Philadelphia, Pa. - The Villanova Wildcats were defeated by the Saint Joseph's Hawks on Wednesday evening 16-12. This was the 25th all-time matchup between the schools, with St. Joe's now holding a 13-12 advantage in the series. 

Senior midfielder Caroline Curnal scored a career high five goals in the contest, while also securing nine draw controls. Both statistics led all players in the game. 

Villanova got on the board first, after senior Alexa Tsahalis found the back of the net off a Cara Moreau pass. The Hawks would answer with two goals of their own. Moreau would tie the game 2-2 with 11:02 on the clock in the first period. St. Joe's would score four in a row to take a 6-2 lead midway through the opening period. The first six goals for the home team were all scored by different players. Curnal again halted the Hawks momentum with her second score. Lisa Ross added her second of three in the contest, to bolster the Hawks lead to 7-3 at the end of the first period. 

The second period favored the visiting 'Cats, holding St. Joe's to one goal in the period on four shots. The Hawks lone goal began the scoring in the period, at the 11:44 mark. For the remainder of the period, Villanova would only allow three shots. Curnal would continue her career day with her third score of the contest, to cut the deficit to 8-4. An assist was credited to Kayla Gulmi. Freshman Sami Carey added her second goal of the season by way of another Tsahalis assist, followed by another Curnal goal made the score 8-6 heading into halftime. Addie Fischer assisted Curnal's third score. 

Saint Joseph's came out of the halftime break firing on all cylinders, scoring the first two goals of the second half, putting their lead back up to 10-6 with 10:19 to go in the third period. Curnal, the Ridgefield, Connecticut native, once again had an answer for the Hawks attack, scoring her fourth of the game as Villanova was up one player. Gulmi added her second assist on the goal. The home team would go on another scoring run, this time amassing five consecutive goals. This run continued from the end of the third period into the beginning of the fourth, making the score 15-7. 

The Hawks run was led by Preseason All-Conference nominee Lauren Figura, who scored three of the five goals. The senior led St. Joe's with four goals for the game. 

A fourth period saw Villanova fight till the final horn, outscoring Saint Joseph's 5-3 in the period. A trio of Villanova goals stopped the Hawks run, the first scored by Tsahalis, the second by Gulmi, her first of the season and the third by senior Olivia Piccirilli. With the score 15-10 and 3:17 on the clock, St. Joe's Lisa Ross added her third of the game. Curnal and senior Libby McKenna would add goals before the end of the game. 

For the game, St. Joe's edged out the advantage in shots at 29-27, while both teams had nine saves for the game. The Hawks were also successful on all 19 of their clear attempts. 

Villanova will return to action on Saturday, continuing their road trip with a visit to No. 14 Rutgers. The game will begin at 1 p.m. in Piscataway, New Jersey. 

Notes: Curnal's five goals are the most by a Villanova player in a single game this season...Sydney Frank added two caused turnovers in the contest to increase her career all-time record to 76...The 12 goals was the most the Wildcats have scored against St. Joe's since 2018.