Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. â€"An 8-2 run in the final 20:16 helped the Navy women's lacrosse team (3-1) defeat Villanova (0-3), 12-9, Wednesday evening at Villanova Stadium.

"Led by a strong senior group, Villanova put in a strong first half and looked like a group that really wanted to get its first win of the season after two tough losses before today," Navy head coach Cindy Timchal said. "Our team really showed their resilient side in the second half with huge defensive stops, getting possessions in the draw circle and generating good offensive chances."

Leading 4-3 after 30 minutes, Villanova looked to put the game away early, scoring three of the first four second-half goals to extend its lead to three, 7-4, with 21:12 left in the contest. Wildcats' Meghan Breen started the run with her third tally of the game.

Senior Katie Gallagher (Bel Air, Md.), who only had one goal to her name in the first three games, took matters into her own hands with back-to-back goals in a span 1:33 to cut the deficit to one, 7-6. Gallagher used a spin move to beat her defender on the first goal and then slashed through three defenders behind the net on her second.

BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Jackie Froccaro scored her second goal of the contest to put Villanova back up two, 8-6, with 17:21 left in the contest.

Navy then responded back with four-straight goals in a span of 11:44 to give the Mids a two-goal lead, 10-8, with 3:25 remaining. Junior attacker Morgan Young (Baltimore, Md.) sparked the run with her first goal of the contest as she sprinted past her defender at the top of the eight-meter cone and beat Villanova goalkeeper Jaclyn Fraum in the upper 90 of the net at 14:26. O'Brien then continued the run, scoring on two free-position opportunities in a span of 1:42. Young capped off the run with her second of the contest to give the Mids their largest lead of the game, 10-8, with 3:25 left.

The Wildcats retaliated on the next possession as Chelsey Henderson took the draw control down the field, beat a defender and scored her lone goal of the game to bring Villanova within one, 10-9, with 2:42 left.

The Mids put the game away scoring the final two goals of the contest to improve to 3-1 with the 12-9 victory.

A slow start for Navy's offense with just nine shots and nine turnovers gave Villanova a 5-4 edge in the first 30 minutes. Sophomore midfielder Jenna Collins (Clarksville, Md.) opened up the game with a free-position goal three minutes into the contest, but the Wildcats strung together three tallies in a span of 8:06 to grab an early 3-1 lead with 13:53 left in the half.

Collins helped even the score at three with 5:00 left in the stanza as she scored her second of the contest off a free-position chance and then assisted on Gallagher's first of the game.

O'Brien led the Mids offense with a game-high four goals on four shots, including 1-of-1 on free positions. Gallagher and Collins each chipped in with four-point (3g, 1a) performances. Senior Codi Mullen (Wading River, N.Y.) and freshman Marie Valenti (Bechtelsville, Pa.) each recorded two caused turnovers.

Navy, who had one of its worst performances in the draw circle against then-No. 5 Duke two weeks ago, responded with a better performance in the circle, tallying 14 of the game's 22 draw controls. The Mids also generated three goals on five attempts on free-position chances, following zero opportunities against the Blue Devils.

"After the game against Duke, we really wanted to focus on those areas that seemed to be glaring issues," said Timchal. "I am proud of the way we bounced back, both from that loss and in the second half of this game to get back on the right track."

Sophomore Ingrid Boyum (Herndon, Va.) had another strong game in net, recording a game-high six saves on 15 chances along with two ground balls.

Navy will return home this weekend when it hosts Liberty on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Opening draw is set for 12 noon and will be streamed live for free on PatriotLeague.TV.

GAME NOTES
• Young's first goal of the game extended her goal streak to 11 games
• Jenna Collins four-point performance raised her consecutive games with a point to 15
• In her first four career starts, Boyum has tallied five saves or more in each game
• Navy is 3-0 on the road to begin 2016