UMBC

VILLANOVA, Pa.—Wildcat midfielders Erin Hardiman and Megan Verdeur each scored twice to lead Villanova (1-0-0) past the UMBC women’s soccer team (0-2-0) by a score of 7-0 Sunday afternoon at the West Campus Soccer Complex.

The Wildcats got on the board early and often in their season opener but really turned up the offense in the second half. After scoring twice in the first period, including a goal by forward Justine Wollner in the seventh minute and another by forward Erin Byrnes with just 16 seconds to go before intermission, Villanova scored five times in the second, with three goals coming in a span of 5:12.

Midfielder Rachel Schuyler gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead just 5:10 into the second half with Hardiman notching her second assist of the day. Hardiman then scored two of Villanova’s next three goals, the first a blast to the right post off a far pass from defender Patty Tierney late in the 62nd minute.

After Verdeur’s shot took a Villanova bounce off the crossbar and down into the net at the 65:04 mark, Hardiman beat UMBC freshman goalie Mo Van Vlerah (Boyds, Md./Northwest) in front of the net two minutes later for the Wildcats’ sixth goal of the game.

Verdeur capped the scoring flurry in the 79th minute with a blast to the right corner off a pass from Tierney.

The Wildcats outshot the Retrievers, 29-5, including 17-2 in the second half, and held a 5-1 advantage on corner kicks. Senior back Kali Schwartz (Congers, N.Y./Clarkstown South) took three of UMBC’s five shots on the day.

Making her collegiate debut, Van Vlerah recorded six saves in goal, while Villanova keeper Molly Williams stopped four shots.

The Retrievers return to action next weekend at the Georgetown Tournament, where they will face the host Hoyas on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and American on Sunday at 12 p.m. in Washington, D.C.