Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/26/18
From Press Release
Junior attack Jillian Swikart led Villanova with four goals as the Wildcats took down Holy Cross 10-7 on Monday evening. Villanova is now 2-1 on the season after snapping a four-game losing streak to the Crusaders in their first matchup since 2006.
Holy Cross got out to a quick 2-0 lead after netting a pair of free position shots. The Wildcats got on the board nine minutes into the game when junior midfielder Carlye Maita put one past the Holy Cross goalkeeper. The Crusaders answered right back, scoring just 15 seconds after to bring the score to 3-1.
Off of a save from senior goalkeeper Julia Micahels the Wildcats pushed the pace resulting in a goal by Jillian Swikart to bringing them within one at 3-2. With 12 minutes left in the half sophomore attack Liz Trojan tied the game on an assist from junior attack Devon Brown.
A Holy Cross penalty gave the Wildcats a man-up advantage and Swikart found the net for the second time of the day to give Villanova it’s first lead at 4-3. Sophomore midfielder Grainger Rosati scored her first goal of the season for the Wildcats’ fourth consecutive score. Holy Cross finally stopped the run on a free position goal with 6:30 left in the half. Swikart scored for her third time with 37 seconds on the clock but the Crusaders were able to answer with a goal to make it 6-5 Wildcats going into halftime.
“Holy Cross came out really strong and played aggressive. It took us a little time to adjust and get in our rhythm,” stated Head Coach Julie Young.
Villanova scored first in the second half when sophomore attack Katie Comerford put one in on a feed from sophomore Ashley Lynch to take a 7-5 lead. At the 21 minute mark, Swikart was able to score her fourth goal on an assist from Trojan to give Villanova their biggest lead of the game. Both teams went scoreless for seven minutes before Holy Cross ended the drought, bringing the score to 8-6 with 14:42 remaining.
Villanova responded quickly as Trojan scored her second goal of the game on an assist from Maita. The Wildcats extended their lead to 10-6 on a goal from Devon Brown with 10:30 left in the game. The Crusaders brought it back within three with just over five minutes left but Villanova closed it out to win the game 10-7.
“We fought hard and made some big stops in transition defensively to stop Holy Cross’s attack. On the offensive side we had a lot of good looks,” said Young. “It was a great team win tonight.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Khaia Baranowski (Camden Catholic) played the entire second half with four saves and allowed just two goals. The Wildcats were 19-for-21 on clear attempts and scooped up 25 ground balls to Holy Cross’s 11.
Cincinnati 16, Ohio State 12
Monica Borzillo (Conestoga) notched five goals added three assists to help UC improve to 3-1 on the year while sending the visitors home with a 1-3 record overall.
