VILLANOVA, Pa. It was a battle between 'Cats today as the Villanova Wildcats (7-2) took on the Quinnipiac Bobcats (3-4) at Villanova stadium, surpassing the Bobcats 16-12. Sophomore Sydney Pappas led the team in points with six goals and one assist. Graduate Student Caroline Curnal had a career high sixteen draw controls in addition to five goals and one assist. This is Pappas's second game of the season where she scored six goals and Curnal's second game of the season where she scored five. Sophomore goalie Cate Gallagher (3-2) made five saves and two caused turnovers. 

The Wildcats were off to a slow start as Bobcat Emily Feeney scored the first two goals of the game. Villanova responded with a three goal spurt kicked off by Addie Fischer who scored her second goal of the season, assisted by Pappas. Pappas then pushed one past goalie Kat Henselder for her first goal of the game. With three minutes left in the first quarter, Maddie Luer made a great pass to Isabella Francati who scored the last goal of the period. 

Unsurprisingly, period two started with a draw control from Curnal. Luer ripped a shot which Henselder saved, causing the Bobcats to march back down the field and tie the game up at 3-3. Bobcat goal was scored by Sophia Iaccino. Carey killed the tie by scoring her second goal of the game just one minute later. To keep the tie-streak alive, Maddie Deegan put one in the corner to add a point for the Bobcats, tying the game at 4. Less than a minute later Quinnipiac takes their lead back for the first time since the first quarter thanks to a goal from Desiree Kleberg. This lead didn't last long as Pappas scored her third goal of the game to bring the Wildcats back from underneath. Ninety seconds later, Feeney scores her third and final goal of the game to take the Bobcats up 6-5. The last three minutes of the half saw goals from Curnal, Pappas, and freshman Isabella Henson-Vendrell to bring the Wildcats into the lead at 8-6 going into the second half. 

The second half started with a goal from Bobcat Amy Nicoloff to continue the tight battle. When the Wildcats regained possession, Curnal ripped a shot wide which Pappas rebounded and scored off of. A powerful Sophia duo added a point to the Bobcats scoreboard as Iaccino passed it to Sophie Spencer for a man-up goal, making the score 9-8 in favor of the Wildcats. With five to go in the third quarter Pappas scored her fifth goal of the game, unassisted. Curnal then took control of the game as she scored a hat trick in three minutes for the Wildcats. The score was 13-8 going into the fourth quarter which was the biggest lead we saw all game. 

Quinnipiac made it known that they would fight until the very end and scored the first three goals of the last period from Abby Wise, Maddie Deegan, and Mia Delmond. The Wildcats then secured their victory with more goals from Curnal, Pappas, and Carey. Quinnipiac's EllaGrace Delmond scored the last goal of the game but it was not enough to overpower Villanova. The final score of today's match was 16-12 for another Villanova Victory. 

For more of the Villanova Wildcats, tune in Wednesday, March 22, at 5:00 as the Wildcats take on the Bucknell Bison. 

Notes:  Caroline Curnal now has 310 career draw controls which is the school record... The record between Villanova and Bucknell is 7-5 in favor of Villanova... Caroline Curnal now has 83 draw controls this season... Sydney Pappas currently leads the team in goals with 30.