St. Francis (NY) held on for a 15-13 MAAC victory against Villanova on Saturday evening at St. Francis. The Terriers improved to 2-12 (2-6 MAAC) and the Wildcats dropped to 4-19 (0-8 MAAC).
The game looked to be a blowout early as the hosts scored all four goals in the opening period. Senior Lianna Fotia (2 goals), who scored five goals against Iona in the opener, scored two goals and senior Emily Matthews and junior Andrea Dolnay also tallied.
The Terriers and Wildcats each scored a pair of goals in the second quarter to make the score 6-2 at the halftime break. Freshman Kacie Davis was terrific in her two quarters of action as she made six saves.
Villanova got right back into the game as they scored four of the first five goals in the third quarter to close within 7-6 with 4:34 remaining. Junior Maria Apablasa scored a pair of goals for the Wildcats. The Terriers outscored the visitors by a 3-2 margin to end the period with a 10-8 lead as freshman Hanin Turkey, freshman Paige Hardy (3 goals), and sophomore Paloma Szivos (2 goals) each tickled the twine.
Freshman Regina Toth and Hardy came up big as they combined for five fourth quarter goals to hold off the Wildcats. Toth gave the Terriers a 13-10 advantage with 4:46 left but Villanova scored consecutive goals against sophomore goalie Nofar Hagag (6 saves, 11 goals allowed) with 3:52 remaining in the contest. Toth delivered the last of her game-high five goals with 3:31 left to give the Terriers some breathing room at 14-12. Sophomore Sara Kane brought Villanova within a goal with 2:08 remaining but Hardy found the back of the net with 1:02 left and the Wildcats never challenged again.
The Terriers will end the regular season against Wagner and Siena on Sunday at Wagner.