VILLANOVA, Pa. – Women's Water Polo picked up their second win of the day, beating Iona 17-5, capped off by scoring nine unanswered goals for the final 14:53 of the contest during their Unitas Game.
"I'm very pleased with how we came out and played in this game," coach
Michael Gordon said postgame. "We made some mistakes this morning, but we really tuned it up this afternoon. We played really great defense this afternoon, only allowing (two) goals in the second half. Offensively we really put our shots away... we're heading in a great direction."
Layla Canales picked up right where she left off in the first game of the day by scoring the first goal of the match for the Wildcats. That was the first of her four goals on the day; she also added an assist and block. Another freshman,
Riley Hull, netted three goals, dished out two assists, and drew two exclusions.
Ten Wildcats found the back of the net, four of them scoring two or more times. Despite only appearing in two quarters,
Lauren Short made an immediate impact, netting two goals.
Emily McKenzie added two goals, an steal, and two field blocks.
Gracin Kerry recorded 15 saves and two assists in the second game of the day. Both assists came on full-court passes to
Riley Hull, leading her to a one-on-one in front of the net both times.
Both teams returned from the deck to start the third quarter with offensive strategy heavy on their mind. Each team netted two goals apiece in the first two minutes, until Villanova went on a 9-0 run over the next two quarters.
Three Wildcats, listed below with their respective groups, were honored pregame for their work done in partnerships with Unitas groups at Villanova.
Ella Mattocks – Every Mind Matters
Sara Withers – Women's Empowerment
Lauren Short – Athlete Ally
"Being a part of Women's Empowerment and Unitas in general is a really strong part of our athletic program; it really brings us together, junior utility
Sara Withers mentioned. "I'm able to be involved in my community and I am looking forward to continue promoting women's sports in with women's water polo and athletics as a whole."
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will be playing two games tomorrow at home, their final two until February 16. They face off against Mount St. Mary's at 10:15 A.M. and Mercyhurst at 1:45 P.M. All home matches can be streamed through FloSwimming.
SOCIAL
For all the latest updates surrounding the program, follow Villanova Water Polo on Instagram @novawaterpolo and X (formerly Twitter) @nova_waterpolo.
