EASTON, Pa. – Villanova women's lacrosse pulled off its second comeback in as many games with a victory over Lafayette, taking down the Leopards 8-7 on Wednesday afternoon in VU's non-conference finale.
Sami Carey had a day filled with higlights for the Wildcats after two goals and five assists, setting her career high in helpers and tying her best mark of seven points all in the second half.
Sophia Corretjer (one goal, two assists) and Cara Moreau (one goal, one assist) each added multiple points for Villanova (4-5), while four other players added tallies for the visitors. Cate Gallagher racked up a .611 save percentage in the win with 11 stops and just seven goals allowed on the day.
Moreau scored the game-tying goal for the 'Cats with 3:11 remaining to knot up the game for the first time since 0-0, then Kayla Gulmi converted the winner on her second goal of the year just over one minute later.
"I'm really proud of this team for finding a way to finish the game today on the backs of a lot of upperclassmen leadership," head coach Jill Batcheller said. "Cathy (Gallagher) had a phenomenal game in cage, Sami led our offensive unit and it was great to see another game winner from a senior, Kayla. I thought Lafayette played their best game against us, a great defensive game and in cage. We are looking forward to using this time ahead of us to fine tune our skills as we kick off BIG EAST play, we're excited for the road ahead."
It was a low-scoring first quarter, with Lafayette finding the back of the net twice and holding Villanova scoreless for a 2-0 edge after 15 minutes. The Leopards struck to open the next stanza, increasing their edge to three. Mary Moore finally got the 'Cats on the board with five minutes to play in the half, converting on a feed from fellow first-year Corretjer to make it a 3-1 deficit where it stayed at the break.
Lafayette added two straight to begin the third frame, extending the advantage to four. Carey scored her signature goal to break the drought for VU, sweeping around from X and beating the netminder for a 5-2 game.
A pair of players then earned their second point of the afternoon just over a minute later when Corretjer finished off a Carey dime right on the crease to pull the 'Cats within a pair. That connection was reversed for the next Villanova tally, Corretjer feeding Carey for a dunk to get the visitors down just one.
The home side added the final goal of quarter three to lead 6-4, then it took nearly six minutes for either team to find the twine again.
Rose Christie finally broke that streak by turning around a Carey dot on a free position opportunity to shrink the gap back to one. Again it was Lafayette answering, adding to the tally not even two minutes later for a 7-5 game.
But Villanova ended the contest on a 3-0 run, starting as Ashlyn Hickey earned her first goal of the year with the sophomore stroking the twine off a Carey assist for another one-goal deficit.
Moreau followed up her game-winning goal performance on Sunday with a game-tying tally this time, dunking one past the keeper to level the matchup.
After the Wildcats won the ensuing draw, Carey earned a free position chance and spotted Gulmi twisting around the crease. The senior took the feed and beat the netminder, completing the second comeback for Villanova in as many games.
With the victory, the Wildcats pull closer to even all-time with the Leopards as VU now owns a 10-11 record in the series.
UP NEXT: The 'Cats will now transition into the BIG EAST portion of their schedule, beginning with a March 23 matchup against the Georgetown Hoyas at Villanova Stadium.
