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Villanova Wildcats defeated Drexel Dragons 14-11 on Tuesday afternoon to improve to 2-1 on the season. Mike Corrado's team got another strong performance from star freshman Danny Seibel and junior Jack Curran, who each posted hat tricks on the day. It was Seibel's third straight to open the season.
The first quarter was tightly contested, with each team trading goals. Villanova exited the period with a 4-3 lead courtesy of goals from Eric Gartner and Charlie Horning, plus two from Seibel. The second period was pretty much all Wildcats, as they stretched the lead to 7-4 at halftime. Harry DellaFerra struck once while Johnny Gallaway post two to extend the Wildcats lead.
While the Wildcats led on the scoreboard, the vital stats suggested they were being outplayed. Drexel had a lead in faceoffs, shots and groundballs at the half, and their hard work finally started to payoff in the third quarter.
Curran gave Villanova another quick start with a goal to open the period before Drexel scored two straight goals to cut the lead to 8-6. Curran and Gallaway then sandwiched another Dragons goal to extend the Wildcats lead to 10-7 with 7 and 1/2 minutes to go in the period, but it was all Dragons from there. Drexel scored three straight to end the third quarter with the score knotted at 10 apiece.
The final period looked like it was going to be filled with plenty of drama, but Villanova avoided what has plagued them in recent seasons and really ramped up the defensive pressure. All told, the 'Cats outscored the Dragons 4-1 in the final frame to secure the victory.
The Wildcats host Delaware Blue Hens this Saturday at Villanova Stadium at 12pm ET.