VILLANOVA, Pa: The Wildcats are back! The Villanova Wildcats (9-4) took on the Butler Bulldogs (5-6), defeating the Bulldogs at Villanova Stadium 15-5 on a fun-filled Saturday. The sophomores showed out today as Sami Carey earned seven points off of a hat trick and four assists, Sydney Pappas scored a hat trick, and goalie Cate Gallagher made seven crucial saves.  Captains Caroline Curnal and Cara Moreau followed closely behind with two goals a piece. Curnal added 10 draw controls to her all time career record today totaling 346. Not only did the Wildcats celebrate their first conference win, but they also celebrated all of the faculty and staff who showed out at today's game as well as all of the kids who participated in an Easter egg hunt! 

The whistle blew and the Wildcats took off, scoring five goals in a row with four of them coming in the first quarter. Carey kicked things off for the 'Cats with an assist from Pappas. To strengthen the Wildcats' momentum, junior Jenna Pastore scored her first goal of the season and the sixth of her career. Curnal wanted to join the fun and ripped one past Caroline Smith for a free position goal. Kayla Gulmi finished out the quarter for the Wildcats with a goal assisted by game stand-out Carey. 

The second quarter started off just as strong as Pappas scored her first goal of the game assisted by none other than Carey. Butler responded to the Wildcats' 5-0 lead by putting their first goal on the board thanks to Leah Rubino. The rest of the second quarter saw Villanova goals from Pappas, Curnal, Gulmi, Carey, and Jessie Lee. Butler's Rubino and Luci Selander scored for Butler in the second quarter but it was not enough to close the gap before halftime. The score going into the second half was 10-3 in favor of the Wildcats. In the first half, the 'Cats outshot the Bulldogs 18-11. 

The third quarter was a quiet one as the only two goals scored came from Moreau. Villanova outscored Butler in the fourth 3-2 with Villanova's goals coming from Isabella Francati, Carey, and Pappas. Rubino put another one on the board for the Bulldogs and Kaley Attaway scored the last goal of the game. The final score was 15-5 with 15 Wildcat goals coming from eight players; Carey, Curnal, Moreau, Pappas, Francati, Pastore, Lee, and Gulmi. The Wildcats secured their first conference win!

To catch more of the Wildcats, tune in on April 15th as they take on the Georgetown Hoyas at 1:00 PM in Washington, D.C.

NOTES: Villanova hasn't beat Georgetown in 13 games...Sydney Pappas leads the team in goals with 39 goals... Caroline Curnal has 119 draws for the season adding to her all-time career draw control record at 346.