Villanova, Pa. - On a sunny Saturday afternoon, the Villanova men's lacrosse team defeated the Providence Friars 18-13 as the team honored all seniors and graduate students before the game. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in BIG EAST, while the Friars fall to 5-7 and 0-3 in conference play. 

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the opening minutes, as four different players scored. Luke Keating notched his first of a team high four goals at the 13:45 mark and Villanova never looked back. Following Keating was Jimmy Gabrielsen, who rifled one past te goalkeeper off a pass from Reid Colwell. Brett Baskin would continue the run, scoing his first off a pass from Matt Campbell, who would also score to finish the scoring streak. 

After Providence's lone score of the first period, Tucker Goodelle found the back of the net to put Villanova up 5-1 at the end of the period. Villanova out shot Providence 17-8 in the frame and had three more shots on goal, holding a 9-6 advantage. 

To open the second period, the Friars went on a 4-0 run of their own spanning over half of the period. At the 6:47 mark, the score sat at 6-5 with Villanova looking for a spark on offense. Keating would score his second to get the much needed spark, as Villanova would answer with three in a row. A Sam Parkinson goal, his first of the season, followed by another Keating score would push the Villanova lead back to three at 8-5. The teams would trade goals in the final two minutes, with Brett Baskin notching the Villanova goal, making the halftime score 9-6 in favor of the home Wildcats. 

At the break, Providence closed the gap in shots, with Villanova holding a 26-22 advantage in the category. Justin Cappola went 11-17 on faceoffs in the first two periods, while Will Vitton notched nine saves. 

Villanova came out of halftime firing on offense, scoring four of the first five goals in the third period. After a faceoff win, Cappola scored his lone goal of the contest after racing past the Providence defense. J.P. Basile would continue the run netting his first of two second half goals, with an assist to Keating. After Campbell's second score, Matt Licata would score his first of a career high three goals. All three of the sophomore's goals came in the final two periods. The Friars wouldn't go away easy, going on a run of their own, with three straight scores. After Licata netted his second, the score was 14-10 heading into the final period. 

Keating's fourth goal gave Villanova their largest lead of the day at 15-10 just seconds into the fourth. Providence's offense went on another three goal run, forcing Villanova to call a timeout in the middle of the final frame. With the score 15-13 and 8:49 on the clock, the Wildcats looked towards the teams veterans on senior day to get some insurance goals. Keating would notch his sixth and seventh points with assists to Basile and Baskin, as Villanova ended the contest on a three goal run. Licata would net his third of the game, matching his career total entering  Saturday's game. 

For the game, Cappola was 21-33 on faceoffs and scooped up a career high 15 ground balls. Brody LaPorte also set new career highs, as the senior caused five turnovers and had six ground balls. 

In goal for Villanova, Vitton earned the victory after a 16 save performance. 

The Wildcats will return to action against conference for Marquette in Miluakee, Wisconsin on April 23 at 12 p.m.