Wildcats Drop Dragons, 9-5

Judge, Galvin, Salerno score two each

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova women's lacrosse team (3-1) scored five unanswered goals to start the game as the Wildcats defeated Drexel (2-3), 9-5, Wednesday afternoon. "We knew this game was going to be a good opportunity for us to come out and play a team in our region that we lost to last year," said head coach Julie Young. "We knew they were really strong, so it was exciting to see them again. It was a good overall game." The Wildcat offense started the game hot. Senior attack Ali Judge got Villanova on the board first at 25:08. Freshman defender Mariah Salerno scored twice, once on a free position shot, while sophomore midfielders Tierney Griff and Shannon Galvin added goals to put the score at 5-0. The Dragons' Amanda Norcini scored on a free position shot with two seconds left in the first half to five Drexel a score headed into halftime. "I think we played really hard in the first 30 minutes and the offense was able to get some goals and we were able to stop them in transition," said Young. "We really took advantage of our opportunities and attacked the transition." Galvin and Judge each scored their second goals of the game to start the second half, putting the Wildcats up 7-1. Drexel responded with a goal at 18:45. The teams remained scoreless for the next 10 minutes before junior attack Jessica Mucci scored at 8:21. The Dragons began to heat up offensively, scoring three straight goals to cut the Wildcat lead to four. Sophomore attack Chelsey Henderson scored with 2:35 left in the game to cement the 9-5 win for Villanova. Mucci finished with three points (1G, 2A) to lead scoring for both teams. In her second collegiate start, sophomore goalkeeper Jaclyn Fraum made seven saves, all in the second half. Villanova was 15-of-15 on clears in the game and led 20-15 in shots. The Wildcats also held a 16-14 advantage in ground balls. The Wildcats begin a three-game road stint this Saturday, March 8, at Delaware at 1 p.m.