VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Hawks chipped away at a three-goal deficit with a pair of goals in the final 2:09 but ultimately fell short as the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team fell to Villanova, 11-10, on Wednesday evening at Villanova Stadium. With the loss, the Hawks close the non-conference portion of the schedule at 1-7.

Saint Joseph's sophomore midfielder Aly Gormley led all Hawks in scoring with a single-game career-high three goals while senior midfielder Mallory Grey and freshman midfielder Hayley Sabol contributed two goals and one assist each. 

With Villanova leading 7-4 out of the halftime break, the Hawks and Wildcats alternated goal scoring four times to bring the score to 11-8 with 4:53 remaining in regulation. Gormley netted two of her goals during that span.

Following their 11th goal of the game, the Wildcats (2-8) won the draw control to gain possession, but in her first collegiate appearance in net, graduate student goalkeeper Ashley Alden made a save and, just over one minute later, made a save on a free position shot to keep the game to within three goals.

The Hawks cleared the ball following the play and Grey netted her seventh goal of the season to bring Saint Joseph's to within two with 2:09 remaining in regulation.

20 seconds later, the Hawks would get the ball back as freshman midfielder Rebecca Lane caused a turnover on Villanova's offensive unit, and junior midfielder Maggie Egan found freshman midfielder Sinead Brierley to bring the Hawks to within one goal with 1:02 to play.

However, Villanova won the final draw control of the game and although the Hawks gained possession, time would expire on the Crimson and Gray.

For the game, Villanova held a slight 22-20 edge in shots, although each team landed an even 16 shots on goal. Villanova earned a 14-9 advantage in draw controls, including an 8-4 first half, while Saint Joseph's won the ground ball battle, 15-11. The Hawks scored three of their goals on free position attempts, while the Wildcats were held to 1-5 in the category. 

In addition to her three-point effort, Grey also turned in a game-high four ground balls while Egan won a team-high three draw controls. 

Senior defender Caroline Hagan caused two turnovers, which moves her into a tie for second all-time in career turnovers (66) at Saint Joseph's. 

Making her first collegiate appearance between the pipes, Alden made five saves and allowed six goals in the final 38:03. Alden came in to replace starting senior goalkeeper Genevieve Giblin (1-7), who had allowed five goals in the first 21:57.

The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead by the 17:25 mark of the first half, but Saint Joseph's outscored Villanova 3-2 in the final 8:03; Lane converted back-to-back free position shots within 51 seconds of one another during that run. 

Saint Joseph's opens Atlantic 10 Conference action next Friday, April 1 against Massachusetts, ranked 20th nationally in this week's polls. Opening draw is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field.