March 2, 2008

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Freshman Maria Apablasa (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) had a goal and two assists against Penn State Behrend to lead Villanova (1-7) to its first win of the season and was named to the All-Tournament First Team at the Siena Invite. The Wildcats played well in all three of their matches for the weekend, despite falling to the host Saints (12-8) and to Gannon (11-9) in their other matches.

Villanova 10, Penn State Behrend 5

The Wildcats set the tone early on with their defense and led 7-1 at halftime behind three goals in the first quarter and four more in the second period. Senior goalie Erin Foley (Chicago, Ill.) registered 10 saves and two of the team's seven steals. Villanova also drew seven ejections. Apablasa had a steal and drew two ejections in the contest while senior Carla Martinez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) made her season debut with two goals and two assists. The freshmen tandem of Nicole Lum (Roseville, Calif.) and Kathleen Maloney (Chicago, Ill.) each had three goals for the Wildcats.

Siena 12, Villanova 8

In an evenly played contest, Villanova played the host Saints to a 7-7 draw through the first three periods of the match. Siena scored five goals in the fourth quarter to go on to the victory. Apablasa had the finest match of her young collegiate career with five goals and two ejections drawn, and Martinez finished with two goals for the second straight match. Senior Julie Ramaley (Old Greenwich, Conn.) added two assists for the Wildcats, who again got strong net play from senior goalie Erin Foley (Chicago, Ill.). Foley had seven saves and seven steals in the game.

Gannon 11, Villanova 9

Maloney led the Wildcats with three goals and Villanova came up just short in a match where it did a good job of battling back from an early deficit. Gannon led 6-2 at the end of the first quarter but the Wildcats closed the margin to 7-6 by halftime. Villanova trailed 11-9 at the end of the third quarter and held Gannon off the scoreboard in the final period as the Wildcats pressed to try and find a pair of goals to gain an equalizer. Apablasa and Martinez each had two goals for Villanova.

Weekly Honors

Apabalasa earned first team All-Tournament honors and Martinez was selected to the second team. In three matches, Apablasa scored eight goals and dished out three assists for the Wildcats. Meanwhile, Martinez was playing in her first three matches of the season and finished the weekend with six goals and two assists. She scored two goals in all three matches during the weekend.

Up Next

Villanova heads to the West Coast during its Spring Break and will play five matches in California. Cal Lutheran and Cal Baptist will be the host sites for the matches the Wildcats are playing in.