Campbell scores 200 career points as No. 7 Villanova defeats Navy, 17-6

VILLANOVA, Pa.—Fifth year midfielder Matt Campbell (Madison, NJ) He became just the third player in school history to reach the 200-point career milestone and did so by tying a career-high eight points in a single game to lead No. 7 Villanova (7-1) to a 17-6 victory over Navy (3-6) on Tuesday afternoon. Campbell, a fifth-year forward, had two goals and a career-high six assists Patrick Daly (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts) scored five goals of the season and the Wildcats extended their winning streak to six in their first home game in more than a month.

Daly recorded at least one triple for the seventh time in eight games this season and was one of four Villanova players to score two or more goals. Fifth year midfielder Austin Fraser (Corltandt Manor, NY) and junior attacker Matt Licata (Sandown, NH) they scored three goals and scored eight different players in total. Second year student Tucker Milhous (Villanova, PA) scored his first goal with 3:19 left to close out the Wildcats’ scoring of the day.

Campbell’s six assists marked the second time this season and the seventh time in school history that a Villanova player has had six or more in a game. Campbell’s fourth assist of the day was 200 with 10:44 to play in the third quarter.^th the point of his career, to join him Rick Bontatibus (1991-94) and Chris Sullivan (1988-91) As the only players to reach 200 career points for the Wildcats. Bontatibus holds the program career record with 213 points and Sullivan is second in school history with 205.

This season Campbell broke the Villanova record for early season goals, surpassing the mark shared by Sullivan. Jack Rice (2010-13). With nearly half of the regular season remaining, Campbell’s current career totals are 138 goals, 66 assists and 204 points. He entered the top 10 in school history for career assists entering Tuesday’s game.

After the visitors scored their first goal of the game with 12:11 left in the first quarter, the Wildcats used another of their big scores to take control of the game. Villanova scored seven unanswered goals in a span of less than eight minutes and held Navy scoreless for nearly 30 minutes while building a 7-1 lead. The stretch of seven unanswered goals made Tuesday’s game the fourth time in the last five outings that the Wildcats have scored at least seven straight goals.

Fraser put Villanova on the board at the 6:47 mark of the opening period and the Wildcats took the lead eight seconds later on a highlight-reel goal from the leading edge specialist. Justin Coppola (Garden City, NY). Faced with Fraser’s goal, Coppola quickly picked up the ball and raced downfield, where he fired a shot that just went into the back of the net. The first goal of the season was the fifth of Coppola’s career, as he has won 56 percent of his faceoffs this season and leads the team with 58 ground balls.

Daly scored three of the game’s next five goals, including a hat trick at 13:57 of the second quarter. He scored with 2:03 left in the first quarter and again with 24 seconds left in the period. Villanova was in top form at that point in the game and put four points on the board in the final 2:03 of the opening quarter. Daly’s goal came at 2:03 by Fraser with 1:21 left, another Daly goal with 24 seconds left and a quick goal by the senior midfielder. Real Mason (Westport, Connecticut) only three seconds left.

Jon Jarosz scored his second goal for the Midshipmen with 12:45 to play in the third quarter to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 7-2, but Villanova led 11-2 late in the stanza and scored five. goals in a span of less than six minutes in the fourth quarter to increase the lead. Jarosz had a hat trick for Navy, while Tommy Hovivian and Jeff Lachenmeyer each had a goal and an assist. The game was, perhaps surprisingly, the first meeting between teams separated by less than three hours, and each had long success.

The Wildcats’ offensive efficiency was almost staggering at times, as Villanova scored within 30 seconds of each other three times during the contest. Early in the third period Licata took a pass from Campbell and scored his first goal with 10:54 left in the quarter. They repeated the same play 10 seconds later as Coppola won the faceoff and Licata scored again at 10:44. Campbell and sophomore Luke Raymond (Crownsville, Maryland) scored goals in the fourth quarter just over a minute apart; the final goal came on Campbell’s sixth assist of the game. Coppola finished the day 13-for-19 (.684) X.

Fifth year goalkeeper Will Witton (Summit, NJ) he shared the duties of guarding the nets with the seniors Justin Clark (Rockville, Maryland) in victory Vitton played the first 56:26 and allowed four goals while making 11 saves. It’s the fourth straight game and sixth time this season that Vitton has made 10+ saves. He counted 33^rd he earned the career win and moved to two saves as he reached the 600 career milestone. Vitton needs one more win to tie Villanova’s record of 34 Joe Canuso (2003-06). In his last five games played, Vitton has a 6.58 goals-against average and a .624 save percentage, averaging 10.6 saves per contest.

After playing back-to-back home games on Sunday evenings to start the 2023 season, the Wildcats played five consecutive road and neutral site games over the past month. Villanova began a three-game homestand with Tuesday’s contest and will next host Brown on Monday evening (March 27) at 3:00 p.m.