Villanova Olympic sports roundup: Volleyball wins the JMU Classic

All in all, it was a good week for the rest of the fall sports teams at Villanova. Let's check out how they fared in their first full week of action.

Men's Soccer (0-1)

Despite dominating play in the opening minutes by hitting the crossbar and having a goal waived off for a foul, the 'Cats dropped their first game of the season on the road to Marist 1-0. Tom Carlin noted his team didn't match the physicality of the Red Foxes. After a dominating preseason, it was a clear step back for the team.

Things were looking better on Tuesday night at Drexel, as Sean Sheridan scored in the 25th minute to stake Villanova to a 1-0 lead, but the game was called off due to lightning with just 3 minutes left in the first half. The teams tried to wait out the storm, but the decision made after a couple of hours to abandon the game. It would have needed to reach the 70th minutes to count.

The game has been rescheduled for tonight at 7pm ET. After that they will travel to Connecticut on Saturday evening to take on Hartford at 7pm ET.

Women's Soccer (1-2)

The Lady 'Cats rebounded nicely from an opening game loss to Drexel by posting a 1-0 win at Radford to start Labor Day weekend. Sophomore star Katie Martin used some quick thinking off a restart and launched a 20-yard shot that flew in to the Highlanders' goal in the 53rd minute.

The finish to the weekend wasn't as pretty, as the Wildcats were smashed 5-0 by #3 Virginia. It was always going to be a tough task going against one of the best teams in the country, though I'm sure they hoped to keep it closer.

They return to action when they host Pittsburgh on Friday. Kickoff is at 4pm ET at the Higgins Soccer Complex.

Volleyball (3-0)

By far the best opening week of the fall sports teams, the Villanova volleyball team took the JMU Classic title after winning all 3 matches on the weekend, with junior outside hitter Lauren Carpenter earning MVP honors and a BIG EAST Honor Roll nomination for her play over the weekend.

The 'Cats defeated Charleston Southern, Norfolk State and James Madison in straight sets, with head coach Josh Steinbach taking over the all-time wins record in program history.

Field Hockey (1-1)

The season started out on a tough note, as the Wildcats fell to Sacred Heart 2-1 in overtime to start Labor Day weekend. Kayla Kenney had given the 'Cats the lead late in the first half off an assist from Heather Smillie, but Sacred Heart's Danielle Gallagher responded to close out the first half, and then again as time expired in overtime to steal the win.

Some good news did come from the game, as freshman goalie Jordyn Clipston was named to the BIG EAST honor roll, the first such award for a Wildcat since 2012.

The 'Cats responded nicely in their home opener, defeating Missouri State 4-1 to even their record on the season. Jessica Swoboda scored early on a penalty stroke, before Abigail Freitag and Heather Smillie scored to give the team a 3-0 halftime lead. Freshman Francesca Bello finished off the scoring in the second half.

Men's Golf

The golf team finished in fourth place at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate event at Turning Stone Resort in Verona, N.Y. Freshman Zach Egermayer finished in 11th place (+9) to lead the way in the 54-hole event, the first of his college career. He was supported by sophomore Lucas Trim (13th, +10), freshman Andrew Butler (17th, +13) in the top 20 finishes of the 55-man field.

The team is back in action on September 6-7 at the Navy Fall Intercollegiate in Annapolis.