March 26, 2003

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Sparked by three goals from sophomore Katie Ardington (Summit, N.J.), Villanova built a 12-7 edge and then withstood a late Monmouth barrage for a 12-11 victory over the Hawks in a women's lacrosse game played here today. Villanova improves to 4-3 overall (1-1 Patriot League) while Monmouth falls to 1-4 overall (0-0 NEC).

Jennie Versaggi got Monmouth on the board first with a goal less than five minutes into the game at 25:56. The Wildcats answered with goals from sophomores Katie Mannix (Crofton, Md.) and Steph Haas (North Wales, Pa.) in the next two minutes before Versaggi scored again to tie the game at two with 18:20 left in the first half.

Villanova took control of the game, however, by scoring the next five goals in a span of 11 minutes. Ardington, sophomore Amy Rocap (Vienna, Va.), senior Meghan Carolan (Hicksville, N.Y.) and Sam Cratty (Wilton, Conn.) all scored for the 'Cats. Cratty's second goal in the run made it 7-2 before Monmouth scored two late goals to cut the deficit to 7-4 at halftime.

Rain and a fast-dropping thermometer affected play in the second half. Each time Villanova appeared to be ready to pull away, Monmouth answered. When freshman Cindy Koza (Garnet Valley, Pa.) scored with 6:30 left to build a 12-7 advantage for the 'Cats it seemed Villanova was on its way to a win. But the Hawks countered with four consecutive goals, the last coming with 22 seconds left to cut the gap to one.

Yet Villanova hung on for the triumph. Freshman Jess McGrattan made eight saves in goal for the Wildcats while Emily Brugger stopped seven shots for Monmouth.

Next up for Villanova is a Patriot League duel this Saturday at home against Colgate. Please note the starting time for that game is noon. Some early schedules listed the game as a 1:00 p.m. start.