Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/27/20
No. 13 Princeton overcame a slow start to topple Villanova, 18-13, on the Main Line as the Tigers improved to 2-1 overall in 2020.
Freshman Grace Tauckus had six goals in the game, tying for second-most in a game by a Princeton freshman all-time behind the seven scored by Joanna McNeil in 1978.
The player Tauckus tied for second with – Kyla Sears (who had six against Brown in 2018) – also had a standout day with five goals and two assists for seven points. Senior tri-captain Katie Reilly had two goals and three assists for a career-high five points.
Junior defender Marge Donovan had nine draw controls, tying her career-high which is No. 4 all-time in a single game by a Princeton player.
The Wildcats started fast, scoring three of the game’s first four goals to build a 3-1 lead 5:18 into the contest. From there, the Tigers settled in and scored the next four goals to take a 5-3 lead 10:35 in.
Overall, Princeton’s run in the middle of the first half was an 8-2 advantage as the Tigers took control. The big swing was a pair of goals in 0:17 to build the 5-3 lead as Shannon Berry and Jordan Marcus scored in succession.
Katie Reilly had two goals and two assists in the first half, while Kyla Sears added three goals over the opening period.
After the Wildcats clawed back within one at 6-5 with 13:45 left in the first half, Princeton rattled off the next three goals to build a 9-5 lead. Kyla Sears scored first on the free position, followed by Katie Reilly 1:45 later. Grace Tauckus followed 1:40 later.
‘Nova countered with three consecutive goals of its own in a span of 2:28 to again get within one at 9-8. Princeton dialed up a pair of goals before the first half as Tauckus spun and fired for her second goal of the half followed by Sears who blew by a pair of defenders with 2:18 left in the opening period. Her hat trick gave the Tigers an 11-8 lead at the break.
Maria Pansini (Agnes Irwin) had one groundball and one caused turnover as a starter at midfield for Princeton.
Brittany Bruno led Villanova (2-2) with five goals and Katie Comerford had three tallies.
Penn 11, Rutgers 9
Stadley, Taylyn and Erin Barry each scored three goals to lead Penn (3-0). Izzy Rohr (Episcopal Academy) had a groundball and a caused turnover for the Quakers on defense.
Cassidy Spilis (Seneca) had three goals and Samantha Budd (West Deptford) two for Rutgers (4-1).
Iona 17, Central Conn. State 7
Emily Stewart (Harriton) had two goals, a draw control and a groundball, Erin O’Donnell (Bishop Shanahan) added two groundballs and an assist and Abby Natoli (Central Bucks West) helped anchor the defense with a groundball as Iona improved to 2-2.
Richmond 13, Virginia 12, OT
Junior defender Brittney Wright (Moorestown, N.J.) led Rochmond with six ground balls and was a big part of setting up Lindsey Frank’s game-winning goal as the Spiders stunned No. 6 UVA.
Virginia Tech 20, Cincinnati 5
Kayla Frank (Moorestown) had four goals, two assists, three caused turnovers and three groundballs for the winning Hokies.
Monica Borzillo (Conestoga) had three goals and an assist and two draw controls for Cincinnati.
Men’s D3
Delaware Valley 12, Neumann 8
The Aggies erased a 2-0 deficit and held off visiting Neumann University down the stretch to capture a 12-8 non-conference victory.
The Aggies got back to .500 on the year at 2-2 with the win while handing the Knights their first loss of the season as they drop to 3-1.
Neumann led 2-0 after 6:15 of play as Drew Conlon found the back of the net twice, including once on a man-up situation.
Five minutes later PJ Rafferty (Avon Grove) setup Khalil Lindsey (Frankford) to make it 2-1 and that sparked a 5-0 run for the home team as it opened up a three-goal advantage with 6:37 left in the first half.
Conlon added his third of the game with 4:17 on the clock, but the Aggies scored four over the final 3:17 of the stanza to make it a 9-3 game at the break. Dylan Brasch (Clearview Regional-NJ) closed the half with three goals of his own with a pair of assists from Rafferty and a dandy of a helper from long-pole Sean Mylod.
The third quarter was all Neumann as they outscored DelVal, 4-0, to cut the deficit to a two-goal game going into the fourth. Conlon and Colin Blake (Springfield-Delco) each had two goals and an assist in the spurt.
The Aggies responded in the fourth with three-straight goals from Ben Napieralski, Lucian St. Onge, and Matt Waibel (Avon Grove), to give DelVal a comfortable 12-7 lead with 6:55 left in regulation.
The Knights added one more late in the game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the home team’s lead and the Aggies held on for the 12-8 victory.
Rafferty led DelVal with a goal and four assists while Lindsey and Napieralski each had four point showings with two goals and two assists. Brasch finished with three goals and Waibel had a pair, and St. Onge had a two-point day with a goal and an assist.
Blake and Conlon each had four goals and an assist for five points to lead the Knights and Jack Newswanger (St. Elizabeth-DE) picked up eight ground balls as he was 12-for-23 on faceoffs.