Final Stats

DENVER, Colo. - Scores in each half catapulted Villanova to a 2-0 win over Denver on Friday night at Ciber Field on the University of Denver campus. Senior Reanna Marino (Massapequa, N.Y.) and sophomore Amanda Vocelka (Atlanta, Ga.) tallied goals in the contest as Villanova kicked off their Colorado road trip on a high note and helped the Wildcats record their first win of the season.

The victory marks the first for Villanova this year as they improved to 1-7 overall while Denver fell to 0-7-1. Tonight's contest also marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools as the Pioneers and Wildcats faced each other for their inaugural meeting.

Villanova began the contest on a dominate note and posted an 8-2 advantage in shots in the first 45 minutes of action. It wasn't until the 42nd minute that the Wildcats capitalized on their chances and took a 1-0 advantage over Denver when Marino connected on a Katie Martin (Dallas, Texas) assist to put Villanova up 1-0 with just minutes left in the stanza. Marino knocked in a rebound from six yards out and finished to the left side of the net for the score.

Following intermission, Villanova continued to dominate on offense and tallied an insurance goal in the 70th minute when the Pioneers fouled on the right flank to set VU up for a penalty kick. Vocelka finessed a shot to the lower right corner as Denver goalkeeper Cassidy Rey dove left to register the second goal of the evening to put the Wildcats up 2-0 with 20 minutes left in the contest.

Denver pressured the Villanova defense in the last 10 minutes of the match and had four corners in the final six minutes of play, but the Pioneers couldn't penetrate the Wildcats defensive third as time ran out on the comeback. Shots by Hayley Wilson (Leonardtown, Md.) and Martin that were blocked and went wide right finalized the contest at 2-0 in favor of Villanova.

Villanova led Denver 6-1 in shots on goal and by a margin of 13-11 in total shots for the contest. Martin led the Villanova attack with five shots and placed two on goal for the evening.

Villanova sophomore goalkeeper Emily Harris (Derry, N.H.) recorded her first career start in between the pipes and tallied one save in the win. Denver's Rey recorded three saves in the defeat.

Villanova continues their Centennial State tour when they take on the University of Colorado on Sunday, Sept. 20th. Game time versus the Buffs is slated for 2pm ET in Boulder, Colo.