PHILADELPHIA. – The 17th-ranked University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team got off to an extremely slow start on Saturday against No. 4 Villanova, and could not make up the difference in falling the Wildcats 8-6 at Franklin Field.
 
Penn did not score in the first half; in fact, the Red and Blue's first goal did not come until more than six minutes had elapsed in the third quarter when Tyler Dunn finally got them on the board off a Joe Licciardi feed. By that time, Villanova had opened up a 6-0 lead. Dunn ended up scoring four in a row for the Quakers—three in the third, one in the fourth—but Villanova got two of them back in a span of 1:44 to close the door on any comeback ambitions.
 
Villanova had the only two goals in the first quarter, from Connor Kirst and Danny Seibel. The Wildcats then scored four times in the second period and took a 6-0 lead into the locker room despite Penn goalie Reed Junkin's best efforts (nine first-half saves).
 
Dunn finally got the Quakers on the board with 8:40 left in the third, then he had solo efforts with 7:24 and again in the final seconds to make it 6-3 heading into the fourth. When Dunn added his career-high fourth of the day with 9:29 left in the final quarter, Penn was within two goals. However, Kirst scored a little more than three minutes later, and then Christian Cuccinello added to VU's advantage with 4:19 left.
 
Simon Mathias got on the board with 1:35 to play, extending his point-scoring streak to 34 games, and then Dunn closed out the scoring in the final minute to close out the day's scoring.
 
Junkin ended the day with 13 saves, as Villanova outshot Penn 44-34. At the other end, Nick Testa recorded 10 stops.
 
Up Next
Penn will open Ivy League play next Saturday at Princeton, facing off with the Tigers at 4 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on ESPNU.