Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/13/18
From Press Release
Villanova fell to No. 4 Duke, 17-11, on Saturday afternoon. The first round NCAA contest at Koskinen Stadium was the final game for 10 Villanova seniors who led the Wildcats to their third NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Villanova stayed even with Duke during the first quarter. The Blue Devils netted two quick goals but John Kluh scored one to get Villanova on the board. Joe Robertson netted his second for Duke but Kieran Byrnes and Danny Seibel would tie the game up at three with back-to-back Villanova goals.
Duke would score one early in the second and Seibel would answer back to tie the game at four with just over 12 to go in the quarter. The Blue Devils would control the rest of the second scoring seven straight goals to go into the locker room up 11-4.
Joe Robertson (Duke’s LC) had four goals and an assist for Duke while Greg Pelton (Malvern Prep, ManUp) had an assist, a groundball and a caused turnover.
Michael Toomey got the start in goal for the Wildcats for the fifth straight game and played 26 minutes before Nick Testa came in an finished the game in goal. Toomey, the sophomore, has three saves while Testa had six.
The Wildcats came out strong in the third quarter, netting three straight goals. BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Keegan Khan would net the first, Kluh would score his second of the game next, and Devin McNamara got a goal with just over eight to go to bring the Wildcats within four. Sean Lowrie scored one for Duke with just four seconds to go in the quarter to pull their lead back up to five.
Seibel lead the Wildcats in the final quarter, scoring three of Villanova’s four goals. When he netted his second goal at the 5:32 mark it was his 100th in the blue and white. The Blue Devils scored five in the fourth to make the final 17-11.
Season Notes:
Villanova started the season 5-0, the best start in program history
The Wildcats were ranked 4th in the USILA Coaches Poll on March 5th, this is the highest ranking ever.
Christian Cuccinello is tied for 5th all-time in career points with 168, he is also 8th in goals with 97, and 7th in assists with 71
Senior Danny Seibel is only the 7th player in program history to score 100 or more goals in his career; also he is ranked 6th all-time in goals scored with 102.
Senior faceoff specialist Luke Palmadesso ranked 7th in career faceoff winning percentage with .545
SSDM TJ Comizo sits 8th in career caused turnovers with 37
Freshman Keegan Khan was the first Villanovan to earn BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors
