Villanova University

April 16, 2009

VILLANOVA, Pa. - In its final home matches of the season, Villanova hosted MAAC Games against Wagner and Siena this past weekend. The Wildcats were defeated by the Seahawks, 15-4, before falling in a narrow 9-8 decision to Siena in the third meeting between the teams this season. Below is a recap of each of the weekend's matches.

Wagner 15, Villanova 4

Villanova played its first match of the year against the Seahawks, perennially one of the league's strongest teams. In the first of their two matches during the day, the Wildcats fell behind 4-0 at the end of the first quarter and could not recover. Wagner's defense limited Villanova to 16 shots in the game and forced 17 turnovers for the match.

Freshman Sara Kane (Sacramento, Calif.) scored all four goals for the Wildcats on her only four shots of the match. Kane also added two steals and drew an ejection while sophomore Kathleen Maloney (Chicago, Ill.) had one assist and a team-high three steals. Freshman Jen Soares (Foster City, Calif.) and sophomore Maria Apablasa (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) also had assists for the Wildcats and freshman goalie Ellie McCutcheon (Boca Raton, Fla.) made nine saves.

Siena 9, Villanova 8

Villanova took on the Saints for the third time this season and the second time at home and lost a narrow decision in an evenly played contest throughout. The match was close early with the teams tied 1-1 at the end of the first quarter and 3-3 at halftime. Siena took a 7-4 lead at the end of the third quarter and never relinquished the advantage despite the Wildcats making a furious rally in the closing period with a 5-1 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.

Freshman goalie Ellie McCutcheon (Boca Raton, Fla.) made a career-high 11 saves and also added a steal and an assist in the match to lead the Wildcats defensive effort. Villanova came away with seven steals for the match, including a team-high three swipes by freshman Claire Melley (Windsor, Conn.).

At the offensive end, freshman Jen Soares (Foster City, Calif.) scored three goals and sophomore Maria Apablasa (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) contributed two goals and three assists. Freshman Sara Kane (Sacramento, Calif.) chipped in two goals and one assist.

Up Next

The final weekend of the 2009 regular season includes four matches on the schedule for Villanova. The team will face Marist and Wagner on Saturday in matches hosted by Siena. The Wildcats then travel to Marist on Sunday and will face Iona and St. Francis (N.Y.).