Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/7/26
From Press Release
The 19th-ranked University of Pennsylvania men’s lacrosse team used a five-goal run bridging the first and second quarters on the way to a 10-6 win Sunday afternoon at Villanova.
The Quakers and Wildcats were tied, 1-1, in this annual matchup for the Farrell Cup. At that point, the Red and Blue reeled off five straight goals in a run that spanned into the second quarter. Villanova never got closer than three the rest of the way as Penn kept its hosts at bay throughout.
Both teams moved to 3-3 on the season with the result.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn outshot Villanova on Sunday, 44-35, and held the Wildcats to just one goal on four EMO opportunities.
*Penn went 11-8 on the faceoff X, with senior Mac Eldridge—who is wearing the James Farrell #19 jersey this season—going 8-6 and freshman Quinn Ball going 3-2.
*Junior Davis Provost led all scorers with five goals on Sunday, his career high. He has scored multiple goals in five of Penn’s six games this season.
*Four of Provost’s goals came in the first 23 minutes of the game and three were part of that early five-goal run.
*Junior Grayson McClements had a solid day with three points (2g/1a); it was his second multi-goal game this season (also two vs. Delaware) and his first three-point game as a collegian.
*One week after scoring his first collegiate goal, junior Matt McMillen had a goal and an assist on Sunday.
*Sophomore defenseman Dante Vardaro also had a goal and an assist on Sunday, his first two collegiate points. The goal was sweet—a behind-the-back effort on the doorstep.
*Freshman Quinn Langton was Penn’s other goal scorer on Sunday—his first collegiate tally—while sophomore Paul vanBastelaar (La Salle) had an assist.
*At the other end, sophomore Jack Pelot had another solid day in the cage with 11 saves and only six goals allowed (.647 save percentage).
Nick Lucchesi (Radnor) and Lucas Newton each put up a goal and assist for Villanova (3-3) while Brady Dumont, David Link and Luke Raymond all added a goal. Junior defenseman Beau Kemler contributed his first career goal as well in addition to four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers in his return from a month-long injury.
Nolan Sabel totaled two assists in the matchup, Denis Fargione made 10 saves between the pipes and Ryan Cunningham (Salesianum School) won six faceoffs for the Wildcats.
How It Happened
Provost got things started quickly on Sunday, Penn turning defense to offense as Pelot fed Vardaro near midfield and Vardaro found Provost for the snipe just 1:33 into the game. Villanova tied it up a little less than two minutes later, but two minutes after that Provost bounced home a fallaway from up top and Penn had a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The junior completed his natural hat trick when he was left alone on the right side and finished a feed from vanBastelaar.
McClements kept the parade going with an unassisted goal, and then in the final minute of the first quarter McMillen found Vardaro in front and the sophomore long pole found the back of the net with a behind-the-back effort. The score was 5-1 after one and the Quakers had all the momentum.
Provost made it 6-1 midway through the second quarter on a jumper from the left side that just trickled through the Villanova keeper and over the line. The Wildcats finally ended a goalless streak of nearly 22 minutes, but once again the Quakers scored in the final minute of play as Langton sailed through the air for his first. The goal was originally ruled no goal, given a goal after a discussion, and the call stood up after a review. Penn’s lead was 7-2 at the half.
Villanova was quick out of the gate in the second half, scoring just 48 seconds into the third quarter, and the Wildcats made it a three-goal game with 8:47 still left. However, Penn held its hosts scoreless the rest of the period and McClements got one of the goals back with a low burner from the left side for an 8-4 lead after three.
Villanova had the first goal in the fourth, making it 8-5 with 11:44 to play, but Penn scored the next two goals of the game as McClements found Provost on the doorstep for the easy finish and then McMillen converted from the left side. That made it 10-5 with less than four minutes to play, and a final Villanova tally was inconsequential.
