Nearly 1,000 fans showed up at Villanova Stadium last night to watch the 13th ranked Villanova Wildcats take on the Red Storm of St. John's. With many lax alums returning for Alumni Day, the Cats figured to put on a good display in front of some of their former teammates. The Red Storm didn't get the memo though to let the Wildcats steamroll to their eighth win of the year, as the visitors put a real scare into the heavily favored Villanova squad. However, in the end, Villanova came from behind late in the game to secure their tenth straight win at home, winning 12-10. The Red Storm drop to 5-6 (1-2 in the Big East), while the Cats improve to 8-3 (2-1 in the Big East).
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After Paul Webber (Manhasset, N.Y.) scored less than 1 minute into the game, it may have seemed like a cakewalk was in order. St. John's showed up to play though, which they haven't done all season. The game was tied up at 3-3 after the first quarter, and the offensive fireworks didn't slow down, as the road team scored 4 straight to take a 7-3 lead late in the 2nd. The Wildcats responded with 2 big goals at the end of the half to gain some momentum heading into the locker room. Early in the third quarter, Villanova knotted up the contest at 7-7, but St. John's answered with 2 of their own to regain a 2-goal advantage. With their NCAA Tournament hopes hanging in the balance, the Cats ran off 5 straight goals over a 16 minute span, which turned the 9-7 deficit into a 12-9 advantage. A late Red Storm goal provided the final tally of the game.
Leading the way for St. John's was Tom Manes (Philadelphia, PA) with 1 goal and 3 assists and Tyler Novotny (Collegeville, PA), who had 3 goals and 1 helper. For the Cats, it was the Long Island trio of Webber, Mark Scioscia (East Hampton, N.Y.), and Kevin Cunningham (Garden City, N.Y.) who filled up the statbook. Webber finished with 4 g's and 1 assist, Scioscia had 3 goals and 3 dimes, and Cunningham notched a pair of goals to go along with 3 assists. Villanova returns to action on Tuesday, April 20th at 7 pm, when they travel to Bethlehem, PA to take on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. This is a makeup game that was postponed in February due to inclement weather.