On a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon, the St. Joseph's men's lacrosse team opened defense of their 2000 MAAC title, traveling to city-rival Villanova. In a game that featured six lead changes and five ties, the Hawks lost their offense in the second half, falling to the Wildcats, 12-6. Senior Randy McNeill netted two goals for the Hawks while junior Bert Whitelock dished out three assists. The Hawks opened up the scoring less than two minutes into the game on a McNeill goal. SJU and Villanova traded goals for the next 13 minutes with SJU taking a 3-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Villanova scored the next two goals, taking a 4-3 lead early in the second quarter but sophomore Chris Spay netted a Whitelock feed to even the game with 3:50 left in the half. Nova's Richie Kratz would give the Wildcats momentum going into the intermission, as he tallied a goal with :10 left, giving his team a 5-4 advantage at the half. To open the second half, senior Rob McCracken tied the game on a breakaway goal, bouncing his shot over Nova goalkeeper Matt Wilk's stick at the 11:50 mark but Villanova scored six unanswered goals giving them an 11-5 lead with six minutes left in the game. Junior Ed Walsh added a goal at the 4:09 mark, cutting the lead to five but Villanova added another with three minutes left. Villanova's defense proved too much for SJU as the Hawks managed 17 shots against Nova's 36. SJU goalkeeper, Jon Raley, turned back 12 shots in the loss while Wilk had eight saves for the Wildcats. Justin Marks scored five goals for the Wildcats while his brother Brian added a goal and three assists. SJU (0-1) returns to action on Sunday, March 3, in a MAAC showdown with Quinnipiac at 1:00 PM on Finnesey Field.