Villanova, Pa. - In their first home game in nearly a month, the Villanova Wildcats fought the Michigan Wolverines into double overtime. The 8-7 win puts Michigan at 9-1 for the season, while Villanova's record is now 3-7.
It was a tale of two halves at a cold and windy Villanova Stadium Sunday. The Wildcats stifled No. 10 Michigan in the first half, only allowing one goal, holding the visitors to their lowest goal total in a first half this season. Senior goalkeeper
Alexa Moro recorded two first half saves, as the Villanova defense only allowed three shots on goal before halftime. Senior defenders
Hanna Driscoll (2) and
Sydney Frank (1) totaled three caused turnovers in the opening period.
After Michigan's Kaitlyn Mead scored at the 13:22 mark of the first, the Wolverines were held scoreless until 12:38 in the third period. Four different Wildcats scored for Villanova during a five goal stretch that went into the third period. Junior
Addie Fischer got the scoring started, as she and senior teammate
Caroline Curnal scored in the first period to give Villanova a 2-1 lead after 15 minutes of action. 55 seconds into the second frame, senior
Libby McKenna kept things rolling with her first of two goals. Freshman
Sydney Pappas would follow with another goal to give the 'Cats a 4-1 lead heading into the break.
Villanova held the advantage in shots (14 to 10) and shots on goal (7 to 3) in the first half.
Curnal would strike and keep momentum on Villanova's side coming out of halftime, scoring her second of the contest. The Wolverines would answer with three of their own, cutting the Villanova lead to one at 5-4 with 10:24 left in the third.
Stopping the Michigan run was a combo of seniors, as
Olivia Piccirilli netted a pass from
Alexa Tsahalis late in the third to make it 6-4 Villanova. Michigan would score another goal before the end of the period, making things 6-5 heading into the fourth.
The fourth period was taken over by Michigan as they were able to turn Villanova over four times, leading to two scores. McKenna broke a 6-6 tie early in the period with her second goal. Michigan would score at the 9:56 mark of the fourth period to tie things up at 7-7.
In the first overtime, each team was only able to fire off one shot, both on goal. McKenna would cause her fourth turnover in the extra period, marking a new career high for the senior. After drawing a penalty and being a woman-up, Michigan scored the game winning goal with 14 seconds left in the second overtime period.
The Wildcats will host UC Davis for their next contest. The game on Saturday, March 26 will mark Alumni Day for Villanova, as they will honor former players and head coach Julie Young. Game time is scheduled for 12 p.m.
