Molly O’Reilly (#5) fires a shot on net during UConn’s game against Georgetown on March 25, 2017. The Huskies dropped the contest 14-6. (Charlotte Lao/The Daily Campus)
The UConn women’s lacrosse team narrowly beat Villanova, 15-14, on Saturday, April 22, extending their win streak to four games.
UConn is now 7-8 for the season and 4-4 in the Big East, while Villanova fell to 3-12 for the season and 1-7 in the Big East.
“I think Villanova played well,” UConn head coach Katie Woods said. “We weren’t on top of our game and they took advantage of it. When we decided to compete like Huskies and be great, we were. We need more of those moments.”
Though the Huskies trailed Villanova 2-1 just 10 minutes into the match, they fought back and were up 8-6 going into halftime.
During the second half, the teams constantly went back and forth.
With 19:48 left in the game the score was tied 9-9. Back to back goals by senior attacker Jacqueline Jordan put the Huskies back up 11-9.
After that, the Wildcats went on a run of their own, tallying their final lead of the day with just over 15 minutes left to play.
The Huskies were able to bounce back to a one-point lead with goals by sophomore attacker Cait Leary and junior midfielder Kelsey Catalano.
Villanova was not done yet, as they tied it up 13-13 with a free position goal with just under nine minutes left to play.
Again, the Huskies moved ahead with a goal by Leary with about two minutes left.
With 17 seconds remaining, Villanova’s Jillian Swikart tied the game at 14-14.
“My thought was on the draw and how we can get a shot off before the end of regulation then I started thinking about overtime,” Woods said.
The Huskies won the draw and set up their offense. With three seconds left, the Wildcats were called for a foul. UConn’s Ally Tilley found freshman Olivia Miles, who put it in the net to win the game for the Huskies.
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“We weren’t on top of our game and they took advantage of it. When we decided to compete like Huskies and be great, we were. We need more of those moments.”
Leading the way for the Huskies was Jordan, who scored three goals. Junior attacker Grace Nolan racked up five points with two goals and three assists. Freshman goalkeeper Grace Beshlian had 12 saves, including eight in the first half.
UConn is undefeated in their series against Villanova.
Up next, the Huskies will face Big East foe Temple for Senior Day on April 29.
“Temple is definitely tough and knows what it takes to win,” Woods said. “It’s our last game of the season and we need to come out hard…competing together, connecting on all levels, and playing for one another.”
Mariana Dominguez is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at mariana.dominguez@uconn.edu.
