Villanova lacrosse: Mulrenan's 4-goal effort leads the way in 13-8 victory over Georgetown

In a Big East lacrosse game originally postponed by snowy conditions, the Villanova Wildcats defeated the Georgetown Hoyas 13-8 Wednesday afternoon at Villanova Stadium. The win pushed the 'Cats record to 3-5, but more importantly 2-0 in the Big East. Georgetown dropped to 3-6 (0-2) on the year.

The game started rather slowly with both teams struggling to find the net. When the first quarter horn blew, the game was knotted at 1-1, though Villanova had the better of the play. Kevin O'Neil netted the Wildcats' lone goal in the opening period.

The second period introduced Tim Mulrenan to the Hoya defense, as he began a performance that soon won't be forgotten. Mulrenan tallied a hat trick in the second period after Georgetown had taken a 2-1 lead, giving 'Nova a 4-2 halftime lead. Mulrenan finished the day with a career-high 4 goals to go along with an assist.

At the half, Villanova thoroughly dominated the stat sheet, leading the Hoyas 23-9 in shots and 17-10 in ground balls.

The third quarter brought the offensive explosion that head coach Mike Corrado has been seeking this season, and it came at a very opportune time right after Georgetown had knotted the game at 4. The Villanova offense ripped off seven straight goals in just over eight minutes. Johnny Gallaway notched two straight to open that stretch while Eric Gartner, John LoCascio, Devin McNamara, Jack Curran and Mulrenan also found paydirt.

From there, the 'Nova defense, led by LoCascio's five ground balls and three caused turnovers, held Georgetown at bay over the final 15 minutes while the offense added a couple of late goals. Face-off specialist Thomas Croonquist had a nice day, going 11-23 and gathering 7 ground balls.

The win was the fourth straight over the Hoyas. Villanova is back in action this Saturday at 2pm ET when they travel to face #17 Penn State. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.