Wednesday, March 22
Lewisburg, Pa.
5 p.m.
Bucknell University
4-4
10
vs
12
Villanova
8-2
1
2
3
4
F
Villanova
3
3
3
3
12
Bucknell
2
4
4
0
10
Photo by: Ben Popko
Women’s Lax Drops Tight Contest to Villanova, 12-10
3/22/2023 7:59:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell sophomore Taylor McClain recorded her first career hat trick and added four assists to match her personal best with seven points, but Villanova rallied in the fourth quarter for a 12-10 win over the Bison in a non-league women's lacrosse game on Wednesday evening at Graham Field.
Neither team led by more than two goals all night in an entertaining, end-to-end game that was tied on eight different occasions. Goals from Taylor Kopan and Alex Nesbitt gave the Bison (4-4) a 10-9 after three quarters, but Villanova scored three unanswered in the fourth to improve to 8-2 on the season.
Caroline Curnal, one of the national leaders in draw controls, collected 13 in this one to give her 96 on the season, and she added a game-high five goals. Sami Carey tallied three goals and two assists and Sydney Pappas had two goals and two assists for the Wildcats, who defeated Navy earlier in the season and have only been beaten by Maryland and USC.
Allie Boyce recorded her team-leading 20th goal of the season along with a career-high three assists. Megan Krestinski tallied two goals and an assist for the Bison, who received nine of their 10 goals from freshmen (5) and sophomores (4).
Even though 22 goals went up on the scoreboard, both teams were strong defensively throughout. There were seven turnovers before the first goal was recorded, and Bucknell caused 17 of Villanova's 24 turnovers on the night. Goalies Symone Ryans and Cate Gallagher both finished with eight saves, including five from Bucknell's Ryans in the fourth quarter.
McClain had three goals and three assists to account for all six of Bucknell's first-half goals. She assisted on Boyce's opening goal and then scored herself off a Krestinski feed to give the Bison an early 2-0 lead. Villanova scored three straight to go up 3-2 after one period before McClain made a terrific play to tie it again early in the second. She reached out to deflect an outlet pass from Gallagher, Taylor Kopan picked up the loose ball and fed it right back to McClain in front for the goal.
After the Wildcats took a 5-3 lead, McClain converted a Boyce feed just 20 seconds later, and then Krestinski one-timed McClain's pass from behind the cage to tie it at 5-all. The McClain-to-Krestinski combo struck again with 2:51 left in the half to make it 6-6 at intermission.
Ultimately the game would be tied at 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, and 10-10. Freshman Katie Brown pocketed her fifth goal of the season just 26 seconds into the second half, classmate Caroline Sheridan added her fifth of the year on a beautiful roll to the top of the crease, and later in the third quarter, the Bison scored a terrific transition goal with Boyce finding Kopan on the right side.
Curnal's unassisted tally tied it 1:55 into the fourth quarter, and Villanova took the lead for good at the 10:57 mark when Carey converted a pass from Kayla Gulmi.
Midway through the final period, Bucknell had been 18-for-19 on clears, but a turnover in its own end led to Curnal's fifth goal of the game to make it 12-10 with 7:00 to play.
Bucknell had a couple of good chances to get the goal back in the closing minutes, but Gallagher made a critical save on Krestinski's hard shot just inside the four-minute mark, Molly Dunphey had a key trail check to force a Bison turnover as the clocked ticked under 2:00.
Villanova ran down an entire shot clock, giving the Bison the ball back with only 17 seconds remaining. Brown scored right at the horn, but it was ruled to be a split-second late, keeping the final margin at two.
The Wildcats finished with a 27-23 shot advantage and a 16-10 margin on draw controls.
Bucknell will see nothing but Patriot League competition over the final eight games of the regular season. The next two will be on the road, starting with a trip to Lafayette on Saturday.
Neither team led by more than two goals all night in an entertaining, end-to-end game that was tied on eight different occasions. Goals from Taylor Kopan and Alex Nesbitt gave the Bison (4-4) a 10-9 after three quarters, but Villanova scored three unanswered in the fourth to improve to 8-2 on the season.
Caroline Curnal, one of the national leaders in draw controls, collected 13 in this one to give her 96 on the season, and she added a game-high five goals. Sami Carey tallied three goals and two assists and Sydney Pappas had two goals and two assists for the Wildcats, who defeated Navy earlier in the season and have only been beaten by Maryland and USC.
Allie Boyce recorded her team-leading 20th goal of the season along with a career-high three assists. Megan Krestinski tallied two goals and an assist for the Bison, who received nine of their 10 goals from freshmen (5) and sophomores (4).
Even though 22 goals went up on the scoreboard, both teams were strong defensively throughout. There were seven turnovers before the first goal was recorded, and Bucknell caused 17 of Villanova's 24 turnovers on the night. Goalies Symone Ryans and Cate Gallagher both finished with eight saves, including five from Bucknell's Ryans in the fourth quarter.
McClain had three goals and three assists to account for all six of Bucknell's first-half goals. She assisted on Boyce's opening goal and then scored herself off a Krestinski feed to give the Bison an early 2-0 lead. Villanova scored three straight to go up 3-2 after one period before McClain made a terrific play to tie it again early in the second. She reached out to deflect an outlet pass from Gallagher, Taylor Kopan picked up the loose ball and fed it right back to McClain in front for the goal.
After the Wildcats took a 5-3 lead, McClain converted a Boyce feed just 20 seconds later, and then Krestinski one-timed McClain's pass from behind the cage to tie it at 5-all. The McClain-to-Krestinski combo struck again with 2:51 left in the half to make it 6-6 at intermission.
Ultimately the game would be tied at 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, and 10-10. Freshman Katie Brown pocketed her fifth goal of the season just 26 seconds into the second half, classmate Caroline Sheridan added her fifth of the year on a beautiful roll to the top of the crease, and later in the third quarter, the Bison scored a terrific transition goal with Boyce finding Kopan on the right side.
Curnal's unassisted tally tied it 1:55 into the fourth quarter, and Villanova took the lead for good at the 10:57 mark when Carey converted a pass from Kayla Gulmi.
Midway through the final period, Bucknell had been 18-for-19 on clears, but a turnover in its own end led to Curnal's fifth goal of the game to make it 12-10 with 7:00 to play.
Bucknell had a couple of good chances to get the goal back in the closing minutes, but Gallagher made a critical save on Krestinski's hard shot just inside the four-minute mark, Molly Dunphey had a key trail check to force a Bison turnover as the clocked ticked under 2:00.
Villanova ran down an entire shot clock, giving the Bison the ball back with only 17 seconds remaining. Brown scored right at the horn, but it was ruled to be a split-second late, keeping the final margin at two.
The Wildcats finished with a 27-23 shot advantage and a 16-10 margin on draw controls.
Bucknell will see nothing but Patriot League competition over the final eight games of the regular season. The next two will be on the road, starting with a trip to Lafayette on Saturday.
Team Stats
VU
BUCKNELL
Shots
27
23
Turnovers
24
23
Caused Turnovers
12
17
Draw Controls
16
10
Free-Position Shots
4
4
Ground Balls
20
23
Game Leaders
Players
G
3
A
4
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
1
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
1
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
1
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
G
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's LacrosseIn The Herd: Saint Francis Game Preview And Nick Hoying Feature
Thursday, September 25
In The Herd: First Practice Review And Tuana Coskun Feature
Wednesday, September 24
In The Herd: First Practice Review And Ruot Bijiek Feature
Tuesday, September 23
(Coaches Camera) Salem Men's Water Polo Vs. Gannon (9/21/25)
Monday, September 22