DENVER, Co. The Villanova Wildcats (8-3) took on the Denver Pioneers (11-0) today at Peter Barton Stadium to kick off conference play, losing to the Pioneers 17-4. Despite it being a Pioneer win, sophomore goalie Cate Gallagher put up 12 big saves and we saw powerful defensive efforts from Amelica Ricciuti and Mary Kate Conniff as they both had two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Wildcat goals came from Sami Carey, Caroline Curnal, Sydney Pappas, and Cara Moreau. 

The Pioneers took control of the game early when Kayla DeRose put one past Gallagher to take the lead 1-0 just 45 seconds into play. The following two goals came from Denver's Lauren Black and Julia Gilbert who leads the Pioneers in goals this season with 28. To put a pause on Pioneer momentum, Villanova head coach Jill Batcheller called a timeout and sophomore Sami Carey came back out and ripped one past Emelia Bohi for the Wildcats making it 3-1. The Pioneers responded two minutes later with a man-up goal from Ellie Curry. 

To boost the Wildcats, Curnal banked one off the post from Carey to prove that Villanova was not going to let up easy. Gallagher made three big saves in the first quarter, allowing the Wildcats to hold the fourth ranked team in the nation to 6-2 within the first fifteen minutes. 

Denver, who was voted number one in the BIG EAST preseason poll, outscored the Wildcats in the second period 6-1. The first three were free position goals coming from Wilson (1) and Ryan Dineen (2). Gilbert scored two in the first quarter and one in the second, earning a hat trick in the first half. Wilson and Curry scored the 11th and 12th goals for the Pioneers, while Villanova sophomore Sydney Pappas got her name on the board by scoring the third goal for the Wildcats. Gallagher came up with four saves in the second quarter after being faced with 12 shots.

Senior and captain Cara Moreau kicked off the second half for the Wildcats by scoring her first goal of the season after being out for an injury. Curry quickly responded to this Villanova jump-start by scoring her third goal of the game, taking the Pioneers back to a nine point lead with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. Two minutes later, Gilbert scores her fourth goal of the game to create a running clock. The last goal of the quarter came from Denver's Sloane Kipp to make the score 15-4 with 15 minutes left to play. 
In the fourth quarter we saw Denver goals from Wilson and Charlotte Boote to make the final score 17-4. In the end, Gilbert led the Pioneers in points with 7 coming from four goals and three assists. There were eight Pioneer goal scorers to make up their 17 goals; Black, DeRose, Gilbert, Curry, Boote, Dineen, Kipp, and Wilson. 

To catch more of the Villanova Wildcats, tune in this Wednesday, April 5th, as they take on the UConn Huskies at home at 2:00 PM. 

Notes: Caroline Curnal has 103 draws so far this season…She continues her all-time career draw control record with 330…Villanova's history with Denver is 8-0  in favor of Denver…Villanova's history with UConn is 10-2 in favor of Villanova.