VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Villanova women's lacrosse team gears up for its last regular season BIG EAST Conference game at home on Friday, Apr. 26 at 7 p.m. The Wildcats will welcome No. 14 Denver to the Villanova Stadium and compete for a share of the Regular Season Title with the Pioneers.

Villanova is currently 10-6, posting its best record in program history, and 3-1 in conference play. Denver is 12-2 and leads the conference with a 4-0 standing.

Last Matchup
In last year's competition between the two BIG EAST foes, the Wildcats were defeated on the road in Denver, Colo. 14-8. The Pioneers currently hold a 2-0 advantage over the 'Cats after also defeating them in their first all-time matchup in 2017.

During the 2018 contest, six individuals led the way for Villanova. Of the starters, Liz Trojan, Katie Comerford and Ashley Lynch netted in a goal apiece. Of those adding time off the bench, Carlye Maita and Grainger Rosati also added a goal of their own while Jillian Swikart led the team with a hat trick.

Denver received goals from seven individuals including a hat trick from Bea Behrins, who came off the bench as a freshman, and four goals from Julia Feiss, who is now a senior.

In the contest, the Pioneers out shot the Wildcats 37-15, including 28-12 in shots on goal. Denver slightly led in ground balls (11-7), draw controls (13-11) and free-position shots (5-4). Olivia Gonsalves was stationed in the net that day for Villanova and recorded 14 saves in the loss. Carson Gregg was in the goal for the Pioneers as a sophomore and recorded four saves. Gregg returns this year as her team's starting goalie.

Wildcats
Headed into tomorrow's BIG EAST matchup, Katie Comerford and Ashley Lynch will once again lead the way in points and assists for the 'Cats. Comerford tallied four goals in the last game against Butler which brought her to 21 on the season, she also has 27 assists for a team high 48 points. Lynch tallied three assists against Butler which allowed her to tie Comerford with 27 assists. The junior attack has also recorded 17 goals this season for 44 total points.

Leading the pack in goals this season is Liz Trojan and Brittany Bruno. The pair has individually recorded 30 goals apiece this season and has 40 and 41 points respectively. Close behind in goals is red-shirt senior, Devin Hassinger. The midfielder has tallied 24 goals this season but more importantly has dominated on the draw circle. Hassinger currently sits at No. 1 on the team as well as No. 1 all-time for career draw controls. This season she has won a total of 122 draw controls and leads the BIG EAST with a 7.62 average per game. At the midfield she also plays a strong role defensively and has caused 17 turnovers.

Grainger Rosati sits second on the team right now with 45 draw controls and has also been the cause of 15 of her opponent's turnovers.

On the other end of the field, Sydney Frank has been a vigorous asset to the Wildcats defense this year. As a freshman she leads the team with 29 caused turnovers and sits at second in the conference in caused turnovers per game. She has also collected 27 ground balls. Julia Arrix and Kelsey Mentzer have also been staples on defense. Senior defender Arrix has recorded 12 caused turnovers and has picked up 24 ground balls while Mentzer has caused 11 turnovers and has scooped up 22 ground balls.

Freshman goalkeeper, Alexa Moro has been a key factor in helping her team capture its 10 wins. Moro has a 9-5 record, has faced 364 shots and has allowed 153 goals. The rookie goalie has recorded 127 saves which sits her at second in the BIG EAST in saves per game with 7.94 and her overall save percentage of .454 places her third in the conference.

Pioneers
This year, Denver has seven athletes in double figures in goals including five of them who have also recorded assists in the double figures.

Quintin Hoch-Bullen is at the top of the ladder with 42 goals and 10 assists for 52 points. She sits at third in the BIG EAST in goals per game and is second in points per game. Sitting at the top of the team in assists is Hannah Liddy who has dished out 35.

Leading the team in draw controls is draw specialist Maddie Baum who has won a total of 74 which ranks her third in the conference in DC per game.

Defensively, senior Katherine Fischer has caused a team high 25 caused turnovers and is second on the team with 30 ground balls. Kennedy Milburn is another senior defender who has been key to the Pioneers by causing 17 turnovers.

Denver has seen action from four goalies this season but have used Carson Gregg as its starting keeper in all 14 contests. Gregg has faced 217 shots and has only allowed 76 goals. She has a save percentage of .469 for second in the BIG EAST and she has recorded 80 saves so far.  

Additional Information
The competition will be broadcast on Nova Nation All-Access and live stats will be available on Stat Broadcast.

Prior to the start of the game, the Wildcats will recognize their 10 graduating seniors, Julia Arrix, Devon Brown, Olivia Gonsalves, Christine Graziano, Devin Hassinger, Nicole Lee, Alexis Leighton, Carlye Maita, Maggie O'Neill and Laura Persinski.

There will also be a kid zone, the Villanova Women's Lacrosse Beer Garden, an appearance from the Villanova Dance Team and a student t-shirt giveaway.



Looking Ahead
The Wildcats will compete next in the semifinals round of the 2019 BIG EAST Conference Championship presented by Jeep on Thursday, May 2. Seeding is yet to be determined and will be announced following the conclusion of BIG EAST competition on Saturday, Apr. 27.