LEXINGTON, Va. – Water Polo wrapped up conference play at the VMI-MAAC Showcase cruising to victory over the host team, Virginia Military Institute, by a score of 20-10.

This was the most goals Villanova has scored since March 9, 2024, when they defeated Salem University 20-6.

11 different Wildcats scored in this contest, with seven finding the back of the net multiple times. Every active VUWP player appeared in this contest, the fourth time that has happened this season.

Riley Hull and Ella Mattocks led the way with three goals each. The pair also coincidentally started off the game with the first three Wildcat goals of the game.

Those two combined for 20 goals on the weekend, with Hull scoring eight of her 13 on Sunday.

Over the first three minutes, both teams traded two goals each as the contest started to resemble the one that Villanova played earlier in the day against Siena.

After the aforementioned Hull tally brought the Wildcats to a 3-2 lead, Villanova added three more goals to blast out to a 6-2 advantage at the end of the first.

The 'Cats started off the second stanza, rattling off six consecutive goals, moving the score to 12-2 Villanova.

Anna Painter cashed in twice in this game, with both scores coming before halftime, bringing her to seven goals total through both Sunday's contests.

Villanova entered the break with a 13-3 lead, as Tiffany Maguire and Lauren Short both added two tallies to the scoreboard in the second frame.

Hull started the scoring off in the third by notching her second and third goals of the day, as Villanova started to remove many of their starters.

In the second half, six of the seven Wildcat goals were scored by freshmen, including Charlotte Summe netting her first career goal.

Catharine McCann found the back of the net twice in the fourth quarter for her first career multi-goal game, the latter of the two being the Wildcats 20^th and final goal of the contest. 

Emma Grabenstetter dished out the key pass on one of McCann's goals, en route to a career high three assists.

The Wildcats scored 23 first-half goals across Sunday's contests. Their offense starting strong was a key component to allowing 15 different Wildcats to pick up a point on the day.

Rachel Stephens picked up seven saves in the net, including one while the 'Cats were a man down.

Sydney and Sadie Smith added hat tricks for VMI, while Maddie Day picked up the decision in goal, saving three shots and allowing 13 goals.

With this win, Villanova improves to 15-7, making Michael Gordon one of only two coaches to record multiple 15-win seasons in their tenure as head coach. Both times it has occurred, it has come in back-to-back seasons, Allyson Gillespie leading the 1999 and 2000 teams to 23 and 18 wins, respectively, while Gordon's 2024 team achieved 21 wins.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to action when they travel to Philadelphia to La Salle University to take on Long Island, Wagner, and La Salle next weekend.

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