University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
3-9, 0-4
Villanova
9-3, 3-0
Huskies Comeback Falls Short as they Fall to Villanova 10-8
4/1/2026 5:33:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
STORRS— The UConn women's lacrosse team (3-8, 0-3 BIG EAST) fell to No. 24 Villanova by a score of 10-8 on Wednesday afternoon at Morrone Stadium.
The Wildcats grabbed the early advantage, with goals from Kathryn Monaco and Jillian Vaught pushing the visitors in front 2-0 at the end of the first.
Ava Plata got the Huskies on the board with 12:26 left in the second quarter. The BIG EAST foes traded goals, with Nova's Rose Christie and Emma Dacey scoring less than a minute apart to keep Villanova ahead 3-2. Leslie Iorio scored two goals to stretch the Wildcat advantage to 5-2. Dacey tallied her second of the quarter to cut the deficit to 5-3 with 6:42 left in the half. Ashley Hickey converted onthe free position, bringing Villanova to the half with a 6-3 lead.
McKenna Merkel continued her strong play, scoring two goals in the opening moments of the third quarter to bring UConn within one at 6-5. Villanova responded with two goals to extend its lead back to 8-5 with 4:46 left in the third. Elena Torres scored with six seconds left in the quarter to push Villanova's edge to 9-5, entering the fourth.
The Huskies continued to chip away at the Villanova lead as Rayea Davis scored early in the fourth quarter then assisted on a Lucia Smigiel goal cutting the Wildcats lead to two with 13 minutes left in the game. Trailing 9-7 the Huskies continued to pressure, but a Villanova goal extended the lead to three. With just under three minutes left in the game Karsyn Burnash found the back of the net to cut the lead back to two but ultimately Villanova's defense kept the Huskies from finding the back of the net again, holding on for the 10-8 win.
UP NEXT: UConn returns to the field Saturday, April 4 as they welcome Butler University to Storrs.
