Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/14/14
From Press Releases
Villanova travels to No. 17 Lehigh (2-0, 0-0 Patriot League) for its opener Sunday at Ulrich Sports Complex in a game pushed back a day due to the snow. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Bethlehem.
The Wildcats return to the turf after a 7-8 overall record last year and a 5-1 mark in BIG EAST action. Prior to the start of the season, senior John LoCascio (Fairfield, N.J.) was named the BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Player of the Year while classmates Christopher Conroy (Chatham, N.J.) and Chris Piccirilli (Davidsonville, Md.) were been named to the 2014 All-BIG EAST Preseason Team. Additionally, the team was picked to finish third in the league in the BIG EAST preseason polls as voted upon by the conference coaches.
Villanova returns 29 letterwinners from the 2013 squad and adds a talented class of 12 newcomers who will push to make an immediate impact on the team. The Wildcats welcome back 50 percent of their total points (124 of 248 points) and 48 percent of the team’s goals (77 of 161 goals) from the 2013 season.
Villanova’s Last Outing: Villanova enters Saturday’s contest with a clean slate after scrimmaging Towson, Bucknell, Stony Brook and Yale for their preseason warm-up.
In their last appearance on the turf, the Wildcats concluded their 2013 slate in the final of the BIG EAST Championship, falling 13-9 to Syracuse at Villanova Stadium. The Orange went on to win their second straight conference title and earn the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Lehigh’s Last Outings: The Mountain Hawks bring a 2-0 record into Saturday’s showdown with the Wildcats after defeating Furman and Marquette by scores 13-6 to start their season. After a tie score of 2-2 against Marquette at the end of the first quarter, the Mountain Hawks pulled away for the win by scoring 11 of the next 13 goals to seal the victory.
Mountain Hawk Offense: Patrick Corbett leads the team with seven goals while Dan Taylor follows closely behind with three goals and two assists for five points. Cody Ferraro, Reid Weber and Kurtis Kaunas all have four points each.
Mountain Hawk Defense: Junior goalkeeper Matt Poillon has posted two wins in two starts for the Mountain Hawks and posts a 6.14 goals against average and a .556 save percentage. Lukas Mikelinich, Ty Souders (Emmaus) and Tripp Telesco earned starting roles on close defense and collected a combined 12 ground balls and caused two turnovers.
Last time the teams met (2/16/13): Swings of momentum for both squads defined the contest as No. 11 Lehigh found the upper-hand in a closely fought battle to defeat Villanova 11-9 at Villanova Stadium. The contest marked the first victory for Lehigh at Villanova since 1997; the Wildcats had previously won six-straight games over the Mountain Hawks since the 2006 season.
Led by the three-goal performance by senior Jack Rice, 11 different Wildcats posted points including four tallies by freshmen on the day. The Mountain Hawks were carried by the combined 12 point performances via seven goals and five assists from David DiMaria and Dante Fantoni.
Leave a Reply