March 22, 2003

WORCETSER, Mass. - The Holy Cross women's lacrosse team scored six goals in the final 16:36 of the contest to rally from a four goal deficit to defeat Villanova, 10-9, in Patriot League action on Saturday afternoon. Villanova drops to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Patriot League while Holy Cross improves to 5-3 overall and 1-1 in the league.

Villanova broke from the gate quickly, scoring just 23 seconds into the game and taking a 4-1 lead midway through the first half. During the 4-1 run, senior Meghan Carolan (Hicksville, N.Y.) scored three of VU's four goals. Holy Cross answered with goals by senior Erin Rowse and sophomore Jana Tencati to close the gap to 4-3 with 6:08 remaining in the first stanza. The Crusaders and Wildcats then traded goals, and VU carried a 5-4 edge into intermission.

Villanova started the second half just as quickly as it started the first, scoring three goals in the first 8:59 of the half to push the score to 8-4, the largest lead of the afternoon. However, Holy Cross responded with a string of three straight goals of their own with scores from Katie Britt and a pair from Justine Reeber. Carolan then tallied her fifth goal of the day to push the Villanova lead back to 9-7. HC's Tencati and Britt tied the score at 9-9 when they both scored within a minute of each other with 9:00 to play. Senior Carrie Doyle scored with 3:07 left on the clock to give the Crusaders their first lead and fifth victory of the season.

Kellaigh Malangone notched 18 saves in picking up the win, while the Wildcats' Jess McGrattan stopped 13 shots.

Villanova moves on down the Massachusetts Turnpike to Chestnut Hill, Mass., where it faces Boston College at noon on Sunday.