Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/12/16
From Press Release
The Froccaro brothers combined for 10 goals and 14 of the 16 scores on the day were from players not on the active roster in 2015 as Villanova pulled away with a 16-8 win over Penn on Saturday afternoon.
It marked the largest margin of victory for Villanova over the Quakers in series history and the biggest point differential between the two sides since 1998. Additionally, it marked the third-straight game Villanova has posted at least a five-goal win over their opposition.
“Penn’s transition game is their strength and we tried to limit that,” said head coach Mike Corrado. “They got a few on us but not enough to get a run going. In the first half we couldn’t really figure out their zone but in the second half we got it and started scoring. Our shot selection was better in the second half and we worked a little bit harder to get a high-quality shot.”
With the win, Villanova improved to 4-1 on the season while the Quakers dropped to 3-2. The Wildcats also closed the gap in the all-time series between the two sides at 10-17 with the victory.
“Everyone is sharing the ball and playing well,” said Jake Froccaro following the contest. “I think we’re a very confident offense and we have so many guys who are scoring weapons. It’s really just guys feeding off each other and moving off ball and shot selection.”
Jake Froccaro nearly matched his single-game scoring record set against Penn State earlier this season with his seven goals while younger brother, Joey, tallied a hat trick as the duo combined for 10 of Villanova’s scores. Jake’s 26 goals thus far in 2016 has him on pace to eclipse the Villanova single-season goal record in just three more games. The record is currently held by Chris Sullivan’s 41 goal season in 1991.
Reilly Hupfeldt (Haverford School) had three goals for the Quakers while Connor Keating (Haverford School) added a goal and two assists.
A tactical first half saw the Wildcats and Quakers in a back-and-forth affair that was tied at 4-4 following the first 30 minutes of action. Penn’s zone defense was difficult for Villanova to break through and the Wildcats were limited by shot selections.
The Wildcats rebounded in the third stanza to break open the game, outscoring Penn 6-1 to take a 10-5 lead. Villanova went on two three-goal runs during the period with scores from both Froccaro’s, Sean Cerrone and John Kluh.
A penalty riddled final quarter once again favored the Wildcats. Devin McNamara notched two goals as VU was supplemented by additional tallies from Danny Seibel and Jake Froccaro. The Wildcat lead proved insurmountable for the Quakers as the final stood at 16-8.
The Wildcats were led by outstanding play from faceoff specialist Luke Palmadesso who won 17-of-25 (.680) from X on the afternoon. Senior defenseman John Moderski picked up a game-high six ground balls and junior goalkeeper Dan Willis (Moorestown) tallied six saves for the win.
Penn was led by Reilly Hupfeldt’s three goals and 13 saves from goalkeeper Reed Junkin.