save percentage.
BIG EAST Notes
- WATCH: The semifinals contest will be streamed on BEDN, which will be on Caffeine TV, and Twitter Live on the @BIGEAST handle and promoted via @BIGEASTdigital and @BIGEASTChamps.
- STATS: Live stats for all three games will be available here.
- TICKETS: Tickets are now on sale through the Marquette ticket office. Adult all-session tickets are $8, while all-session tickets for children are $5. All tickets are general admission and are available with print at home or will call pick up options. For online ticket sales, fans can click HERE. Tickets will also be available on site for purchase – $5 for adult general admission and $3 for youth. Students are free with a valid ID. The Marquette ticket office is located in the lobby of the Al McGuire Center, 770 N 12th Street. Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Marquette Ticket Representatives can be reached at 414-288-GOMU (4668).
- Villanova will make its second appearance in the BIG EAST tournament in program history. The Wildcats first qualified for the tournament in 2015, also as the No. 4 seed, but were defeated by No. 1 seed Florida.
- Marquette clinched the No. 2 spot after its 14-12 victory over Georgetown who holds the No. 3 seed.
- Semifinal Won-Loss Record By Seed Per BIG EAST
- 1 vs. 4: 11-1 - - - 2011 was the only upset (No. 4 Notre Dame 15, No. 1 Georgetown 12)
- 2 vs. 3: 4-8 - - - oddly enough, No. 2 hasn't beaten No. 3 since 2014: No. 2 Georgetown 16, No. 3 Connecticut 8
- In Finals
- Titles By Seed
- No. 1: Eight (2008, 10, 13-18)
- No. 2: Two (2007, 12)
- No. 3: Two (2009, 11)
- No. 4: Zero
